Grand Rapids, Michigan – . A coalition of local organizations in Grand Rapids held a rally this past Sunday, January 7, in response to the call for a national week of action to stand with Palestine. Around 200 people attended the rally and went on to march through downtown.

The rally started at Monument Park, where a sculpture dedicated to the Union’s victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War stands. Organizers from Palestine Solidarity Grands Rapids (PSGR) set up tables at the park, with free food and informational fliers about the rally. Members of the unhoused population in Grand Rapids who frequented the park talked with members of PSGR and received food.

Speakers from the many sponsoring groups addressed the struggle for Palestinian liberation. Anees Aqel from PSGR said, “Peace to our martyrs, our resistance fighters, who stand in the face of death and in the face of our opponents and our enemies. Peace to Falastin, and inshallah Palestine will be free.”

Peter Berdo of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Students for Justice in Palestine spoke about the repression SJP chapters nationwide have been facing on campus for their political activism. “Every single chapter of SJP which has been suppressed, whether it be those which were banned across the state of Florida, or the suspended chapter of SJP at Rutgers university in New Jersey, has the total right to reorganize and continue their work on campus,” Berdo said.

GVSU SJP and Students for a Democratic Society united during the rally with members of the Iota Epsilon Alphas, as well as the B.L.A.C.K. Beta Chapter, two African American fraternities at GVSU. Members of both fraternities helped to hold the banner of GVSU SDS during the march through the city.

Barnabus Corder from the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression spoke on the connections between members of the Israeli occupation forces and U.S. police departments. “For the past three decades the United States has also sent thousands of police officers to train under the IOF, learning everything from the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to various ways of restraining people, including placing your knee on the back of someone’s neck. A technique brought to Minnesota by the Israeli Consulate of Chicago in 2012, a decade before it would be used to take George Floyd’s life.”

Sam Tunningley of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke on the heroic actions the people of Yemen have been taking in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, saying, “The Yemen people are heroes, and we must stand behind them.” The crowd responded with cheers and applause.

After speeches, the coalition of groups organized for a march through downtown Grand Rapids, taking to the streets and occupying all lanes of traffic. As the marchers chanted slogans targeted at their local representatives and the government of Israel, many cars and trucks drove past with Palestine flags flying from their windows.

After returning to Monument Park, Emerson Firwolfe from PSGR announced that over the course of the two-hour rally and march, over $400 had been raised to fund continued direct actions and protests in the city.

The action was organized by Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, in partnership with the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Michigan, Grand Valley State University Students for Justice in Palestine, and GVSU Students for a Democratic Society. The national week of action was called by the U.S. Palestine Community Network, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the New Students for a Democratic Society.

#GrandRapidsMI #International #Palestine #AntiWar #NAARPR #FRSO #USPCN