Hundreds turn out for pro-Palestine rally in Pittsburgh

Hundreds of people turned out for a pro-Palestine rally Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza.

As the rally began, Deena Eldaour, an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt, told the crowd that thousands of homes in her Palestinian family’s village have been destroyed by bombing. She said Friday’s event was not intended to be a pro-Hamas or pro-violence rally. Rather, she said, it was a call for Israel to stop its military campaign against Palestinians.

“This is a human rights matter,” said Eldaour. “This should matter to everyone, not just if you are Palestinian.”

The Day of Action for Palestine rally occurred nearly a week after Hamas militants conducted an early-morning attack on Israel, firing rockets into towns near the Gaza Strip and gunning down civilians and soldiers in Israeli communities along the border during a Jewish holiday.

Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas and launching a relentless campaign of airstrikes. The army also called up about 300,000 reservists.

The violence has left thousands dead.

Earlier this week, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal earlier called on the Muslim world to protest Friday as a show of support for Palestine.

Rallies were held across the Middle East and in parts of Asia, Europe and the United States to support Palestinians and condemn Israel. Communities in the United States, France and elsewhere also held rallies in solidarity with Israel, Reuters reported.

Covering protest supporting Palestine in Schenley Plaza for @TribLIVE right now. About 60 people here so far. Follow for updates. pic.twitter.com/3fwIpT6T7N

— Julia Maruca (@MarucaJulia) October 13, 2023

In Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, the crowd that gathered in Schenley Plaza initially comprised about 60 people, and no counterprotesters were on hand when the rally began at 3 p.m. The crowd quickly swelled to over 200, and the rally lasted about 90 minutes.

Demonstrators held Palestinian flags and signs with messages including “Resistance is Justified When People Are Occupied,” “Free Palestine” and “Stop Killing Gazans.”

Christine Mohamed, executive director at CAIR-Pittsburgh @Cair_Pittsburgh talks about holding support for the Jewish community in Pittsburgh while still supporting Palestine. pic.twitter.com/7AcIWhEOam

— Julia Maruca (@MarucaJulia) October 13, 2023

The protest was peaceful and saw little confrontation. One man tried to enter the circle of speakers but was quickly escorted away. He continued to follow the march for a time, shouting obscenities at the protesters, but he was largely ignored. Another man stood outside the rally holding a small Israeli flag, but he also was ignored.

A speaker at the rally, Miracle Jones, said, “This crisis must end. This humanitarian violation must end.”

“We’re all here today in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” Jones added. “That is how we get freedom, that is how we get liberation, that is how we get justice and that is how we get peace.”

Crowd looks to be over 200 now pic.twitter.com/dCKJ9ouN0b

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) October 13, 2023

Christine Mohamed, another speaker, stressed that the rally was not intended to “scare, terrorize or harm our Jewish brothers and sisters.”

“It’s aggravating to me, and I take it personally, because I do have Jewish friends that I love dearly. When this city faced a tragedy (when 11 people were killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting on Oct. 27, 2018), when we witnessed a mass shooting in our backyard, we surrounded our Jewish brothers and sisters. We can support (them through) the pain that they have been through, and that anniversary is in two weeks,” Mohamed said before asking everyone on hand to observe a moment of silence.

“We are stronger than hate,” she said.

The protest marched down Forbes Avenue to the Carnegie Mellon University campus, stopped for speakers to talk and then headed back. Some speakers told stories of their relatives who they hoped were still safe in Gaza, and mentioned having lost loved ones.

Talking about relatives who are still in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/e44h7rcFle

— Julia Maruca (@MarucaJulia) October 13, 2023

Protesters carried Palestinian flags and signs as they walked and chanted “Free, free Palestine.” Many wore scarves with the Palestinian flag.

One attendee, Eliana Beigel, carried a sign reading, “No genocide in my name — from a Jew for a free Palestine.”

“To me, Jewish identity has always been about survival and resistance. I’m only alive because my family fled pogroms (in the early 1900s),” Beigel said. “I just don’t know how anyone can look at this and not see that it is genocide. I don’t know how our community can have gone through what it went through, and then to turn around and do it to other people and still feel like they’re in the right. It just breaks my heart.”

Protest starting to move down Forbes now. pic.twitter.com/qvm5zsw8GO

— Julia Maruca (@MarucaJulia) October 13, 2023

A number of attendees were students from local universities. Miyonia Stuckey came from Pitt to show support.

“I’m a Black American, and we see lots of different types of oppression, naturally, living in America,” she said. “We are standing with our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”

Abdel Rahman, a Pitt graduate student from Egypt, said he has many friends who are in Palestine.

“A lot of my friends are Palestinians, and they are on the ground in Gaza,” he said, noting that he had contact with them until a few days ago. “The electricity ran out, and they don’t have internet, and we cannot be in touch with them right now.”

Micaiah Collins, a Pittsburgh-area resident who attended the protest, emphasized that marches like this one are not about hate.

“It’s not about religious hate, it’s not about sides — this is a human crisis,” she said, adding that America should stand for peace. “This is not right. … Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.”

Left-wing political groups were also in attendance. The Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America promoted the rally, and two of its members who are running as independents for Allegheny County Council — Carl Redwood and Sam Schmidt — marched with the crowd.

When asked why she attended the rally, Schmidt said, “I support the liberation of all oppressed people.”

Tony Lane of the Socialist Workers Party, who described the group as pro-Israel and opposed to Hamas, set up a small table outside the rally. He said the group was not counterprotesting the pro-Palestine rally, but said his group supports Israel’s right to defend itself.

There was no confrontation with his group and protesters.