Over 25,000 People Rallied for Palestine in San Francisco

On Sunday, January 14th, San Francisco saw the the sister rally for the National March on Washington for Gaza, which took place on Saturday, January 13th, in Washington DC, and reportedly drew over 400,000 people. The rally demanded an end to genocide and to the siege in Gaza.

According to organizers, the SF rally drew over 25,000 participants from all over the West Coast, and was the culmination of historical mass protests and rallies for Palestine. Some people came from as far as San Diego to march in the rally.

As mentioned in a press release that was endorsed by various organizations like Palestinian Youth Movement, CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), and Jewish Voice for Peace:

The Israeli military has killed over 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza in the last 3 months, including over 10,000 children, in which 1% of the population in Gaza has been completely wiped out. The United Nations estimates that up to 1.9 million people – 85% of Gaza’s population – are now  homeless due Israel’s carpet bombing. The Israeli government has severely restricted water, food, electricity and fuel from entering Gaza, and people are now at risk of dying from starvation and disease. As of January 12, Gaza’s Al-Aqsa hospital has run out of fuel, putting ICU and nursery patients at extreme risk of death.

Sunday’s rally was part of a global movement calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the 75 years of horror that the Palestinian people have endured. According to a recent poll, 66% of all Americans and over 80% of Democrats support a ceasefire in Gaza. 

As the press release also mentions:

The protest comes just days after South Africa’s landmark case was heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial body of the United Nations, on Thursday. Israel has been accused of committing the crime of genocide in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention, after UN experts sounded alarms that Palestinians in Gaza faced a risk of genocide. The case was brought to the international court as a measure to immediately halt Israel’s military operations in Gaza, as Israeli military officers stated that the war on Gaza will continue all year.

Unfortunately, despite many acts of civil disobedience and world wide protests, the Israeli government seems to be moving ahead with their plan to continue destroying Gaza and murdering its people. I don’t know how they think bombing Gaza won’t also kill the hostages they want to get back. While the history of Israel and Palestine is worth a long, nuanced conversation, there is nothing complicated about what’s happening in Gaza. This is a horrendous humanitarian disaster beyond what any of us can imagine. I don’t know how anyone can not be heartbroken anytime they read about it.