On September 3rd, around 100 pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in downtown Raleigh to protest recent Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank. The protestors met at Moore Square for speeches before marching down Hargett Street and Martin Street. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Muslim Women For, and several other organizations promoted the rally through social media.
The crowd assembled in Moore Square around 7 p.m. Tables for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Green Party promoted various campaigns. The DSA table was adorned with campaign signs for Reeves Peeler and Mary Black, both running for seats on Raleigh city council.
Off to the side, a woman named Kristy Wandle stood at a table piled with baked goods. She said she was raising money for the Eliyan family in Gaza. Cookies, scones, and Arabic pastries were laid out alongside pictures of the displaced family. Wandle commented that the Eliyan’s had sent her some of the recipes. The GoFundMe run on behalf of the family describes hopes of escape into Egypt, which costs $5,000 to $10,000 per adult [1]. Egypt, which has helped to blockade for Gaza for decades, has been ruled by US-backed dictators for more than 40 years.
The first speaker mounted a concrete barrier and said, “Every day we’re waking up hoping for a ceasefire, hoping for an end to the bombings and the bloodshed. Yet, the United States and the Zionist regime have other plans. They have an intent to expand the genocide from Gaza to the West Bank.”
Speaking into a megaphone, she continued, “On August 28th, Zionist forces launched a large-scale military operation across the West Bank raiding refugee camps in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Tubas.”
On September 6th, the New York Times ran an article with the headline, “10 Day Blitz Leaves Ruin in the West Bank” [2]. According to the piece, “at least 39 people [were] killed”, “an American woman who was protesting against an Israeli settler outpost was fatally shot”, and the “streets [were] so ravaged by bulldozers that cars were unable to pass”.
Among those killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was Bana Laboum, a 13-year-old girl from Qaryut village. According to Haaretz, Laboum was “hit while she was in her family's home with her sisters” in the aftermath of an incident where “Israeli settlers threw stones and set fields on fire in the village” [3].
Victor Urquiza, a PSL activist, was the second speaker at Tuesday’s event. He said, “There are three individuals from Raleigh… who have travelled to the West Bank last month to help the poor Palestinians who are facing daily violence from fascist settlers and from the IOF”.
According to Urquiza, one of the Raleigh residents was denied access to the West Bank. He said, “He is Palestinian and he cannot enter his homeland.” The crowd reacted with calls of “shame”.
“The other two individuals were able to enter and have been volunteering in [a small village south of Nablus],” he said, “I have the privilege of being on the support team for two of the brave individuals who have left the comfort of their home in the United States to travel across the world where they’re facing daily violence.”
There is precedent for Americans traveling to protect communities under attack by US-backed forces. In December 1980, four American nuns from the Maryknoll Sisters institute were raped and killed by the El Salvador National Guard, which was receiving military aid from the Carter Administration. A high official of the Reagan Administration, which came into office the next month, supported the atrocity since “the nuns were not just nuns. They were political activists” [4].
Aysenur Egyi, an American activist, was shot in the head by the IDF on September 6th. She was previously involved in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline and helped to organize the Gaza encampment at the University of Washington. Hours later, Congressman Randy Fine (R-Fla.) applauded Egyi’s killing in a social media post. He wrote, “Throw rocks, get shot. One less Muslim terrorist. Fire away” [5].
The third speaker at the September 3rd rally was Ashraf Shawa, who was born in the Gaza Strip. The emcee for the event said that many members of Shawa's family have been killed by the IDF. He began with an acknowledgement of the JVP attendees, “Shalom to my Jewish brothers and sisters and peace and blessings to you all.”
Shawa read a poem he’d written several days prior. An excerpt of the poem went, “Like every story ever written, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, a beautiful ending to a great struggle. Unfortunately, in every tale, the struggle is often romanticized, synthesized through media giants that create fairy tales to keep us entertained, portraying the challenges of a star that rises to their name.”
The fourth speaker at Tuesday’s rally was a Green Party member, who urged the crowd to “Abandon Harris” and vote for either Jill Stein or Claudia De la Cruz. The spokesperson brought up the issue, which she said was raised by many critics, that voting for a third party would help to elect Donald Trump. In response, she said, “If you’re afraid of Trump, you’re asleep”. The representative of the Green Party said she opposed Trump but felt that both main parties were “capitalists and part of the war machine”.
According to FiveThirtyEight, a polling website, Trump leads Kamala Harris in North Carolina by 0.6% [6]. Stein and De la Cruz don’t appear in the polling aggregate.
An Insider Advantage poll from late August asked North Carolina likely voters if they planned to vote for “another candidate”. That option received 1.5% support [7]. A pol conducted by East Carolina University in late August found that the third-party candidate in North Carolina with the most support was Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, who was polling at 1%. Stein received 0.5% support, while De la Cruz did not appear [8].
The final speaker at the September 3rd rally was Hadeel Hamoud, a member of Muslim Women For. She focused on the re-election campaign of Mary Black, a member of Raleigh city council. Hamoud said, “Mary Black is a strong progressive advocate and a movement-centered member of the Raleigh city council. During her tenure, Mary Black prioritized people over profits. She supported and advocated for the ceasefire resolution that we demanded, that was demanded by thousands of people.”
