Calls for an “end to genocide” in the Gaza Strip and demands for a boycott of Israel brought together protesters of various backgrounds, including Palestinians and Jews, in Lisbon this Saturday for a protest that, according to the organization, was attended by between three and four thousand people.
Around 16:00, protesters carrying placards and Palestinian flags began walking along Avenida Almirante Reis towards Martim Moniz. This is an initiative in which members of the Bloc de Esquerda, PCP and PAN took part and which was supported by more than 30 movements.
“What do we want from parliament? Boycotts, sanctions and divestment,” “Gaza, listen, we shout your fight,” were some of the slogans chanted by protesters, many of which were also in English, reflecting the diversity of nationalities participating in the demonstration.
During Lusa’s interrogation, the police accompanying the protest refused to provide information about the participation of the protesters. According to the organization, there will be “between three and four thousand” people. Protests are also taking place in Porto, Braga and Angra do Heroismo.
Many protesters wore the keffiyeh, a checkered scarf associated with the Palestinian cause, and displayed signs calling for an “end to genocide” and describing Israel as a “murderous state,” some of which featured images of watermelons, a symbol of Palestine.
“The Portuguese people do not want to be complicit in genocide, in the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip as well as in the West Bank,” said Luse Maria Grazia Rossi of the protest organization, demanding “a severance of diplomatic ties with the state.” Israel.”
The person in charge emphasized the variety of movements that came together – social and climate justice collectives, student organizations, feminists, “gays,” anti-racists or fathers’ and mothers’ groups for peace.
Hindi Mesleh, 40, a Palestinian from Ramallah in the West Bank, joined the demonstration to denounce the “Zionist colonial project.”
“Genocide is happening live, we see terrible images and videos, and I cannot understand how there are people who support this genocide,” he lamented.
The situation in the West Bank “is getting worse and worse, with settler and army violence intensifying.” [israelitas]“Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, after the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on October 7.
“We call for boycotts, sanctions and asset sales. The Portuguese government must do more,” complained a Palestinian who lived in Portugal for seven years.
Jonathan Benebgi, 29, of Jews for Peace and Justice, said that “the State of Israel does not speak for the Jews of the world.”
For the young man, an immigrant in Portugal for seven years, the ideology of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is an ideology of revenge that leads nowhere.”
“Israel commits crimes and justifies them in the name of Jews, citing the Holocaust and a history of anti-Semitism. But we are Jews who say that we do not support this ideology, that we do not identify with Zionism,” he said. Lusa, admit that this position is not easy.
“We are considered Jews who are not real Jews because Zionism is stealing the history of Judaism, which has always fought against fascism and oppression. We use our voice to say that we do not want the same thing to happen to other nations,” he stressed.
Visibly moved, Ana Marcos, a yoga teacher, believes that the situation in Gaza can cause many people to feel “anxious, sad, angry, desperate,” demonstrating “compassion for the fact that another’s pain is our pain.”
The protester called holding protests like today “bittersweet”: “It’s sad that we have to be here for four months, but at the same time we are together and we are not going to leave Palestine. This is until the end,” he said. until freedom,” he said.
People of all ages took part in the demonstration, including many children, in strollers or on bicycles, some carrying a megaphone and shouting slogans.
On his father’s lap, the boy wore a blue helmet with Motaz’s name written in white and a vest with the words “Press” written on it, a “copy” of Palestinian photographer Motaz Azaiza, who has more than 18 million followers on social media. the Instagram network, which he uses as a platform to disseminate messages about events in the Gaza Strip.
Amara and Maria, two cousins aged 14 and 12, are mourning the deaths of “so many innocent people” – according to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, attacks have killed more than 28,000 people, most of them civilians, by Israelis since it began. conflict.
At the age of 11, Abdul Karim held a sign that read in English and Arabic: “Israel has guns, but Palestine has Allah.”
“No matter what happens, we will win. We will win because evil never wins, kindness always wins,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.