New York: Hundreds rally at Washington Square Park to commemorate Al Nakba Day
New York, NY – Community members joined together at Washington Square Park on Friday, May 16, in remembrance of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were murdered, maimed and permanently displaced from their homes, by Israel.
The rally kicked off under the Washington Square Arch with chants of “Zionism has got to go” and “Israel bombs, USA pays.” Shortly after the afternoon Asr prayer, the roughly 500 attendees began a march through Manhattan, uniting around slogans like “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”
The rally and march were organized by New York-based Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, with contingents led by groups like the Muslim American Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Also in attendance were members from Brooklyn Against War, Al-Awda, and the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, as well as a contingent of Orthodox Jewish protesters led by Rabbi Dovid Feldman.
Together, attendees helped unfurl a massive Palestinian flag, which they carried through the streets of Manhattan for several hours until the Maghrib sunset prayer at Times Square, where the march ended.
Before the march, Within Our Lifetime cofounder Nerdeen Kiswani told the crowd that “the state of Israel and Zionism must be abolished.”
“I do not and will never recognize Israel's so-called right to exist,” Kiswani continued. “It has no right to exist.”
Shivani Ishwar, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, concurred. “We acknowledge the 78 years the Palestinians have been oppressed, and unable to return to their homes,” Ishwar said. “We support a full right to return, we support the cause of a liberated Palestine free from Israeli settlers, free from genocide, and free from repression.”