About 50 Portland State students, alongside members of the Portland-metro community, gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square Friday to hold a vigil for the victims of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstration was held to protest the bombardment and invasion by Israeli forces in Gaza. According to Israel’s public statements, they have invaded to stop rocket fire from Hamas, a militant group that has been attempting to reduce Israel to its pre-1967 borders outside Gaza.
Members from the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, as well as PSU’s Muslim Student Association (MSA), hosted the vigil.
Wadda Sofan, a member of the MSA who is also starting a student group called Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, said that it is important for PSU to have a strong stand against the violence in Gaza.
He urged students to unify and lobby congress to intervene. Sofan, a Palestinian, noted that the organizations he is involved with have weekly demonstrations to raise awareness among students of the crisis in Gaza.
Several community leaders spoke to the crowd about the importance of unifying for peace. An Episcopal priest talked about his experience visiting Gaza, and described the dire situation in the area. A speaker from the Muslim Community Center of Portland followed by saying the situation in Gaza is a reflection of other conflicts and oppressions.
Hala Gores, a Portland Palestinian attorney and PSU alumnus, spoke about the inaction against the Gaza conflict. “What kind of world do we live in when this is OK?” Gores asked. “The killing that is going on in Gaza is a war crime.”
After the speakers’ presentations, the crowd walked around the blocks immediately surrounding Pioneer Square. The peace rally distributed signs with phrases that advocated to “Stop the Gaza Genocide.”
The crowd also yelled chants urging an end to the Israeli occupation in Gaza.
The recent violence erupted 17 days ago and, according to Palestinian medical sources, over 910 people have been killed in Gaza, 292 of them children. Israel reports that 13 Israelis, including three civilians, have been killed.
Seth Evans, a political science student at PSU who attended the vigil, said it is important for students to be involved in political activism. Though not affiliated with any student group who helped organize the vigil, Evans also conveyed how important it is for students to realize what is happening in Gaza. “Innocent people are dying,” he said.
The protests echo the United Nation’s recent demands for an immediate ceasefire, fearing a growing humanitarian crisis.
The two groups hosting the vigil have attended and organized other protests since the bombing and ground invasion began. Other protests have seen attendance upwards of 200, many students from PSU and other universities in Portland.
Portland joins hundreds of other cities worldwide protesting the Israeli invasion and occupation of the Gaza Strip. The global protests in Venezuela, Hong Kong, Portland and San Francisco were mostly peaceful; some violence began between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups in Oslo, Norway.
The Portland groups are also participating in the National Day of Fasting held today to show solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza.
—additional reporting by Lindsay Bing
More photos from the protest:
