Two sets of national demonstrations occurred yesterday. One was the March for Palestine, and the other was the hundreds of Hands Off! rallies across the nation.
March for Palestine
For over 16 months, Gaza has endured a brutal, ongoing genocide carried out by Israel with the full backing and support of the US government. Israel continued to violate the terms of the ceasefire reached on January 19th, breaking it over 980 times, and culminating in a complete blockade of the Gaza strip which began on March 1st and a return to all out war on March 17th. In the past week alone Israel has intensified the bombing of Gaza, began a ground invasion and killed over 500 Palestinians within 48 hours.
The movement against genocide in North America has risen time and time again in support of Gaza and will not rest now. The Trump administration, building on the tactics of the Biden administration, is now increasing its attempts to silence pro-Palestine, anti-genocide voices.
This movement is made of students, workers, teachers, artists, activists, healthcare workers, tech workers and people of conscience all over the world who will not back down in the face of repression and intimidation, and will never back down so long as Gaza is under attack. That’s why on April 5th we are standing up to Trump and his ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza, we are standing up to repression, and we are standing up to the US’s continued facilitation of the genocide in Gaza. We demand a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo now!
“The April 5 demonstration comes at a crucial moment,” ANSWER Coalition media coordinator Walter Smolarek told Mondoweiss. “In Gaza, Israel has resumed the genocide with even more brutal violence than before and has imposed a total siege on the entire population in an effort to force Palestinians out of Gaza. And here in the United States, Trump is unleashing a historic attack on First Amendment rights in an attempt to criminalize not only solidarity with Palestine, but any opposition to his agenda.”
‘The dam has been broken’: Thousands expected in DC for Palestine march. On April 5, thousands are gathering in Washington D.C. to stand up against the U.S.’s continued support for the genocide in Gaza and the Trump administration’s wave of domestic suppression. By Michael Arria, April 3, 2025
Hands Off!
Hands Off!
Hands Off! Madison, Wisconsin
Photos I took at Hands Off! here in Madison:
unflinching 