Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 33
Thousands of pro-Palestine protestors gathered in Chicago as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicked off on Monday to push for an end to US support for Israel’s war on Gaza, where more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Located just half a mile east of the convention hall, Union Park was filled with protestors who were determined to make their opposition to the US’s Gaza policy heard by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic delegates and the world.
As delegates arrived at the convention center, protesters marched through downtown Chicago, periodically chanting slogans such as “Free, free Palestine” hours before Biden was set to address the convention.
Among the protesters, Benjamin, a member of the human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace in Chicago, said that one unifying belief among the thousands gathered in the park is that everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes and communities.
Jewish Voice for Peace is one of the organizers of the Coalition to March on the 2024 Democratic convention, which is supported by more than 240 local and national organizations such as CODEPINK, the ANSWER Coalition and American Muslims for Palestine.
During the convention, Democratic delegates are set to nominate Harris as their candidate to compete against Republican candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election this November.
A Gallup survey in June found that only 23% of Democrats support Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, with more than 70% of its arms imports coming from the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. US-made weapons were photographed several times in Israeli strikes in Gaza although US authorities have declined to confirm this.
Source: Anadolu Agency
