Orlando, FL – On May 15, the Florida Palestine Network organized a rally and march at Lake Eola park in downtown Orlando. Over 60 people came out in support of Palestinian liberation, waving Palestinian flags and holding signs with slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “Save Masafer Yatta,” in reference to the Palestinian village that has recently been under attack from the Israeli occupation.

The rally was held to commemorate the 74th year of the ongoing Nakba, an event which occurred in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced and murdered by Zionist colonizers. The Nakba has continued, as the state of Israel continues to occupy more Palestinian land each year.

At the start of the rally protesters laid flowers in front of a portrait of Shireen Abu Aqleh, the Palestinian journalist who was assassinated by the Israeli Occupation Forces, May 11, while reporting on the Zionist storming of the Jenin refugee camp.

Organizers gave speeches emphasizing the urgency of national liberation for Palestine and a hope that this will be the last Nakba.

Ahmad Daraldik, one of the organizers, is an FSU student who was removed from his position as student government president in 2020 for being unapologetically Palestinian and standing for Palestinian liberation. Daraldik discussed the relationship between U.S. police forces and the Israeli government, stating, “The Orlando Police Department has been trained in the same tactics used by the IOF. You look around in every city and every state in the U.S. and you will see time and time again that trainings are going down, where they’re taking cops all the way across the ocean and saying, ‘Hey, let’s teach you how to put a knee on people’s neck, lets teach you how to kill people.’ That’s what your tax dollars are going towards, I hope you know that, and I hope you’re mad”

After speeches were given the protesters marched twice around Lake Eola, chanting “Hey Joe Biden what do you say? How many kids did you kill today!” and “Not a nickel, not a dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” The march was met with support from a number of onlookers. The rally after the march reaffirmed the need to always support Palestine and to tell as many people as possible about the Palestinian national liberation cause.

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