Pro-Palestinian demonstrators filled Cincinnati's Fountain Square on Memorial Day as bombings from Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) become more deadly in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.
Rafah, an area once considered a safe zone in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, experienced sweeping fires in tent camps from IDF bombings over the weekend. More than half of the 45 people killed were women, children and elderly people, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, with many more critically injured.
"Tents were seen burning as innocent civilians were engulfed and burned by the ensuing flames. Several children were visibly beheaded by the power and force of the bombs that have been funded through the Biden Administration," reads a press release announcing the Fountain Square protest.
Over the past three weeks, Israel’s bombings have sent nearly a million Palestinians fleeing Rafah after already being displaced since the start of Israel's war in Gaza. The war started after the Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel carried out by Hamas militants, which killed upwards of 1,200 Israelis. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF in the nearly nine-month war, mostly women and children, with most of Gaza in a state of near-famine, according to the United Nations.
The Memorial Day protest at Fountain Square was held in conjunction with Ceasefire Now Covington, Cincinnati Socialists, Party for Socialism and Liberation - Southwest Ohio, Coalition for Community and Safety and Cincinnati Community Aid & Praxis. Mike Madanat, an organizer for the protest, told CityBeat that organizing for the freedom of Palestinians is nothing new for him, but it's never been more imperative.
“For me personally, my mom was expelled from her home in ‘67. [...] We, as Palestinians, know the truth and we know that this has always been a form of genocide and ethnic cleansing. It is getting to a point where people are aware of it, and through that awareness many of us Palestinians who haven’t felt as comfortable within the majority society and majority culture of western society are now feeling empowered and feeling encouraged to speak out about what we have known for all of our lives and all of our parents’ lives and the generations prior," Madanat said. "They are all here because they are just as angry, they are just as sad, they are just as pissed. They recognize that each one of us has complicity as Americans and to fight that right now.”
Keep scrolling to see CityBeat's photos from the May 27 protest at Fountain Square.
Photos by Lydia Schembre
Keep scrolling to see CityBeat's photos from the May 27 protest at Fountain Square.
Photos by Lydia Schembre
