Hundreds of New Yorkers rally to commemorate 77th anniversary of the Nakba

New York, NY – On May 15, over 500 New Yorkers rallied at the Nakba Day protest called by Within Our Lifetime.

Nakba Day commemorates the victims of the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, during which Israeli settler militias ethnically cleansed over 750,000 Palestinians from their homelands, depopulating 531 villages, and massacring over 15,000 Palestinians to establish the state of Israel.

Nakba Day takes place yearly on May 15 to recognize not only the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948 but the continued occupation of Palestinian land for over 77 years now. This year’s Nakba Day takes place during the ongoing genocide in Gaza which has led to the displacement of over 2 million people, the deaths of over 50,000, and the complete blockade of fuel, food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.

Nerdeen Kiswani, from Within Our Lifetime, called attention to the suffering of the Palestinian people and highlighted how they continue to resist and continue to remain resilient even in the face of genocide. Kiswani emphasized that if the Palestinian people are able to continue to fight back under those conditions, Americans have no excuse to not go out and protest to demand an arms embargo and cutting all ties with Israel. After she spoke, protesters chanted “We don’t want no two states, we remember 48!” And “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Protesters led by Within Our Lifetime took over the Brooklyn Bridge and marched across it to City Hall. As they marched, thousands of onlookers cheered, took photos and joined in on the chants. Police cars followed the protest across the bridge, inciting protesters to chant “NYPD, KKK IOF they’re all the same!”

The rally stopped at its second location where almost a hundred protesters holding a massive Palestinian flag were waiting. They took over the streets and continued marching to Union Square. Hundreds continued to chant “Resistance is justified, when people are occupied!” and “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

At Union Square, dozens of Zionist provocateurs were stationed to harass protesters. The agitators hurled vile, racist insults and some of the agitators threw a yellow liquid at the rally, sparking a clash between police, Zionists and the pro-Palestinian protesters. Despite these attempts at agitation and disruption, the march continued past Union Square to Madison Square Park.

At Madison Square Park, Anas Saleh, from Within Our Lifetime and Doctors Against Genocide, read a statement from a Palestinian doctor who described the catastrophic conditions Palestinians in north Gaza are facing.

Salah then spoke on his own experiences traveling to the West Bank last year. He described how in just two months he saw the horrific reality of the Israeli occupation.. He saw blindfolded Palestinians on the streets being harassed by Israeli soldiers. He remembered how Palestinian children were told to hide behind a wall whenever they saw an Israeli soldier. He then spoke on his own encounter with a soldier. “Just because I am a young man and Palestinian, an IOF soldier stopped and asked me ‘Why are you smiling?’ He then pointed his gun at my head.” He emphasized how this was just his experience in two months in the West Bank; for Palestinians this is a daily reality for them that has held true for their whole lives.

The rally ended and dispersed after Salahs’ speech. Within Our Lifetime organizers urged protesters to continue coming out to the streets and to encourage more people to come out. The struggle cannot end until Palestine is free from the river to the sea.

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