Approximately 125 people gathered on the Square Sunday, Nov. 26 to protest the siege of Gaza as well as the occupation of lands that historically belonged to Palestinians. The demonstration, organized by the Muslim Student Association, began at 1:30 p.m. and lasted for an hour and a half.
Senior pharmacy major and president of the MSA Khalil Abualya explained the impetus for the
protest.
“We came out on Sunday with the intention to raise awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis that has cost the lives of more than 18,000 civilians, 67% of which are women and children,” Abualya said. “We believe that we must use our first amendment (rights) to the greatest of our abilities.”
Abualya spent part of his childhood growing up in the West Bank, and he has lost family members in the siege of Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. He explained that many Palestinians in the Oxford-University community want their suffering to be recognized.
“The goal of the protest was to show people here that there are Palestinians here in this community that are hurting, and we have to come together as one to ease this pain,” Abualya said. “I believe the impact made by this march was that it highlighted the Palestinian struggle here in Oxford, where most people either aren’t educated well-enough on the subject or choose to ignore it altogether.”
Abulaya emphasized that it does not take much commitment to support Palestinians.
“You don’t have to donate, you don’t have to sign a petition, you could just share a story showing a hospital getting bombed, or an ice cream truck being used as a morgue,” Abualya said. “It’s very simple, there are many ways that you can help, it’s just a matter of if you want to help at the end of the day.”
He further urged those concerned about the situation in Palestine to demand a permanent ceasefire from their politicians.
“Look at legislation, demand a permanent ceasefire from your politicians, not just a pause, and for them to hold the people accountable for the crimes against humanity being committed (against Palestinians),” Abualya said.
Zynub Al-Sherri is an Oxford local and senior Arabic major at Ole Miss. She is Palestinian, and she voiced her concerns about the response of the U.S. government to mass pro-Palestine demonstrations that have sprung up across the country on college campuses and in major cities.
“It worries me that a lot of Israel’s methods of suppressing freedom of speech are seeping into the American government,” Al-Sherri said.
She mentioned that 37 states have passed legislation restricting the rights of people to boycott Israeli products.
“We’re already seeing restrictions on our purchases, and while they may not be heavily enforced now, they have the ability to be because they are laws,” Al-Sherri said. “That is concerning to me, because right now politicians are having conversations about whether Palestinians deserve to even be in the United States, and whether college students should face severe repercussions in the job market, or even be imprisoned, for speaking out against the genocide.”
Al-Sherri expressed that she felt a duty to use her constitutional right to speech to advocate for her family back in Palestine.
“I think living in the United States, I am very privileged to have the right to protest what is happening in Palestine, and call it out for what it really is: a genocide,” Al-Sherri said. “I want to use this privilege to uplift the voices of my family back home that can’t do this without severe repercussions.”
