Olympia, Washington is not a newcomer to the Palestine solidarity scene. Despite the freezing temperature, they continue to rally against the war.
The greater Seattle community showed up for the Palestinian cause despite the freezing sub-20-degree temperatures.
A large crowd gathered from throughout Washington State on Saturday to demand an immediate end to the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Local Palestine solidarity organizations, college student associations, and other civil society groups called for the rally and the march to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, in protest of the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza over the last 100 days.
This was one of many protests that took place across the United States on January 13, with the largest rallies happening in Washington D.C., where over 400,000 people took the streets of the United States Capitol to have their collective anti-war voice heard.
All these protests had one common message: people will not be complicit in this genocide that their country is backing, defending, and financing.
In Memory of Rachel
Israel’s barbaric attack on Gaza has killed and wounded nearly 100,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.
Millions of people continue to protest the Israeli war, calling on their governments to either end their support of Israel or to take action to end the ongoing genocide.
Washington State has been a scene of many such protests, which have been organized and conducted jointly with other groups, including Native American communities.
Olympia, in particular, has served as a hub for Palestine solidarity, due to the fact that it was the home of US activist, Rachel Corrie, who was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in 2003.
A peace and justice activist, Corrie went to Gaza in 2003 to show solidarity with Palestinians during the Second Uprising, Intifada. She was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer as she attempted to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian home.
Despite her death at a young age 20 years ago, her memory and her legacy are still felt in Olympia, where the community, led by her tireless family, continues to advocate for the Palestinian cause.
Despite the icy road, the frosty air and the frozen mountains, many still came from near and far with their flags and banners.
‘My Brothers and Sisters in Gaza’
“Today, we are all Palestinians,” a young mother, carrying a baby and flag, told the Palestine Chronicle.
A college student said, “We are all playing our role in this struggle.”
“The heroes in the South African legal team are embracing their vocation, and I am embracing mine,” he said, referring to South Africa’s ongoing legal case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza.
“Facing the cold today is the least I can do to support my brothers and sisters in Gaza,” he added.
‘Refusing to Normalize Attrocities’
‘“Protesters marched on the Washington State capitol in Olympia to mirror the historic March for Palestine in DC, sending a clear message that even after 100 days of genocide, we refuse to normalize the atrocities that are being committed in our name and with our tax dollars,” Hossam Nasr, a local activist and a speaker at the rally said.
A hundred days of war, but also of an “American public, clearly being on the side of justice, being ignored by our elected officials. After a hundred days of calling, marching, protesting, and disrupting, we marched to the capitol to send a message to our elected leaders that we are coming for their jobs if they don’t listen to our demands.,” Nasr told the Palestine Chronicle.
“We will never stop showing up until all our demands are achieved: an immediate ceasefire, an end to the siege on Gaza, an end to the occupation of Palestine, an end to all US funding of Israel, and freeing all Palestinian prisoners,” he added.
(All Photos: Fadil Gucci, The Palestine Chronicle)
– Sammy Baroud is a young Palestinian-American student and Sportswriter.
– Fadil Gucci is a young freelance photographer based around the Pacific Northwest.
