Over 50,000 New Yorkers gathered at Washington Square Park on Saturday, March 2 to protest the threat of an Israeli invasion into Rafah, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10. The NYC march was one of many across the globe to oppose the military threat promised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February. The protest was a part of the International Day of Action for Palestine and comes after months of the Israel-Hamas war.
Despite incessant rainfall and wind, New Yorkers showed up and showed out to make their voices heard. Students from the University coordinated a meetup in City Hall Park before the protest to travel to the march together and share safety information about protesting. The Pace Students for Justice in Palestine group provided face masks, water bottles and had created a banner to hold later at the march.
Hana Abuhamda, a freshman at the University studying Psychology attended the meetup and march because she hoped it would “Cause a real change and hopefully lead to a ceasefire now.” Abuhamda, a Palestinian student, felt that while there was support for her community and people from individuals at the University, she felt disappointed and disregarded by the lack of action from the University itself.
Abuhamda claimed that “Zionist students are seen with more grace” while she sees herself as excluded from the support of the University because of her Palestinian background. She believed that participation in the march was a way to advocate for her identity and stand up for her Palestinian brothers and sisters.
Thousands poured into the entrances of Washington Square Park around 1 p.m. to protest and march. Over 60 organizations endorsed the march including The People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement and No Tech for Apartheid. The crowd was a sea of umbrellas and watered-down cardboard signs. Children in strollers were present with their parents in tow as well as people who were in their late sixties and seventies; the march attracted people of all ages and backgrounds.
Attendees listened carefully to the many speeches from actors, activists and students. Susan Sarandon, an Oscar-winning actress who was recently dropped from her agency because of Pro-Palestine comments, was in attendance and addressed the New York crowd. “Fighting for justice can be lonely work, it can be exhausting,” Sarandon said, “But nothing compared to what is happening in Gaza and Rafah.” Other speakers included the actor Sara Ramirez and politician Jill Stein.
The crowd mobilized around 3 p.m. and began their march uptown. Thousands were in the streets chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” followed by the sister chant, “From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.” Protesters marched from the park up to the Stephen A. Schwarzman building of the New York Public Library. Despite the weather conditions, people were in high spirits waving signs and yelling out against “Genocide Joe.” There was heavy police presence on 5th Avenue where officers held batons out in front of them but didn’t further aggravate protesters. The protest was peaceful and contained because of organizers who directed traffic and led chants.
Upon arrival at the library building, people continued to chant and wave flags in front of the infamous lions as well as danced and sang songs in Arabic together. One woman was in tears as she sang to the crowd with fellow protesters. After hours of protesting this moment of celebration was cathartic for attendees. The march dispersed around 6 p.m. that evening.
