Chants such as “free, free Palestine!” and “from the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free!” echoed in downtown Sudbury Oct. 28 as hundreds of Sudburians gathered for a Palestine solidarity rally.
The Sudbury event was held in light of the three-week-old war in the Middle East.
A non-partisan vigil for peace as well as a vigil for peace for the Jewish community have also been held in Sudbury in recent weeks.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry now reports more than 7,000 Palestians have been killed in the war.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians who died in the initial Hamas rampage into southern Israel. In addition, 222 people, including foreigners, were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion, Israel's military has said.
A vote at the United Nations General Assembly on Oct. 27 saw the overwhelming majority of the world's nations call for de-escalation and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Canada abstained from the final vote after an amendment to the UN resolution condemning the Hamas attacks and demanding the safe release of hostages was rejected.
“We are all here today to come as one to march for peace and for humanity,” said Sudbury rally organizer Areej Salem, representing Palestine Solidarity Sudbury.
“Furthermore, we march for justice. Because without justice, there can be no peace … We have seen and heard talk about peace in the Middle East, but have not seen an actual peace because the people have not received any justice.
“Over the last three weeks, our brothers and sisters and children and babies of Palestine have had neither, and that is why we are all gathered here today.”
Palestine Solidarity Sudbury issued a number of demands during Saturday’s rally.
Organizers want the Canadian government to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They want a response to the “urgent humanitarian situation” in the region.
The group is also pressuring the Israeli government to resist the expansion of settlements in Gaza. They also want the Gaza borders to be opened, allowing for the free flow of movement.
Salem, who grew up in Sudbury, said this issue has personal resonance for her, as her family is Palestinian, and were displaced in 1948. “We lost our home,” she said.
Her great-uncle, Ahmed Salem, also spoke at the rally, showing the crowd his father’s Palestinian passport, as well as the key to his family’s house in the region.
“The house is not there any more,” he said. “But my God, I have the key. One day, that house will be rebuilt.”
Heidi Ulrichsen is a journalist with Sudbury.com
