Tallahassee gathers for vigil for Palestine
Tallahassee, FL – On December 1, about 200 students and community members attended a vigil for the 20,000-plus Palestinian lives lost since October 7. The event was hosted by the FSU Students for a Democratic Society.
Activists and community members gathered to commemorate those lost and continue to demand an end to the U.S. aid to Israel and that FSU administration divest from Israel.
Ahmad Daraldik, a representative for Florida Palestine Network, discussed how the conflict in Palestine extends past the Palestinian people, stating, “It’s been 51 days of escalated conflict, but it feels like 51 seconds and 51 years at the same time. All of you here, even if you have no connection to Palestine, are Palestinian, for standing up and speaking out against the genocide of my people.”
After a series of short speeches, the names of Palestinians martyred in the past two months were read out loud. Long papers were spread on the floor so people could write out the names not spoken. Attendees wrote and spoke the names for over three hours and still did not complete the full list.
Co-sponsoring organizations included Tallahassee Food Not Bombs, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, FSU’s Muslim Student Association, Florida Palestine Network, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
To conclude, SDS Vice President Elijah Ruby gives a short summation of the event and its importance: “FSU held a vigil for Israel less than a week after October 7, yet has said nothing about the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed. It’s important that everyone is here to mourn all the people in Palestine, because if we don’t do it, nobody else at this university will.”