More than 1,000 people protesting the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza crowded UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, holding signs such as “Faculty and Staff for a Free Palestine” and, over a picture of Kamala Harris, “No Votes for Genocide.”
The protest followed a call by National Students for Justice in Palestine for students across the country and around the world to “rise together for a week of rage” from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11.
Hamas attacked Israel last Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people. Israel responded with a bombardment and invasion of Gaza that has killed more than 41,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Hamas took 254 people hostage, including 12 Americans, and an estimated 101 hostages still remain in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union — has been in control of Gaza since 2007.
Tuesday’s protest followed memorial gatherings and ceremonies Monday at Jewish institutions around the Bay Area on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. In Palo Alto, more than 2,500 people attended the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, listening to speeches and singing a song for hostages still in captivity. Many attendees stopped on their way into the event to light candles and view an exhibit by photojournalist Zia Koren.
For hours on Tuesday, demonstrators at UC Berkeley chanted and cheered in support of Palestinians and listened to speeches from faculty, students and activists detailing the violence inflicted on Gaza — and in some cases expressing support for Hamas, which they described as resistance fighters combating imperialism.
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A UC Berkeley student of Palestinian descent said at the protest that 22 of his cousins and aunts were killed in the first two weeks of the war. “I have to go to class, finish my education, be strong for them, and all my other classmates can go on like nothing happened,” said the student, whose last name is Elbakri. He did not want his first name published for fear of retaliation.
Elbakri said that he was thankful that his family members who died early in the conflict did not have to witness Gaza’s being turned to rubble.
“They didn’t have to see the whole world turn their back on them,” Elbakri said. “I’m worried more for the people that are still there and don’t have a voice.”
Among the protesters were Jews opposed to the war. “The steadfast people of Gaza have shown the world that resistance to Zionism is not only necessary, but possible,” Sara Kershnar, co-founder of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, told the crowd in a speech.
A Berkeley Revolutionary Student Organization flyer handed out on the plaza — an iconic protest site since the Vietnam War — at Tuesday’s event celebrated the Hamas massacre, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” by its perpetrators. The flyer concluded with the words “Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood,” a slogan also appearing on a large red sign held by two protesters in red bandanas.
Soon after the demonstration got underway, four pro-Israel demonstrators with Israeli flags walked across the steps of Sproul Hall and were swarmed and jostled by a dozen booing anti-war protesters and told they did not belong at the event. Ethan Tallman, one of the pro-Israel demonstrators who wore an Israeli flag tied around his neck, said he felt unsafe when surrounded but that calling attention to the tragedy of Oct. 7 was important.
“This is for the hostages,” the UC Berkeley junior said. “This is for my family. This is for my people. This is for the world to see.”
The protest largely dispersed after official programming ended around 4 p.m.
The Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council said Jewish people in the region still feel anguish from the Hamas massacre. The group, in a statement, acknowledged “the pain and suffering of those in Gaza and the greater region” but said “calling for a ‘Week of Rage’ that coincides with this tragic anniversary is insensitive at best and abhorrent at worst.” Rhetoric at such events makes many Jews feel unsafe, the group said.
“We are actively encouraging university administrators to increase public safety measures on campus to ensure all students feel safe and supported,” the group said.
The Oct. 7 attack, and Israel’s response, generated worldwide political turmoil and protests across the U.S. in the streets and centered on universities, including those in the Bay Area. Tent encampments sprang up at San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of San Francisco and UC Santa Cruz.
While pro-Israel counter-protesters provoked violence at UCLA, Bay Area campuses remained generally peaceful, although 80 anti-war protesters were arrested at UC Santa Cruz, 13 were arrested at Stanford, more than three dozen were arrested after blockades of I-880 in Oakland and the Golden Gate Bridge, and three people were hurt in confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza.
Vociferous protests against Israel have given rise to allegations and reports of anti-Semitic behavior, including at Stanford and in Berkeley Unified School District. In February, a San Jose State professor was suspended over an apparent physical confrontation amid a protest over the visit of a Jewish studies professor from Cal State Long Beach.
In Palo Alto on Monday, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center hosted “An Evening of Remembrance and Hope.” Many attendees stopped on their way into the event to light candles and view an exhibit by Koren memorializing the attacks.
“I wish I was in Israel right now with my family and loved ones,” said Daphna Bhajayo, who attended the event and is from Israel. Her cousin’s son was abducted and declared “dead kidnapped” after he went to defend his kibbutz, or Israeli community.
“There is not one family in Israel that did not suffer after Oct. 7 from at least one family member being touched by these horrible, horrific events,” she said.
Speaker Uriel Bohbot told attendees that his brother was kidnapped while working at the Nova Music Festival, where Hamas terrorists killed more than 380 people. Bohbot said he found out about the abduction by seeing his brother in a video posted by Hamas. “That is the start of a nightmare that my family (has) been suffering ever since,” Bohbot said.
Eytan Berman, one of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers who spoke at the event, urged participants to “hold your head high, walk with pride and never hide your identity, especially at these times.”
The other, Ariella Ruback, told attendees that she lost friends in the Oct. 7 attack. “It’s been 365 very long days since I saw my friends’ beautiful faces for the last time. I miss them deeply,” Ruback said. “It was the last time I felt innocent and only knew simple happiness.”
Staff writers Jason Green and Caelyn Pender contributed to this report.
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