Mobilizing for Liberation

The largest Pro-Palestine March in US history

On Saturday, November 4^th, hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took over the streets of the nation's capital, demanding a ceasefire and an end to the brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Occupied Palestine that has killed over 10,000 people, including 3,000+ children. The march was the largest in the history of the United States in support of Palestine, and was the culmination of weeks of protests in cities across the country and world. 

What I, what we, saw was that there is resounding support not only for a ceasefire in Gaza, but also for Palestinian liberation and an end to the Israeli occupation. US politicians can no longer say that they are acting in the interests of their citizens. Thousands of people bused from across the country, from L.A. to the Carolinas, hundreds of organizations signed on to support this movement, and cries of “Free Palestine” by the thousands in attendance made clear that justice is the demand of the majority – justice comes with the liberation of Palestine.

When I was only 13 years old, I saw my people in Gaza slaughtered by 500 tons of explosives on the evening news, as if our death was casual, replaced a few days later by false ideas of “peace talks.” I sobbed as mangled body parts were gathered and buried. To see this tragedy in mass, happening to faces that I recognized, broke me. Now, with social media, the world is forced to bear the tragedy of the Palestinians, to watch as children have bombs dropped on their heads, as fathers search for their families under rubble, and as journalists are murdered for sharing the truth of this “War”. For the past month, we have witnessed the slaughter of our people in Gaza with the complete support of the Biden Administration. In fact, Biden he said he does not even believe the death count from Gaza, because it is overseen by the Hamas-led government.  This prompted the Gaza health ministry to release the names of the Palestinians martyred, and at the March we carried their names upon a scroll to the White House. Even in death, Palestinians cannot find peace. Our grief constantly put on trial. But as we carried the names of children, mothers, uncles, and entire families, I felt, for the first time, that we were not alone in mourning our dead while defending our right to live. For the first time in the last month time moved forward, and I was no longer frozen in grief. 

Palestinians are not screaming to deaf ears as the common people everywhere are now aware of the decades of colonial violence against the Palestinians. It is exactly for that reason that this March was so impactful. A tide is turning, and within the deep grief and anger, we realize that people are no longer confused about who the oppressor is. People are showing solidarity with Palestine and its people, and I can say that I have never been so sure of it – Palestine will be free.

Like many Palestinians of my generation, I grew up everywhere besides Palestine: physically, spiritually, and emotionally disconnected from where I knew I belonged.

Many Palestinian Americans imagine a day when our existence is no longer seen as a “complicated issue”. This realization happened in first grade when asked to point out where I am from on a map and being told that Palestine does not exist. But how can that be? I am here; I am Palestinian. But imagining a Free Palestine goes further back then the world recognizing our existence, that’s the commonplace. Imagining a Free Palestine, a liberated Palestine, takes root in the memories of what could have been. Living lives not limited by colonial forces.

Imagining Palestinian liberation starts when every Palestinian, whether in Palestine or in Diaspora, listens to the stories of our parents and grandparents being terrorized, caged, and dehumanized, beginning with the Nakba – catastrophe. It has been 75 years since the Nakba, the beginning of the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their ancestral homes leading to what is the world’s largest refugee crisis. In 1948, the colonial movement, with the help of the already settled British, entered Palestine, and ethnically cleansed 750,000+ Palestinians from their homes and committed numerous genocides on villages across the state. The Nakba never ended, and we are watching it unfold in real time. The only difference between now and 1948 is that it is all documented and the world has woken up to the depravity of the colonial state.

As calls for ceasefire and justice echoed in the heart of the empire, I was left with the deep conviction that Palestine will be free in my lifetime. I wish to walk with my Jewish Brothers and Sisters in a land where there is no division of race or religion. A Palestine which existed before colonization. I hope to see a Palestine void of the physical manifestations of colonial imagination, but one imagined by Palestinians across the West Bank, Gaza, and the millions in the Diaspora. But this Palestine will not look like the Palestine that existed before it needed liberation.

We are like the olive trees our ancestors planted, unshaken, unmoved, and forever a part of the land. We are not the children of darkness, we are light and moral clarity. We are a valiant people, we are survivors, and we are fighters. What was made clear on Saturday is that we are not fighting alone.

As you read this, more children will have undoubtedly been murdered by Israel. Take a moment to consider the magnitude of their death as warplanes drowned out their screams. Take a moment to consider the fear they felt the moments before they were killed. This is why we scream “Free Palestine”, so that one day our children will be able to scream “Palestine is Free”. We will never abandon our cause, and our people, no matter what.