Several protests and rallies marking Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza have been planned in Southern California for this weekend and the days ahead.
Thousands of people gathered at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to protest the year-long war in Gaza and call for a ceasefire. Oct. 5 also was promoted as an international day of action for those across the globe protesting an end to what they described as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The LA protesters called for an arms embargo against Israel as they marched through the downtown streets chanting for a “Free Palestine” and “Money for jobs and education, not for wars and occupation.”
While many of those marking the anniversaries want to see peace in the region, the FBI has issued a warning of possible increased violence in upcoming days.
“As we mark one year since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East calls for vigilance by the FBI, our law enforcement partners, and members of the public,” the FBI said in a news release. “It is essential to be watchful for threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions and to immediately contact law enforcement to report any suspicious activity.”
At USC, where campus-wide protests led to the cancellation of the all-university commencement ceremony in May, the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is staging a walkout at 11:30 a.m. Monday morning.
That evening, Jewish student organization Hillel is hosting a commemoration of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, where Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 people hostage. More than 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
There will be speeches, music and prayers, with an expected 200 people in attendance, according to David Carlisle, chief of USC’s Department of Public Safety.
“We’re going to be fully staffed and we also worked in partnership with LAPD, who’s going to have additional staff around the university, and we’ve increased our patrols over our houses of worship in the campus community,” Carlisle said.
Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry there.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, California, was planning a news conference to address the ongoing conflict.
“We hope to do something that takes us into recognizing the root cause of the issue we’re dealing with, so we’re not just mourning one event after the other,” Enjy El-Kadi of the Council’s California chapter said. “We’re tired, we’re emotionally tired, and enough is enough.”
Other protests and demonstrations were scheduled for the weekend leading up to Oct. 7.
On Sunday, Inland Empire CODEPINK, Ontario United for Liberation, and Redlands 4 Palestine are gathering for a Day of Remembrance.
“The event marks one year since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, highlighting the lack of action by the U.S. government,” the news release said. “As the coalition reflects on the past year, they emphasized the urgency of building a stronger, more unified community within the Inland Empire.”
The event will be held in Ontario at 1 p.m., though an exact location had not been announced as of Saturday.
And the group Jewish Voice for Peace is planning to host a ceremony on Sunday at Echo Park Lake, where attendees will participate in Tashlich, “a powerful new year’s ritual designed for individual and collective reflection, repair and recommitment to our higher selves” by symbolically casting stones into the water.
That group is also calling for a ceasefire and for the U.S. to stop selling weapons to Israel.
Israeli military officials have said they try to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza, and that Hamas is to blame for using civilians as human shields by storing weapons under homes and businesses and launching rockets from residential areas. Hamas has denied that.