KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chants for freedom were heard from blocks away at Mill Creek Park on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of people advocating for Palestine gathered to voice their thoughts and concerns on the Israel-Hamas war.
“We are hoping for the American people to wake up and realize, save our taxpayer money, have a peaceful solution, for all of us to live in peace. I don’t want any Israeli people to be killed either. They are human beings like us,” said protester A.K. Tayiem.
Tayiem’s family was displaced to the country of Jordan generations ago. He feels for so long, the humanitarian rights of Palestinians have been overlooked.
“We want our rights as a human being. That’s all we’re asking for,” said Tayiem. “They took our homes, took our land, they put a seize on Gaza, and what do you expect us to do?”
Israel has maintained a land, air and sea blockade on Gaza since 2007. It has led to devastating economic and humanitarian outcomes for Palestinians living there. Much of the imports, exports — as well as the freedom to travel — have been restricted.
“We can’t have a whole dialogue around human rights and exclude Palestinian lives from that dialogue,” said Fatima Mohammadi with Al-Hadaf, a youth-based organization in Kansas City that seeks to regenerate the Palestinian community locally and work toward liberation for Palestinians abroad.
Israel says the blockade is necessary to protect its people from Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by many countries including the United States.
“As with so many issues, we probably live within our own bubbles and tend to kind of understand our own side or perspective on things,” said Allison Berey, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau AJC. “But, I think that history matters in general overall. I don’t think that it’s the proper framing for processing what happened on Saturday. That history does not provide a relevant context to interpret, explain or justify.”
Berey believes the Israeli government will choose an effective and compassionate way forward. She encourages the broader public to get educated on the conflict and to see both sides as people.
“The Jewish community here will be grieving with those Palestinian mothers as well,” said Berey. “But it doesn’t, but that doesn’t change our strong conviction that Jews and Israel have the right to defend ourselves like anyone else. And we’ll all be praying for a quick resolution.”
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