Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Austin, Texas, rode horses, let of smoke flares and waved flags as they called for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, footage from the protest shows.
An estimated 10,000 people took to the streets of the Texas capital on Sunday, chanting phrases including “occupation is a crime” and “Palestine will never die.” Placards held by protestors called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and claimed that “Hamas is the excuse.”
Since about 1,500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,400 people, including many civilians, Israel has conducted an intensive campaign of air strikes on Gaza and a subsequent ground offensive, with the objective of eliminating Hamas. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed.
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images
Accusations that Israel was committing a genocide have been rebuffed by the White House, among others, who note that international law requires a demonstration of intent to deliberately target an ethnic group. Israel has forewarned Palestinian civilians of attacks and urged them to evacuate while also attempting to supply hospitals in Gaza with fuel.
Organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the demonstration began at the Texas State Capitol and progressed through Austin’s streets “to show support for the steadfast people of Gaza, urgently demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to Texas and U.S. aid to Israel, and an immediate end to U.S.-sponsored violence in Gaza,” the organization said.
It claimed that Texas allocates $2.9 million a year to Israel for “funding war crimes, home demolitions, settlement construction, and the ongoing onslaught of the Gaza Strip,” adding: “Our tax dollars are funding this genocide.”
While Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pledged an extra $4 million to Jewish organizations in Texas for additional security since the violence in the Middle East erupted, it is unclear if the funding for Israel claim is accurate. Newsweek reached out to the governor’s office via email for comment on Monday.
While the Palestine Solidarity Committee accused Abbott of “overlooking the continuous suffering of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Zionist entity” during a recent trip to Israel, it made no mention the actions of Hamas on October 7 or the militant group’s calls for civilians to remain in harm’s way while advertising the demonstration.
“I lost family in Gaza,” Layal Afana, a Texan of Palestinian descent who traveled from Dallas to join the protest, told the Austin-American Statesman. “Even if I wasn’t Palestinian, there isn’t any kind of excuse to turn a blind eye. There was peace between three different religions, living harmoniously, and a political movement changed it,” in an apparent reference to Zionism.
Since Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza began, with the stated aim of eliminating Hamas, there have been international calls for a ceasefire, including at many pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the U.S. Progressive Democratic representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, have also called on President Joe Biden to deescalate the crisis and call for a ceasefire.
After Biden called for humanitarian pauses, Israel told the U.S. that there would be four-hour daily halts to allow for the movement of aid and civilians. However, this has not quelled calls for a ceasefire, which Israel has consistently refused and said would give the well-entrenched militants time to regroup.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.