Thousands rally in Washington to demand end to Gaza genocide, crackdown on pro-Palestine students
'With every arrest and threat, our movement shows up
stronger,' says one protestor
Rabia İclal Turan |06.04.2025
- Update : 07.04.2025
WASHINGTON
Thousands of people from across the United States
gathered in Washington, DC, on Saturday to demand an end to Israel’s brutal
assault on Gaza and the Trump administration’s intensifying crackdown on
pro-Palestinian students and activists.
The rally dew support from more than 300 organizations
and saw demonstrators convene at the intersection of 3rd Street NW and
Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Participants then marched to key sites, including the
headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calling for the
release of detained pro-Palestinian students and academics such as Palestinian
activist Mahmoud Khalil and Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk.
The protest was co-sponsored by several advocacy
groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, The People’s Forum, Jewish
Voice for Peace and the ANSWER Coalition.
Protesters carried signs and posters depicting
Palestinian children killed in Gaza and students arrested or deported for their
activism, denouncing what they described as an attack on civil liberties under
the Trump administration.
“We are so horrified about the treatment that students
in the United States are facing just for saying genocide is bad,” said Ann
Wright, a member of Code Pink and a former US diplomat, in an interview with
Anadolu. “Some of them are getting detained, some deported. It is a horrible
thing that’s happening in this country to people who simply have humanity.”
One such student, Mahmoud Khalil -- a green card
holder and recent Columbia University graduate who helped organize campus
protests last year, has become a symbol of the protest movement after being
detained for his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Suzanne Ali, a member of the Palestinian Youth
Movement in the Bay Area, told Anadolu the rally demonstrated the resilience of
the movement despite escalating repression. “We’re here with tens of thousands
of people from across the United States, in defiance of the administration’s
attempts to suppress our speech and detain our students,” she said. “With every
arrest and threat, our movement shows up stronger.”
For many participants, the rally was deeply personal.
“I have been concerned about Palestine for 40
something years. This is the worse it’s ever been,” said Joni Nacef, a
protester who traveled to the capital for the event. “It feels really hard
right now in the United States. I just want to be able to do something.”
Another protester, Danny Moore, said, “I’m here
because I want to support everyone being out in the streets to stop genocide,
to stop oppression, to stop oligarchy, to stop dictatorship, which is where
we're going. I don’t want to see any more people killed.”
Saturday’s march in Washington was part of a
nationwide day of action, with similar rallies taking place in cities across
the country.
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