Thousands gathered in Downtown LA’s Pershing Square on Oct. 5 for a rally held as part of an “International Day of Action”, only two days before the one year anniversary of the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Groups such as the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) worked with other local organizations across different cities both nationally and internationally to set up a series of rallies for this day.
A baby being carried through the thousands of protestors, looks out to the many who surround them. They among the many who arrived at the Palestinian Youth Movement march. (Sam Villa)
The sound of banging drums and chants calling for “intifada,” an Arabic word which means “uprising.”
In this case intifada is used as a call for people to aggressively resist against Israel.
A protestor looks out upon the crowd while holding a drum, one of the various instruments seen across the march. (Sam Villa)
Spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement Nadia Mehanna, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement, has been part of the organization for four years helping to organize events and rallies to raise support for Palestininas among Southern Californians.
“We have a role to play in the active struggle for liberation,” Mehanna said.
A protestor holds just one of plenty posters in the street. They and many others were seen wearing keffiyehs, a traditional Middle-Eastern headdress. (Sam Villa)
Mehanna’s father is Palestinian, and she shared that her family has “lost dozens” in the conflict of the Israel-Gaza region.
“This didn’t begin on October 7,” Mehanna said.
Kids sit on top of a car in the Palestinian Youth Movement march. Many children filled the streets in an act of solidarity. (Sam Villa)
Families with small children, teenagers, and masked activists were among those who marched in a procession that began in front of Pershing Square and snaked along the streets of Downtown L.A.
Ivanska Pagan, a supporter of the Palestinian movement, came to the rally alone, having heard about it through a social media post.
A guardian and child look into each others eyes while at the Palestinian Youth Movement march. (Sam Villa)
“I believe we need more people in one place to make the message clear: this inhumanity must stop,” Pagan said.
There were no counter-protestors in sight for this rally and a distinct lack of police presence, as PYM members dressed in high visibility vests ran ahead of the procession to block traffic at intersections.
Bill Cunningham, a Boston local who was in the area to visit family, decided to attend the rally out of curiosity, as well as to show his support for victims of the Israel-Hamas war.
“The ridiculousness of slaughtering innocents like we have for years in Israel needs to end,” Cunningham said.
Nationally, thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered over the weekend in rallies such as these, as well as pro-Israeli rallies as the one year anniversary of Oct. 7 drew closer.