SPOKANE, Wash. — Students at Gonzaga University gathered together on Foley Lawn to show their support for Palestine. Students brought signs that said 'Free Palestine' and 'stop the genocide.'
Ben Gonzales was one of the organizers of the on-campus protest. He and a few others decided to protest the university's decision to support Israel.
"We're really pleased to see our hopes came to fruition. That everyone was peaceful, everyone was hopeful, and everyone was here to promote the value of Palestinian lives that have been lost," Gonzales said.
The rally featured a number of speakers and saw students walk to the provost's office where student organizers presented a letter to the provost calling on the university to condemn the actions of Israel.
"I hope that we can maintain our credibility as an institution that values all human lives," Gonzales said.
In a statement KREM 2 received from Gonzaga University, the school said, "Gonzaga University condemns violence and remains committed to promoting justice, equality, and peace. We also affirm our students' rights to peacefully assemble and speak out on issues important to them, as demonstrated today."
The protest at Gonzaga wasn't the only one in Spokane.
"We're doing this because the struggle for Palestinian liberation is a struggle for everybody's liberation," Ka'Din Rahman said.
Rahman from Spokane's Party for Socialism Liberation organized a protest in front of Cathy McMorris-Rodgers office.
The group wanted to convey the message to local politicians that they should condemn the violence in Gaza.
"We want to make sure that she hears us when we say that the people of Spokane, the people of Washington stand with Palestinians, and will not support genocide," Rahman said.
A rabbi who leads a synagogue in Spokane says the violence is unfortunate, but necessary.
"They do whatever they can to protect innocent civilians. They go out of their way. It's a war. It's unfortunate, but it's a necessity this war is either the Jewish state continues to live, or it doesn't exist," Rabbi Yisroel Hahn said.
Hahn is sad to see these protests.
"All of us and every single human being should be on the right side of this to get rid of this organization is government called Hamas," Hahn said.
He says Israel is doing its best to not kill innocent people. They are only protecting themselves from Hamas.
Both protests were peaceful. No police were present at the protests.
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