More than 50 University of Maryland community members gathered to honor the deaths of Palestinians at the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) “All Day for Gaza” event on Tuesday at McKeldin Mall.
The event consisted of sit-ins, teach-ins, speeches and art demonstrations with small white flags placed by organizers to represent Palestinian martyrs killed by Israel starting on Oct. 7, 2023, according to SJP representatives.
This day marks the second year of the genocide in Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the total battle death toll in Gaza has since surpassed 63,025.
The flags were reused from the first day of the fall 2024 semester, where SJP placed 15,000 flags in McKeldin Mall to honor the more than 150,000 Palestinian people killed by Israel.
According to Zyad Khan, a SJP member and senior computer science major, the event was meant to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian people and educate members of the community.
Despite the event being organized by SJP, some speakers who participated came from different human rights focused organizations such as Nevin McMilan, a member of TerpCHRP, a university committee for human rights in the Philippines.
“We want the same things,” the sophomore mechanical engineering major said. “We want the Palestinian people to be free. We want the Filipino people to be free. We want the right to self determination for all people around the world.”
Jenna Awadallah, an SJP member whose family hails from Palestine, said it’s important that different organizations have unity.
“Nobody is free until we are all free. It’s extremely important for us to support each other,” the sophomore neurophysiology and biology major said. “We are able to do more when we are unified as one.”
The SGA recently passed a resolution demanding the university recognize the Israeli offensive as a genocide. This shortly followed the official UN Inquiry recognizing the war on Gaza as a genocide.
Khan also highlighted the importance of art in the pro-Palestinian movement.
“Art is a tool of the resistance,” said Khan. “The people of Palestine have used [art] for a way of resistance, a way of keeping their culture alive.”
Many organizations on campus have hosted artistic events in honor of Palestinian culture. Ayra Hussain, a senior geophysics major, drafted words of resistance on a white banner at the event.
“Art in itself is you trying to go against the grain, make a statement,” said Hussain. “[Art is] one of the biggest forms of resistance.”
Awadallah spoke about her experience as a Palestinian over the last two years.
“These last two years, every day is more heartbreaking than the last,” said Awadallah. “Watching your people get killed is one of the most difficult to see, but it keeps me going — wanting to help organize these events and shed light on stories from Gaza.”
Image credits: Cover photo by Amna Tariq/Al-Hikmah Staff.
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