Demonstrators in Downtown Syracuse Friday called for the support of a cease-fire and the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the end of U.S. funding and military support to Israel.
Many members of the crowd wore Palestinian colors of red, green, black and white chanting things like "Free Free Palestine" and "Let Gaza Live" as they marched from Clinton Square to Columbus Circle.
Many, like Basem Ashkar, a first-generation Palestinian-American and SUNY Upstate Medical University student, were wearing keffiyehs, a black and white chequered scarf that's become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and solidarity.
Ashkar said the conflict weighs heavily on him and expressed his frustration that violence perpetuated against Palestinians is not new.
"It's a daily violence against Palestinian people," Ashkar said. "The only time the world seems to care is once the violence is turning outward away from Palestinians and toward Israelis. I don't condone violence at all, but it's really frustrating to see the double standards that have been set."
Many speakers said viewing the rally or support for Palestine as anti-Semitic is counterproductive. Emphasizing that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism is something Carole Resnick, a member of Jewish Voice For Peace stressed. The national organization is anti-Zionist and supportive of Palestinian liberation.
"We are all human beings," Resnick said. "We do not get to choose a group of people and dehumanize them and murder them. We just don't get to do that. There has been colonization all over the world, including where we stand right now on Haudenosaunee territory. That has already happened. Peace has to be made with reality."
Justice for Palestine, Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America, and the Syracuse chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized Friday's march. Central New York Republican Congressman Brandon Williams condemned the event.
