Pro-Palestinian protesters gather across San Francisco Bay Area for Black Friday demonstrations
Hundreds of demonstrators turned out at several Bay Area protests voicing support for Palestinians Friday afternoon, the same day a negotiated cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas took effect.
The cease-fire allowed for the first release of hostages since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, with 24 people -- including 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thai hostages and a single Filipino hostage -- being released from Gaza and transported into Egypt before being brought to Israel for initial medical assessments.
The first protest took place shortly before 2 p.m. with approximately 200-300 protesters gathered near the intersection of Shellmound Street and Ohlone Way in Emeryville.
A smaller group of protesters gathered at City Hall in San Francisco at around the same time.
Helena Awwad, a student at Lowell High School and member of Arab Youth Organizing, was among the protesters in Civic Center Plaza.
"We demand a permanent ceasefire. We demand equal rights for Palestinians across the region. We demand liberation for Palestinians," she said. "When this war began it affected me tremendously. I was heartbroken and ever since then, I felt like it has been my duty to fight for Palestinians. To Fight for my brothers and sisters in Gaza."
"Right now, what we're seeing is a four-day pause as part of this agreement between Israel and Hamas. Hostages are gonna be exchanged and we welcome the pause of the violence against Palestinians and the bombing campaign," said Waseem Hajj, Arab Resource Organizing Center. "And it is great to see hostages return to their families, especially the Palestinian hostages."
Hajj said that the temporary cease-fire was not enough. Part of the message today is centered around the fact that the war is not over.
"Israel has vowed that as soon as the four day pause is over, there will be an increase of intense bombing of Palestinians in Gaza and the war will resume," said Hajj.
"I'm here to fight for my family, and for the equality that we wanted for so long," said Awwad. "That's why I got involved and ever since, I've been working with all these organizations that have been helping."
Those demonstrators marched to Union Square after their initial rally, according to organizers.
A third protest found activists with marching into Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara. One social media post said that hundreds of demonstrators entered the mall.
Video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, showed activists chanting as they walked through the mall with bullhorns, signs and flags.
happening now at valley fair mall in san josé! 🇵🇸 #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/6R5eHv4uJC
— julia (@julia0dream) November 24, 2023
After moving through the mall, the protesters continued their march outside before gradually dissipating. San Jose police said there were no issues related to the protest.
The actions were in response to an international call to action to boycott, disrupt and rally at commercial centers on Black Friday. In Los Angeles, a large group of protesters marched through the Grove in the city's Fairfax District. There were similar protests confirmed in New York and Chicago.