Groups demonstrate for Palestinian freedom at Vintage Faire Mall, busy Modesto intersection
Two marches Saturday in Modesto brought around 150 Stanislaus County residents out to support Palestinians following a deadly 10 days of crisis in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
For many demonstrators, showing support for Palestine was not a matter of religion or personal identity, but rather about educating the public on the issue and calling for the rights of Palestinians to be recognized.
“You don’t have to be Muslim or Palestinian to support human rights,” said Nedaa Sulieman, a Turlock resident who is Palestinian. “You just have to be human.”
Violence between Israel and Gaza, thought to be the worst in the region since 2014, escalated May 10 between the Israeli government and Hamas, an Islamic militant group. Palestinians have been disproportionately affected by airstrikes between the two sides.
More than 240 Palestinians, including 66 children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since the fighting began, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. Another 12 people, including two children, were killed in Israel by Hamas strikes, according to the Israeli government.
Palestinians are also being forcibly removed from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem, a source that contributed to the tension and remains a contentious point even following a Friday ceasefire.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire after mediation from the United States, Egypt and other countries. However, many demonstrators who came out Saturday feel this not a true ending when the broader conflict remains.
“There’s been so many ceasefires, there’s been so many agreements to stop, and it never does,” Noor El-Nounou said.
March from Vintage Faire
El-Nounou, a recent graduate of Modesto Junior College who will transfer to UC Davis, was one of about 50 people who gathered around 10 a.m. at Vintage Faire Mall.
El-Nounou’s parents came to the United States from Palestine when they were young adults, and she thinks about how if circumstances were different, her family might be experiencing the violence right now.
“That could have easily been us,” El-Nounou said.
Amir Aziz, a 20-year-old Turlock resident and student at California State University, Stanislaus, said he’s known about the Israel-Palestine conflict for most of his life but just participated in his first-ever protest last Tuesday in Fresno to support the Palestine cause.
“It’s time,” he said. “Palestine needs justice.”
It’s been difficult for Aziz to see images of dead women and children on social media, he said, but it also encouraged him to demonstrate. Aziz also has family members who still live in Palestine. While they aren’t in the middle of the violence, he said they can see the bombings from their village.
“For all the kids who grow up like that, it’s just sad and very heartbreaking,” Aziz said.
After gathering at the mall, the morning group marched to the office of Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, on Sisk Road across from the Blue Diamond gift shop.
Activists criticized Harder for an email response they say he sent to a local activist with the Central Valley BIPOC Coalition. In an Instagram post that included the email, the group expressed anger that Harder highlighted Israel’s right to protect itself but did not criticize Israel’s actions against Palestinian civilians.
“I condemn Hamas’ indiscriminate attacks on peaceful men, women, and children, and Israel has the right to defend herself against these attacks,” Harder said in the email. “I also urge extremist forces in Jerusalem to show restraint rather than escalate this violence.”
Harder did not appear to be at his office Saturday. He tweeted earlier in the day that he was hosting a vaccine clinic with the county from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crows Landing Flea Market.
Second gathering
Following the morning march, more than 100 people — including some of the morning demonstrators — gathered at 2 p.m. near the intersection of West Briggsmore and West Orangeburg avenues.
The political implications of the conflict was a large issue for afternoon attendees as well, as the United States has historically allied with and financially supported Israel.
The Trump administration requested around $3.8 billion, including $500 million in missile defense aid, go to Israel in fiscal year 2021, according to a congressional report.
“That funds bullets in our women and children,” Sulieman said.
Sulieman said the protesters’ demands included an end to the killings, land occupations and the United States’ support of Israel.
Although this isn’t something that can be accomplished in one night, Sulieman said she hopes protests in Modesto will help people understand what is going on in the Middle East and why it’s important for people in the U.S. to pay attention.
“I just feel helpless,” Sulieman said. “We’re American citizens, and we wish the American people can hear us.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2021 at 6:24 AM.
