Oct. 28, 2023 Updated: Oct. 30, 2023 5:40 a.m. (SFChronicle.com)
Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza gathered in several locations in San Francisco on Saturday — holding a vigil outside House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s house, rallying at the Ferry Building and then marching through the city and briefly disrupting traffic on the Central Freeway.
Their numbers grew into the thousands at the Ferry Building. Organizers said 15,000 people attended. Later they marched toward the Mission District.
City officials warned shortly before 5 p.m. that traffic was stopped on northbound Highway 101, the Central Freeway, at the Interstate 80 split. By about 5:40 p.m., the road was cleared.
“We want the United States to call for peace and a cease-fire,” said Cynthia Papermaster of Code Pink, which held a small vigil outside Pelosi’s San Francisco house before moving on to the rally at the Ferry Building.
The demonstrations were the latest and perhaps largest in a series of pro-Palestinian rallies in San Francisco calling for Israel to end its war against Hamas, which began after the group entered Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7. The demonstration coincided with the beginning of Israel’s movement of ground troops into Gaza, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as the “second stage of the war,” but stopped short of calling an invasion.
More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in Hamas’ attack and some 200 were taken hostage. Since then Israel’s bombing in Gaza has killed more than 7,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Code Pink, an antiwar advocacy group, organized Saturday’s demonstration outside Pelosi’s house, characterizing it as a vigil for the slain. Members of the group started a three-day fast Friday at sunrise and intended to break Sunday at sunset, Papermaster said. She said she’s sickened by the violence.
“We would like her (Pelosi) to sign onto House Resolution 786,” Papermaster said, referring to a bill calling for a cease-fire that has the support of progressive Democrats.
“I am writing to express my deepest sorrow,” Code Pink member Toby Blomé wrote in a letter to Pelosi that she was unable to deliver. “For the children of Gaza, I ask you to assess your own morality at this time,” Blomé wrote in the letter. “Are the children of Gaza any less important than the children of Israel, or your own children and grandchildren?”
Code Pink held another vigil Sunday outside Pelosi’s house, where two people were arrested for lying down in front of the lawmaker’s Capitol Police car, Papermaster said.
Code Pink organizer Toby Blomé said the group had two interactions with Pelosi on Sunday, though “she still refuses to meet with us for a meaningful and respectful dialogue about Gaza.”
The group, which posted a video of its peaceful protest, broke its fast after sunset Sunday, though some members planned to continue a daytime fast until a cease-fire is obtained, Blomé said.
Members of the group hope their efforts will draw attention to the crisis in Gaza and help spur action from the federal government, Papermaster said.
Chronicle photographer Yoshi James and staff writer Warren Pederson contributed to this report.
Reach Daniel Lempres: daniel.lempres@sfchronicle.com
Written By Daniel Lempres
Daniel Lempres is a criminal justice reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining the Chronicle in 2023, he worked as a reporter for the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley, where he focused on long term investigations in collaboration with outlets like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and S.F. Chronicle.
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