Black is running for re-election against Mitchell Silver, whose campaign has been generously funded by wealthy businesspeople in Raleigh. He raised about $55,000 between April and June 2024. Ten of Silver’s 25 top donors work in the real estate and construction sector. An outright majority of Silver’s 25 top donors are founders, chairpersons, presidents, owners, or CEOs at their place of work [9]. A recent opinion piece in the News and Observer observed that a major issue in the 2024 city council races is the Raleigh Comprehensive Plan, which is due to be rewritten by the next city council [10]. Black’s views on community-oriented development could explain the high degree of opposition she has inspired among Raleigh's business elite.
It was quite dark by the time the crowd marched out of Moore Square with a police escort. Flags and hand-signs in tow, a hundred or so people spilled out onto Hargett Street. Familiar chants bounced off the walls of Raleigh’s urban canyons.
“One, we are the people! Two, we won’t be silent! Three, stop the bombing now, now, now, now!”
The organizers struggled to lead their chants with weak megaphones, but the crowd knew the slogans well enough to compensate. Ceasefire rallies in downtown Raleigh usually have a microphone connected to powerful speakers. While marching, the equipment tends to be in the back of a pickup truck, towed in a wagon, or carried by hand. That equipment didn't appear to be available on Tuesday.
“Not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!”
On Hargett Street, an older man walking his bike down the sidewalk held up a fist in solidarity. The only negative interaction came when one man briefly yelled “Trump 2024!”. The majority of bystanders looked on with curiosity or indifference. Faces peered down from the brightly lit rooftop bar above a shop called Munjo Munjo, too silhouetted to be seen clearly.
Pro-Palestine protests have occurred in downtown Raleigh almost every week for ten months. The demonstrations have ranged in size from the high dozens to the low thousands. The Raleigh protests are a major part of the most immediate, sustained movement against a US-backed war in the history of North Carolina.
After the US invasion of South Vietnam in 1962, it took seven years for substantial protest to develop in North Carolina. By that time, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people had already been killed. When they finally materialized, the protests centered on the state's major universities.
According to UNC University Libraries, “by the fall of 1969, [there were] mass demonstrations and protests by UNC-Chapel Hill students. By the spring of 1970, class boycotts targeting the U.S. war effort had become significant” [11]. For the first seven years of the Vietnam War, NC State was a “quiet, business-minded college” and major demonstrations began there only after the Kent State massacre in May 1970 [12]. At Duke University, it was considered notable when “a crowd of 88” protested in March 1970 [13].
Work Cited
“Urgent Relief for Ali’s and Mohammed’s Displaced Family, Organized by Kristy Wandle.” GoFundMe, www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-relief-for-mohammeds-displaced-family.
Abdulrahim, Raja. “West Bank Residents Survey Destruction as Israeli Forces Withdraw.” New York Times, 6 Sept. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/world/middleeast/jenin-israel-withdraw-destruction.html.
Khoury, Jack. “Palestinians: Israeli Army Gunfire Kills 13-year-old Girl in West Bank Following Settler Clashes.” Haaretz.com, 6 Sept. 2024, www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-06/ty-article/palestinians-idf-gunfire-kills-13-year-old-girl-in-west-bank-following-settler-clashes/00000191-c8ea-d12d-a191-fbfa0ec60000.
Bonner, Raymond. “The Diplomat Who Wouldn’t Lie.” Politico Magazine, 19 Apr. 2015, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/robert-white-diplomat-el-salvador-117089.
“Post on September 6”, X (Formerly Twitter), www.x.com/VoteRandyFine/status/1832198747495002573.
“North Carolina: President: General Election: 2024 Polls.” FiveThirtyEight, 8 Sept. 2024, www.projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/north-carolina.
“North Carolina: Trump Leads Harris by One Point.” InsiderAdvantage, www.insideradvantage.com/north-carolina-trump-leads-harris-by-one-point-rounded-numbers-below-tabs.
“North Carolina Election Heats up: Trump Leads Harris by 1 Point in North Carolina.” ECU Center for Survey Research. www.surveyresearch-ecu.reportablenews.com/pr/north-carolina-election-heats-up-trump-leads-harris-by-1-point-in-north-carolina-stein-widens-advantage-over-robinson-in-race-for-governor.
"Mitchell Silver for Raleigh - Mid Year Semi Annual Report - Detailed Receipts", North Carolina State Board of Elections, 26 Jul. 2024, cf.ncsbe.gov/CFOrgLkup/ReportDetail/?RID=218665&TP=REC.
Barnett, Ned. “Two 2024 Races Will Play a Key Role in Raleigh’s Vision and Future.” News and Observer, 15 July 2024, www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article289953744.html.
“Vietnam War Protests.” UNC Libraries. www.exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/protest/vietnam-essay.
“Activists and Authorities: The May 1970 Protests”. History Department of North Carolina State University, www.soh.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/1970-home.
Curtis, Miranda. “Anti-Vietnam War Protest | Durham Civil and Human Rights Map”. Durham Civil and Human Rights Map, www.durhamcivilrightsmap.org/places/5-anti-vietnam-war-protest.
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