Dozens of Columbia residents gathered on Saturday to call for a ceasefire of the Israel-Palestine conflict that’s costing thousands of lives.
It’s been nearly a month since Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine last rallied in favor of peace within the Gaza strip. But the mission remains the same: to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis occurring in the Gaza strip.
The Gaza Health Ministry registered more than 9,000 Palestinian deaths and 1,400 Israeli deaths since the outbreak of the current conflict on Oct. 9.
Since then, the United States has been sending aid to both Palestine and Israel.However, local Palestinian human rights groups say providing military aid allows for more lives to be lost.
A banner that read “our tax dollars” laid on the ground in the middle of Speaker’s Circle. A container of red paint accompanied it.
“Use our banner over there to dip your hand in the symbolic blood,” Isleen Atallah, the president of Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine, said to the crowd. “This banner will symbolize how our tax dollars are making us complicit with the bloodshed that's happening in Palestine.”
The crowd marched to city hall with the hand-painted banner and other signs that displayed death toll numbers and called for the conflict’s end.
“Ceasefire in Gaza now,” the crowds chanted. Police cleared the way as people on the sidewalk watched. Some cars honked in support.
Shakir Hamoodi, a Columbia resident, rallied with the crowd and said he could feel the community’s solidarity.
“I think we are blessed to be in Columbia,” Hamoodi said. “Two weeks ago, we also had a big demonstration here. And this shows that the community here in Columbia and mid-Missouri are really decent people and they care about the people who are in a state of disadvantage.”
Once at city hall’s entrance, the crowd took turns to speak. They requested their tax dollars be spent to bolster communities in the U.S rather than to fund war.
While the city of Columbia’s tax funding stays within the city, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson recently passed a $14.3 billion Israel aid package.
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush has publicly advocated for a ceasefire and for the end of Israeli occupation on Palestinian land.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has called on the US to “fully and completely” support Israel.
Rasha Abousalem, an MU professor, spoke into a megaphone.
“Our health system sucks, our education system sucks, our infrastructure sucks,” Abousalem said. “Where is our money going? It is going to war.”
Back at Speaker’s Circle, the group dispersed. They reflected on the significance of their efforts and the larger movement it represents.
“We can push our representatives, even though we are a small community,” Atallah said. “Even our statement on what’s going on in Palestine can be influential and beneficial in ending complacency.”
