Some Thoughts on Gaza and Rallies

All Out For Gaza Rally, August 10th, 2014

"We want justice, we won't wait"...

This summer has been one where the city, like those in other places and parts, is inflamed through injustice. The destruction and genocide which has marked the last month in Gaza continues to strike a deep chord with residents of Toronto. Each rally, it seems, continues to balloon in size, surpassing even May Day and many related Spring/Summer actions.

Operation Protective Edge (the Israeli military title for current matters) continues, even though a ceasefire has been tenatively been reached. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, as of yesterday 238,097 individuals have been displaced within Gaza and remain in UNRWA shelters, while nearly 2,000 Palestinians are dead, with 9,875 injured.

Such things have not been merely numbers for the thousands who've taken to the streets over the past months, as images and names of the injuried and dead are scattered throughout the masses. However, each march still remains connected to the wider campaigns of the movement surrounding Palestine. Continued pressure (as pictured above) is being placed on Bed, Bath, and Beyond for its sales of Sodasteam due to the beverage maker's factories in the occupied territory of the West Bank.

Across the way from the rally, marked by their signature yellow flags, the Jewish Defence League stood in violence and mockery outside the doors of the Israeli consulate.  Unlike the pro-Palestinian side of the street, whose signs focused on the matters at hand, the JDL's maligned the Islamic faith and repersented their overall brutally violent aims. All the while, discordantly, framing their spitfire hatred with upbeat pop music. But, before one takes lightly the threat of such groups, one must keep in mind that they do not fear engaging in the very violence they implore.

And yet, even as marchers speak against the violence in Gaza, these matters are tied back to the colonial violence that is enacted here at home on Turtle Island. From the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women from across this so-called country to the erasure of several First Nations through the systemic policies and actions of every province and the Federal government, we bear also deeply troubled histories. In Toronto, the solidarity shown between First Nations and Palestinian peoples is one that has struck me deeply, as one actively exploring my own Aboriginality and finding one's place in this very space.

No matter the age, people in Toronto continue to express, in growing numbers, their deep anquish and determination on the current siege of Gaza. People's passion in the street is ever-inspiring and a source of deep reflection. Joined by those the world over, Toronto stands strong for the people of Palestine. With this growing unity of international opinion, it is only a matter of time until the wider anti-Apatheid movement finds lasting success.

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Brad Evoy (Brad Evoy)
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Member since October 2013

About:

Brad Evoy is a graduate student at the University of Toronto, blogger, writer, commentator, and sometimes firebrand. He has served as one of the Summer Membership and Admin. Coordinators for the Toronto Media Co-op and in the past has written for various other publications. Meanwhile, as an organizer, he's associated with the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG-Toronto) and Scientists for the Right to Know, along with past associations with various student organizations in two provinces.