Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked access to the Chicago O’Hare airport, disrupted traffic on the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges, with some protests taking place as locally as Downtown Los Angeles and on USC’s Campus.
Nearly a hundred people marched across campus chanting and holding signs that read:
Protesters: “Not another nickel, not another dime. No more money for Israel’s crimes.”
Some USC students held a protest voicing their support for the people of Gaza and demanding a ceasefire.
Fifth year senior Aaron Abnu shared how they are remaining hopeful that something positive will come out of the protests.
Aaron Abnu: “There’s hope that basically every other country on the planet agrees that this war should be over, and the conflict should end. We are hoping that with enough push we can get the US government to stop supporting the war itself. If us as a world power can say something or change something, that’s the important part.”
A senior named Daphne- she did not want to give her last name- describes the next steps students hope to take to help the people of Gaza.
Daphne: “Right now, we just introduced our divest from study abroad in Israel campaign. That’s our first step in our divestment campaign, which is stemming from the national SJP divestment campaign. So that’s our first step is step end all study abroad programs in Israel. They are extremely discriminatory, Palestinian students cannot step foot in Israel.”
Students on campus and people around L.A. continue to use their voices to impact decision making on campus and elsewhere. They’re hopeful a ceasefire will come soon.
Protesters: “Israel, Israel you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Around a hundred protesters packed Pershing Square with signs and Palestinian flags on a day primarily known as Tax Day in the United States. They protested US taxpayer money going to Israel.
Paul Murphy a protestor at the walkout stated how people have a voice in where their taxes go.
Paul Murphy: “I think it’s important to show that we as taxpayers in this country, we do not want our money to fund ongoing wars, conflicts, genocides, mass atrocities in Palestine and all over the developing world. We are sick and tired of going toward militarization and imperialistic colonialism. We need money for housing, healthcare, education.”
A council on foreign relations website states why we send aid to Israel. It reads, “collaborations between U.S. and Israeli defense industries, helps the countries counter shared threats in the Middle east.”
As you file your taxes today think about where the money goes.