Jackson Kimball, Arizona Sonoran News
A last minute march, Monday night on University Boulevard was a modest, but sharp reminder of community outrage over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Monday’s march followed last weekend’s Israeli airstrikes and a planned ground invasion of Rafah, a designated safe zone for over a million Palestinian citizens seeking refuge at the southern border of the Gaza strip.
About 100 people turned out for the march, organized by the Tucson Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Students for Justice in Palestine.
The event began at 5 p.m. with guest speakers and a debriefing on the current climate of the conflict. At around 5:45, the rally wrangled itself into a small march that looped from one end of the boulevard to the other. There was crowd chanting, flag waving and a small marching jazz band holding up the rear of the procession.
“For the past four months Palestinians have been told to evacuate south because south is Rafah,” said Drew Fellows, an event organizer. “Now we are seeing even more indiscriminate bombing in the place they were told was safe for the past four months. It’s incredibly hypocritical of them.”
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, of which Fellows is a member, is a nationwide organization that has been around since 2004. The party’s mission statement, according to its website, is to “carry out the struggle for socialism inside the United States, the center of world capitalism and imperialism.” The organization has branches across the United States and the Tucson branch has already organized at least a dozen pro-Palestine events since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.
“We are seeing a big cultural shift in regards to how war is seen in this country,” Fellows said. “And we’re used to seeing it as a ‘necessary evil’ in Southern Arizona because it’s generally the biggest industry that we have here, which is a shame.”
Monday’s event was dominated by college-aged individuals chanting and flying “free Palestine” flags as they circled up and down the street.
“Frankly young people are fed up, so we’re seeing a lot of problems converge all into one major crisis and that is the crisis of imperialism and capitalism,” said Fellows.
Kadin Backues, a college student attending the rally, said they had been to many Party for Socialism and Liberation events and were there to support the “liberation of all people.”
“I attend a lot of these rallies. As many as I can,” said Backues.
The other political group organizing the rally was the University of Arizona chapter for the Students for Justice in Palestine. The group is, according to its Instagram bio, “a denominational organization advocating for Palestinian people at the University of Arizona.”
A group spokesperson said Monday’s protest was an emergency event in response to Israel’s bombing of Rafah. At least 67 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes Sunday night, according to published reports.
The Students for Justice in Palestine is a national organization of students advocating for the Palestinian plight, but the University of Arizona chapter is not officially affiliated. The spokesperson said that the group is a grassroots organization of student activists who put on political workshops and try to educate the public about the history and conflicts surrounding Palestine. The group will hold its next workshop, “Palestine 101,” at the U of A ILC Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 pm.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
