On Oct.7, around 5:30 p.m. students and community members began gathering to protest the ongoing devastation occurring in the Gaza Strip on Risman Plaza.
The demonstration was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine along with several student and political organizations who also showed their support.
Several came in dressed wearing keffiyehs, holding signs and banners that called for a “Free Palestine” and “Condemn genocide.” The demonstration commenced with a brief series of protest chants led by SJP president Sama Mousa.
On Oct. 7, 2023, the militant organization Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel that killed 1200 people, and took 251 people hostage. In response to the attacks, Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza strip that has resulted in the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians.
“I feel like this event is very important. A lot of people actually told not to organize this on October 7 because they said it would look insensitive or might look bad. I think that’s crazy because they’re losing sight of what’s really important, and it’s to make sure the narrative is correct,” Mousa said.
Mousa explained that Oct. 7 has become a form of “propaganda” that Israel uses to “excuse the bombing on Gaza.” SJP’s goal was to make a statement that the students at Kent State do not condone or support genocide.
Mousa also discussed how the protest ultimately meant to educate people on the history of Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. Throughout the protest, she emphasized that Oct. 7 was not the date that started Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people.
“Zionists like to manipulate people to make them think that it only started two years ago, and that’s why they’re doing everything they’re doing, but Palestine has been colonized and occupied since 1948,” Mousa said.
Mousa shared from her own experiences about how Israel’s violence has affected her own family members, explaining that she has lost hundreds of family members due to what she referred to as the “zionist entity.”
“In 2020, my cousin was shot on the roof while studying for his final for his senior year. He was just studying. They shot him. In 2017, my cousin was shot while walking to her friend’s house in the back. She’s just a girl. She was seventeen. … My grandparents were kicked out of our home. My family was displaced, … so I don’t understand how people could say that it started in 2023 when I am living proof that it didn’t,” Mousa said.
Mousa along with speakers like Dr. Ahmed Jadallah, an obstetrician-gynecologist who had gone to Palestine for a medical mission, and Yaseen Shaikh, former president of SJP and alumnus, shared speeches that condemned the mass devastation currently destroying the Gaza strip.
Notably, Shaikh led a chant that emphasized that when students unite, they can never be defeated. After he spoke, Mousa along with several other organizers led the attendees on a march through Risman Drive to Lefton Esplanade, passing by Merrill Hall and arriving down at Hilltop Drive, the final destination of the night.
Chants like “Free, free Palestine”, “Resistance is justified, the people are occupied”, “Gaza, Gaza don’t you cry, we will never let you die” and “Brick by brick, wall by wall, apartheid has got to fall” were shouted by the protestors, and the crowd remained organized and united in their solidarity.
“I have been involved over the past half year-ish with the divestment campaigns in Summit County because a lot of individual Ohio counties have invested in Israeli bonds and there have been multiple different campaigns across the state,” said Anna Stevenson, treasurer of the Ohio Student Association and one of speakers featured at the demonstration.
She explained that she was interested in speaking on behalf of the OSA due to her extensive research about Ohio’s investment in Israel, explaining that Ohio has been one of the largest individual investors in Israel.
“I think it’s important for people to know what I essentially talked about is getting involved in local divestment campaigns, being aware of politicians, which is a lot of them, that are pushing for investment in Israel,” Stevenson said.“We have successfully gotten a lot of county councils to divest from Israel, and they have also made promises for the future.”
In addition to Stevenson, several other students spoke on behalf of their organization, including Katey Berry, the president of Jewish Voices for Peace. During the speeches, organizers also sprayed “Free Palestine” and “Oct. 7” with bright red paint on the Hilltop Drive rock.
Attendees were then asked to take part in a photo, standing together as they demonstrated their support for the Palestinian people, concluding the protest.
“When the genocide on Gaza happened, people started waking up. So, now everybody really knows the history, but I just want to make sure that it is clear that it did not start on October 7, that we have been suffering, we have been bleeding for 77 years,” Mousa said. ” If people could understand that today, and can change one person’s mind or educate one person, that would be enough for me.”
Ava Dunn is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].