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by JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong> OCTOBER 28, 2023 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n- \n
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A group of pro-Palestine protesters marching down Market Street in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Thousands of protesters took over the Central Freeway<\/a> in San Francisco today in a march calling for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza that began three weeks ago after a surprise attack by Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that killed 1,400 Israelis, Israel has started a bombing campaign that has thus far killed over 7,700 Palestinians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organizers of today\u2019s march said more than 15,000 people took to the streets, moving from a 1 p.m. rally at the Ferry Building<\/a> and marching two-and-a-half miles to the freeway on-ramp at Octavia and Market streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There, a line of San Francisco police officers initially blocked the entrance but were quickly overtaken by the crowd. Marchers streamed onto the freeway, cleared of vehicles, and chanted \u201cCeasefire now!\u201d and \u201cStop the siege of Gaza now!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They held signs reading \u201cPalestine will be free\u201d and \u201cStop the genocide.\u201d Some carried a makeshift gurney of white-blanketed bodies, like those in Gaza, with red paint to symbolize blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/I2Rpala6?cover=1&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=1&hd=1Protesters moving down Market Street in a protest calling for an end to bombardment in Gaza on Saturday, Oct. 28. Video by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s aerial blitz is increasingly drawing international scorn. The United Nations General Assembly<\/a> on Friday voted 121-14 for an end to hostilities in the conflict; the United States, Israel, and a dozen other countries voted against the resolution. Most Western countries voted to abstain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Protesters on Saturday pointed to what they called a decades-long occupation of Palestine and blamed the recent bout of violence on that occupation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor 75 years, our people have resisted. For 75 years, our people have refused defeat,\u201d said Violette Mansour, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement. She stood on the back of a pick-up truck outfitted with speakers and a sign reading \u201cGeneration after generation until total liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Violette](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4766-853x640.jpg\")
Violette Mansour speaking in front of thousands of protesters calling on an end to the siege in Gaza on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4953-1-853x640.jpg\")
A large crowd of marchers going down South Van Ness Avenue in the Mission after occupying the Central Freeway on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4820-853x640.jpg\")
A group of people holding a banner reading \u201cNo US military aid to Israel, ceasefire now!\u201d while marching down Market Street on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The 75 years refers to the time since Israel\u2019s founding in 1948. As many as 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes when the state was founded, in what became known as the \u201cNakba,\u201d or \u201ccatastrophe,\u201d to Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After occupying the Central Freeway for half an hour at 4:15 p.m., protesters moved down the 101-South on-ramp<\/a> onto South Van Ness Avenue and marched towards 16th and Mission streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There, they promised to continue protesting until a ceasefire is declared, and called on attendees to \u201ctell your friends, tell your family\u201d to continue marching. By 5:45 p.m., the crowd had dispersed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Palestinian Youth Movement, an international group of young Palestinians, was one of the chief organizers of the rally, alongside the Arab Resource Organizing Center, Jewish Voice for Peace, and a coalition of other groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The march, called days ago, took on a sense of urgency following the apparent commencement of a ground invasion by Israel. Israeli tanks entered northern Gaza on Friday for the third time, coming after a night of intense bombing and a telecommunications blackout that left residents without working phone or internet connections, according to news reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4827-scaled-e1698549227909-852x640.jpg\")
A group of pro-Palestine protesters marching down Market Street in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4830-853x640.jpg\")
A group of pro-Palestine protesters marching down Market Street in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Palestinian](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4919-853x640.jpg\")
Palestinian protesters on the Central Freeway in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Palestinian](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/IMG_4902-853x640.jpg\")
Palestinian protesters on the Central Freeway in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Joe Rivano Barros.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The protest was the largest of several in San Francisco calling for an end to the bombing since the siege began. On Oct. 9, hundreds rallied outside the Israeli embassy<\/a>. Days later, on Oct. 13, anti-Zionist Jews chained themselves<\/a> to Rep. Nancy Pelosi\u2019s office at the Federal Building and repeated that action a week later<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two weeks ago, some 10,000 people marched from the Ferry Building down Market Street<\/a>, in a protest similar to Saturday\u2019s. And, on Oct. 18, hundreds of students walked out of schools<\/a> across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organizers today said they would return to the streets until President Joe Biden and Pelosi called for a ceasefire, a policy that is broadly popular<\/a> among Americans but that has seen little mainstream political support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Cori Bush<\/a> on Oct. 16 introduced a resolution<\/a> calling for \u201can immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.\u201d It has just 18 cosponsors, with little support among Democrats<\/a> or other representatives.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
JOE RIVANO BARROS SENIOR EDITOR<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
joe.rivanobarros@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe was born in Sweden, where the Chilean half of his family received asylum after fleeing Pinochet, and spent his early childhood in Chile; he moved to Oakland when he was eight. He attended Stanford University for political science and worked at Mission Local as a reporter after graduating. He then spent time in advocacy as a partner for the strategic communications firm The Worker Agency. He rejoined Mission Local as an editor in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protesters marched down Market to the Mission on day 21 since Hamas assault, Israeli bombing by JOE RIVANO BARROS OCTOBER 28, 2023 (MissionLocal.org) Thousands of protesters took over the Central Freeway in San Francisco today in a march calling for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza that began three weeks ago… Continue reading
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