Trigger warning: this piece contains details of violence, death that some readers may find disturbing.
Smith students and local community members marched in the streets of Northampton on Thursday, Oct 19 to protest in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, Israel’s apartheid state and Smith College’s response to the conflict.
Protestors chanted “1 2 3 4 occupation no more! 5 6 7 8 Israel is an apartheid state!” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” as they marched downtown from the Smith College Campus Center to the Hampshire County Courthouse before continuing on to Smith’s College Hall.
“We are here to show our solidarity to the Palestinian people in their struggle, and we are here to say no to the genocide,” said Manar Alnazer ’24 to protestors gathered at the Campus Center.
The March for Palestine was organized by a group of students who were formerly part of Smith Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which is not an official organization at Smith this year because the deadline passed before they were able to submit their charter.
At the Hampshire County Courthouse in downtown Northampton, protestors spilled out into the street as speeches were made criticizing Western media’s coverage of the conflict, condemining Israel’s colonial occupation and apartheid state and characterizing the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza as genocide and a crime against humanity.
“The way media has been covering this genocide is shameful. The passive language used when talking about Palestinian suffering in Western media is appalling. The media won’t fact check anything coming out of Israel and take it at face value,” said Alnazer at the courthouse.
“We have a lot of evidence of 1,424 Palestinian children in Gaza being murdered these past two weeks. We have plenty of evidence, but the world decided not to look at our evidence. We stand here to force people to listen and look.”
This protest comes during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. On Oct. 7, Hamas, a militant group, launched an attack on Israeli towns surrounding Gaza, which killed an estimated 1,400 people. In response on Oct. 8, Israel declared war on Hamas, beginning to strike the Gaza strip with rockets, and appearing to be preparing for a ground siege. As of Oct. 19, Israeli attacks have killed over 2,800 Palestinians, according to the New York Times.
Gaza, a small territory with a population of around 2 million, was already facing a desperate humanitarian crisis because of Israel’s 16-year long blockade, causing overcrowding and impoverishment. Since Oct. 8, Israel’s attacks on Gaza have been widespread and indiscriminate, destroying whole neighborhoods and the medical system. UN experts have said that Israel’s bombing of civilian targets amounts to war crimes.
“If we look at the historical facts, we know that Palestinians have been experiencing occupation and colonialism and domination for over 75 years,” said Zahra ’26, who declined to provide a last name. “As someone who believes in equality and justice I think it’s my duty to come out here to support an oppressed people. Especially what we’re witnessing I think is a genocide.”
In the United States, there has been an uptick in hate crimes since the start of the war. On Oct. 14, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six year-old Palestinian-American boy, was killed in Illinois. The attack also critically injured his mother. Protestors at the courthouse referenced this attack and criticized President Biden for his support of Israel and degrading rhetoric towards Palestinians.
At College Hall, protestors asked that Smith acknowledge and condemn Israel as an apartheid state and acknowledge the existence of Palestinian identities within the college community. Alnazer spoke about a Palestinian friend who was told by a class dean to “focus on her finals” during the 2021 bombings of Gaza, emphasizing a demand that Smith have better support for students during times of war, including better training for staff.
Protestors also demanded that Smith divest from military contractors like Raython, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and L3Harris, all of whom provide weapons to Israel; stop having Sabra hummus, which is owned by a company that provides financial support to the Israeli military, in dining halls; and end the approval of study abroad programs in Israel.
“I hope that this protest can achieve awareness in the community on this issue, and then also pressure universities in the 5 college program to stop funding genocide,” said Madison Albano, a UMass Grad Student with the Party for Socialism and Liberation who attended the protest.
The Smith College Office of Media Relations stated that it has not received these demands, and therefore cannot comment on them at this time.
“My heart breaks. What Hamas did was horrific, but that is no excuse for the continued occupation and forcing out of Palestinians,” said Susan Lance, a Smith Alum of ’62 who lives in Easthampton. Lance is part of Raging Grannies, a social justice group that sang in support of Palestinians at the courthouse during the protest. Of the protest Lance said, “it’s loud, it’s vigorous, and it’s so needed. I hope this protest can achieve awareness.”
Since the attacks began, the Smith President and Chaplain have sent out emails offering support to students during this time. The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life has had a variety of gatherings and events to facilitate discussion and provide safe spaces for students during this time.
“I was proud and heartened to see such mutual concern and care between students, and it gave me hope. Because while we can’t stop conflict, we can start a conversation. While we can’t silence the sounds of warfare, we can raise our voices. And while we can’t quell violence, we can create pathways to understanding,” said Smith Chaplain Matilda Cantwell about the Generating Justice Gathering and Vigil held on Oct. 12 in an email on Oct. 17.
The students from the Smith SJP who organized this protest are also planning a week of action that was called for by the national SJP in the upcoming week. These events include a media literacy workshop on Monday Oct. 23 and a vigil which will be held Wednesday Oct. 25.
“I hope that these voices are amplified because too often things like this happen and people don’t talk about it,” said Mariam Adoura ’27. “There is so much that I don’t know just because it’s not amplified, because it’s not talked about. It’s a very important issue and I’m glad that we’re doing something about it.”
