Grand Rapids, MI – On October 7, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids held a vigil and rally to commemorate three years of genocide and three years of resistance. Over 60 community members gathered in Calder Plaza to mourn those killed in Palestine and to celebrate their ongoing struggle for liberation.

During the event, Zionist agitators attempted to disrupt the vigil but were met by organizers who successfully pushed them out of the plaza; far away from those in attendance. While the agitators sang the U.S. national anthem while flying Israeli Defense Forces flags, community members chanted over them, blocked their view, and passed around portraits of Palestinian martyrs while observing Salat as the sun set.

“Three years ago, Israel launched its most brutal assault on Gaza because Palestinians dared to resist 76 years of occupations and 16 years of a brutal siege,” Julliette Kibby, an organizer with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, stated. “Since then, the Palestinian people have suffered a genocide; the final culmination of the Zionist project!”

A Palestinian organizer from Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids focused on their home and the loved ones they’ve lost, stating, “I want to go home! I want to sit under that almond tree again. I want to see my cousins at the beach and say: ‘See! We’re all here now!’ But some of the people I imagine standing there won’t be!”

Organizers also focused on divestment and their campaign to get the Grand Rapids Retirement System to divest from Israel.

Sam Tunningley of the Freedom Road told the crowd, “The United States government, with the backing of the most powerful and moneyed interests, will stop at nothing to silence all of our organizations and leaders who challenge the U.S. stranglehold on the Middle East.”

As the event wrapped up, all those in attendance chanted and drowned out the eight remaining Zionist agitators still lingering at the corners of the plaza.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

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