JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Multiple groups and community members gathered Saturday afternoon to honor International Women’s Day and bring awareness to the injustices in the Israel-Hamas war and how more needs to be done.
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Poems and songs were performed and attendees spoke up about standing with Palestine at The Cafe Resistance Bookstore.
“The song has lyrics about respecting women and joining in the struggle for women who have passed, women who are here, and women who are yet to come. It reflects the struggle of the Palestinian people and our shared humanity,” Maria Garcia, an attendee said.
The celebration follows President Biden’s State of the Union address where he talked about topics like the Israel-Hamas war and bringing more aid to Gaza.
Other points included establishing a six-week ceasefire and constructing a floating pier off the Gaza Strip to deliver food and aid to the area.
“A six-week ceasefire is not just a vacation for the killers. I do not think it’s enough. When it’s been going on for five months [six weeks] is just a minuscule effort. That is unacceptable,” Monique Sampson, an attendee said.
Attendees said more needs to be done to end the war. They said they want more recognition of the fact that tens of thousands of people have died and they want the word genocide to be used when describing the killing of people in Gaza.
“Unfortunately we’ve seen over 30,000 Palestinian people killed during this time,” Sampson said. “We need to see actionable steps, we need to see our lawmakers humanize the issue and also come together and unite.”
The 30,000 number that Sampson cited is from the Gaza Health Ministry.
“I hope today just fosters a strong sense of unity and a strong sense of pride,” Sampson said.
Groups at the celebration said they plan to attend the city council meeting on Tuesday to ask the council to consider signing a cease-fire resolution.