JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered at the Town Center in Jacksonville Saturday afternoon to continue to plea for a ceasefire amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
The protest comes days after The Florida House of Representatives voted down a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war.
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The resolution called for de-escalation and a ceasefire in the state of Israel and occupied Palestine. This only received two “yes” votes from Representative Angie Nixon and Representative Anna Eskamani.
Rep. Nixon was called antisemitic for bringing about the resolution.
While Pensacola Representative Michelle Salzman received backlash for saying “all of them,” when Rep. Nixon asked the question “how many deaths will be enough” when talking about Palestinians.
An organizer for this rally said seeing elected officials vote against something like that is sad.
“Voting against a common sense resolution that just calls for a cease-fire that people have a right to safety and dignity and condemned antisemitism, condemned Islamophobia and condemned all forms of racism in the resolution,” Sarah Mahmoud with Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network said. “So anyone who voted it against it shows that they’re not actually for justice reform for all people.”
Saturday’s gathering also comes as Palestinian officers said constant air strikes are keeping staff and patients from evacuating Gaza’s largest hospital.
Israel’s military acknowledged fighting with Hamas operatives around the Al-Shifa Hospital but denied firing on or laying siege to the medical center.
Multiple signs displayed during the rally at the Town Center focused on wanting airstrikes to stop the killing of innocent people.
“At what point do people of the Globe say enough is enough,” Mahmoud said.
Organizers of the rally believed this was their largest and most diverse crowd since they started coming together like this a month ago.
Kiyanaz Faroogh was one of the people who showed up.
Faroogh said her reason for doing so was because she wanted her support to be known.
“Every step is important and every move that we make will help someone,” Faroogh said. “So, it’s important to go out there and express your feelings because what else are we supposed to do? We’re left hopeless because people are left hopeless and this a big step right now.”
Another person at the rally was Sari. He said the reason he showed up was to support his Palestinian family overseas, who he said were doing “relatively alright.”
“We’re not asking for war. We’re not asking for murder. We’re not asking you to change anything,” Sari said. “We’re asking you to stop shooting. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to do.”
Mahmoud said she hopes more elected officials from the state level to national, like the Biden Administration, start to look more into the calling for a ceasefire so more innocent people don’t die.