UF students and Gainesville residents met on the corner of 13th Street and West University Avenue at 6:30 p.m. Monday to hold a vigil for victims in Gaza.
UF Students for Justice in Palestine worked with its University of South Florida chapter, Gainesville residents and Goddsville Dream Defenders at Gainesville to organize the vigil.
SJP held the demonstration after Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during a peaceful protest at the Gaza border on May 14.
Vigil attendees lit 62 candles in a circle on the ground to represent each victim.
“We wanted to come out to show people in Gainesville and show people in Palestine that there are those who are in solidarity, who care, who are listening and who are aware,” UF SJP Vice President Laila Fakhoury, 20, said.
She read to the crowd “My Name is Palestine,” a poem she had written in black ink on folded copy paper. It described how Palestine stands proudly despite adversity.
When she finished reading, they had a moment of silence.
“This isn’t a matter of being pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian,” Fakhoury said. “It’s more of a matter of being pro-human,”
Chad Chavira, chairperson of GDD, estimated 75 to 100 protesters had attended by 8 p.m.
UF alumnus Jonathen Settle attended the event after hearing about it from friends.
“I think it’s important that an alternative narrative is put out there and people see,” Settle, 23, said. “Maybe we only change one person’s mind, but that’s good.”
UF SJP is part of a national organization dedicated to raising awareness about Palestine, Fakhoury said.
It hosts spoken-word events, potlucks, dance workshops and fashion shows celebrating Palestinian culture to abate negative stereotypes of Palestine in media.
Fakhoury encourages people to do their own research on Palestine and talk to people who are directly related to the issue.
“There’s more to Palestine than what you see on the news and on the internet,” Fakhoury said.
Follow Madison Rubert on Twitter@MadisonRubert and contact her at madisonrubert@ufl.edu.
