New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, October 5, a broad coalition of community organizations rallied at Congo Square for a march to commemorate one year of resistance since the genocide in Gaza began. The action drew a large crowd of about 500 people, whose chants for a free Palestine ricocheted off city walls downtown.

During the rally, speakers emphasized the steadfast endurance of the Palestinian resistance.

“Our people in the homeland inspire us every single day here [in the US] to continue to resist – to stay strong and not give up. Our people endure and that’s what it means to be Palestinian,” said Leila Abu-Orf, a member of the New Orleans chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

Participants grew energetic for a continued fight against Zionism in all its forms in the U.S. They demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel and condemned U.S./Israeli war-mongering aggression in the Middle East.

Juleea Berthelot from Loyola Students for a Democratic Society spoke as a participant in The People’s University for Palestine encampment at Tulane. Berthelot stated the student movement would continue to show its solidarity by fighting for universities to disclose and divest from Israel. “The fight will continue for as long as it takes to see a free Palestine. Solidarity is our most powerful tool, and we will wield it like a weapon – because it is!” Berthelot said.

After the rally, the people took the streets and marched down Canal Street, New Orleans’s busiest commercial corridor. The crowd chanted, “We will be victorious! Resistance is glorious!” as Palestine flags waved high above their heads. A Palestinian child led a chant, “Intifada, intifada!” After a long route, the march concluded at Congo Square.

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