Gallery: Community members, students, and allies gather Saturday in Dunn Meadow to call for a ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war

Staff report

Bloomington, Indiana – October 30, 2023

A variety of community members, students, and allies gathered Saturday in Dunn Meadow to call for a ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war.

Indiana University’s Palestine Solidarity Committee organized the rally, which was joined by Jewish Voice for Peace.

Malkah Bird of Jewish Voice for Peace addressed the crowd saying, “We know that never again is not limited to Jews, it means never again for anyone. I am not pro-Palestinian in spite of being Jewish, I am pro-Palestinian in part because I am Jewish. This is woven into the fabric of our beliefs. B’tselm Elohim, All life is precious. Tikkun Olam, heal the world. Pikuach Nefesh, the preservation of human life over everything else. To my Jewish friends here today – I am going to speak to you for a minute. Never in our lifetimes, never has it been more important to use our Jewish voices to call for an end to Israeli violence in Palestine. Never has it been more important to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Palestinian friends and loved ones and say, Not in my name. Not in our names. You will not use our grief to justify genocide.”

The rally continued into the evening, with various speakers expressing their views. Bryce Greene of the Palestine Solidarity Committee labeled Israel as occupiers and criticized what he perceived as biased American press coverage.

Then a group of men and women lined up to pray, when asked what they were saying in Arabic, the Bloomingtonian was told, “they are praying for the people of Palestine, and asking that they be granted patience and justice.”

Israel declared war on Hamas after an October 7, 2023 attack, which left at least 1400 Israelis dead, and led to over 200 being held hostage.

Palestinians said the Israel war had already led to the deaths of thousands in Gaza by last week, but United States president Joe Biden said he doubted the information’s accuracy. Then according to a report in Al Jazeera, “The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza released the list on Thursday, documenting the deaths of more than 7,000 Palestinians, including nearly 3,000 children, since the war began on October 7.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/26/appalling-why-has-biden-cast-doubt-on-the-palestinian-death-count

Law enforcement presence was evident at the rally, with officers from both the Indiana University Police Department and the Bloomington Police Department monitoring the event. Some officers were positioned within Dunn Meadow, while others were stationed across the street.

Additionally, a drone flew overhead, although it did not directly hover over the crowd. The presence of the drone attracted the attention of some demonstrators, but the operator remained unseen.

For more details about the rally, you can refer to an Indiana Daily Student report available at this link.