As more reports detail the violence erupting in Israel, contention spilled into the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Monday as hundreds supporting the Palestinian resistance rallied at City Hall.
Israel declared war on Hamas Sunday after the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented surprise attacks over the weekend. The death toll has reached at least 1,600 on both sides, including at least 11 American citizens. As many as 130 people, including children, have reportedly been taken hostage by Hamas fighters. President Joe Biden has declared “rock solid and unwavering” support for Israel.
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Back in Cambridge Monday, calls for liberation and signs reading “End occupation now” filled the lawn as hundreds of people supporting Palestinians gathered and marched the street toward Boston.
“Those who rebel against oppression cannot be blamed for rebelling against that repression," said Jeff Rosenberg who was at the rally in support of Palestinians.
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The region has a long, complicated history of tension and conflict, but this is the deadliest outbreak of violence in Israel since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria.
“It’s unfortunate right that we’ve had this occupation for 75 years now. An unfortunate reality is that wherever there is oppression there will be resistance,” said Suhail Purka, a member of the Boston South Asian Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Some attending the rally even went so far as to call the weekend violence a win.
That sentiment was met fiercely by counter-protesters, who gathered on the other side of the street. There were tears and anger from those standing with Israel, who compared Hamas to ISIS and other terrorist groups.
“I moved here from Israel two months ago and my heart breaks. Not just because of what Hamas is doing but because what they are doing right now. Choosing to support inhumane acts of violence, terrorism, mass murder and kidnapping,” Liyam Chitayat, an MIT PhD student, said.
Photos: Israel-Hamas War
Experts have been weighing in on the ongoing divide, including Lawrence H. Summers, a professor of economics at Harvard University. Summers decried a statement released by a set of student groups that placed the blame for the weekend’s horrors on Israel.
“Nothing justifies murdering babies in front of their parents, or murdering parents in front of their children or raping young girls for the sport of it. And that is what happened over the weekend and that is where the focus should be,” Summers said.
He added that many universities, including Harvard, have failed their students by not being vocal about their support for Israeli students.
Israel had increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip Monday and sealed the area off from supplies, while Hamas pledged to kill Israelis taken hostage if attacks targeted civilians without warning.
