By David Hernandez, Breaking News Reporter Oct 6, 2024 (SFChronicle.com)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through San Francisco’s Mission District on Sunday to mark Monday’s anniversary of the start of the Israel-Hamas war.David Hernandez/The Chronicle
Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in San Francisco’s Mission District on Sunday, calling for a cease-fire ahead of the one-year mark of the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The protesters also demanded an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.
The demonstration started with a rally that took over the intersection of Valencia and 16th streets and ended with a rally at Dolores Park. Demonstrators held signs that read “Let Gaza live” and “Not another bomb.”
They chanted “Free, free, free Palestine” as they marched down thoroughfares including Mission Street, temporarily blocking traffic. At one point a Muni bus was stopped in its tracks on 18th Street as the demonstrators walked past it. A few feet away, a demonstrator stood on the roof of a bus stop, waving a large Palestinian flag.
Organizers handed out plastic water bottles as the temperature neared San Francisco’s record high for the year of 97 degrees.
Many demonstrators demanded that the U.S. stop providing military funds and weapons to Israel. Israel gets most of its weapons from the U.S., which provides it with more than $3 billion in military aid a year. After Israel’s war against Hamas started, Congress agreed to increase the funds.
The demonstration took place a day before the one-year mark of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in the assault. Israel responded with bombardments and ground assaults in and around the Gaza Strip, with roughly 42,000 Palestinians killed since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
As the conflict continues, Israel and Iran are on the verge of a war, as Israel battles Iran-backed groups that they say support Palestinians. Among them is Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist group.
Some protesters at Sunday’s demonstration waved Lebanese flags.
Holding a sign that read, “Collective punishment is a war crime,” El Cerrito resident Toby Blome said she is ashamed of both Democrats and Republicans who support the military aid the U.S. provides to Israel.
“Our government is complicit,” Blome said. “As a citizen, it’s my responsibility to be out and stand up for peace and justice.”
Blome, 69, said she thinks about Palestinians in Gaza regularly. “My heart is crying inside for the people who are just trying to stay alive,” she said.
She added: “War is not the answer. It never is. Both sides suffer.”
After a year of the war, Melanie McDavid, 34, said she feels a sense of hopelessness at times, but demonstrations like Sunday’s bring back a sense of hope and galvanize her and others into action.
“I stand for liberation,” she said. “We all have the right to be here. We all have the right to be alive, and I will continue to fight for that.”
At Dolores Park, Rawan Eldadah read to the crowd an account from her cousin, Abd AlRahman, whose father, uncle and four sisters were killed in Israeli bombardments on Nov. 17. AlRahman’s narrative recalled how he carried one of his sisters after an airstrike shattered her skull.
“I carried my family’s blood, fear and pain, and in ways I always will,” Eldadah said through tears as she read her cousin’s account.
AlRahman, who, according to his account, escaped Gaza with his mother and brother, ended his statement with a message: “Nothing they can do will destroy us.”
Similar pro-Palestinian protests took place over the weekend in other cities across the U.S., including New York and Washington. Other protests are planned for Monday across the nation to mark the anniversary of the war.
Reach David Hernandez: david.hernandez@sfchronicle.com
Oct 6, 2024
BREAKING NEWS REPORTER
David Hernandez covers public safety for the San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining the Chronicle in December 2023, he reported on crime, law enforcement and criminal justice for the San Diego Union-Tribune. A graduate of San Diego State University, he is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He was born and raised in Santa Cruz.
