By Ava West
On May 21, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR) held an emergency rally in support of those in Gaza. PSGR has been holding events since 2021 and looks to spread awareness about what is happening in Palestine. The situation in Palestine has seen a high increase in deaths in just the past few weeks and those across the globe are calling for a ceasefire.
Though rainy and chilly, the protestors were undeterred. They held signs and chanted “Resistance is justified, when people are occupied,” “Viva viva, Palestina,” and “Police violence is a crime, from Grand Rapids to Palestine.”
Barbara Howard, 71, grew up in Illinois, but has been living in Grand Rapids since 1978 and says that “it’s home.”
“In summer of (2021), that was the last major conflict between Hamas and Israel,” Howard explains.
She spoke about a socialist group she was in and how her and another member’s first project was to organize a protest around Palestine.
“So we organized, it was a Saturday like one o’clock – noonish, Fulton and Division… because that usually is the busiest intersection at rush hour time. We had speakers, we had chants, you know, and we put it out on Facebook and lo and behold… all these Palestinians came up. I had no idea that many Palestinians lived in Kent County, but they saw it on Facebook and they have family, a lot of them, still in the West Bank and in Gaza. So, anyway, the corner was full,” she said.
Howard added that “it made it real to me. It’s not just over there, it’s right here.”
She then described how things died down, as they do when people progressively lose interest in a cause. After the events of Oct. 7, 2023 — the deadliest day in Israeli history and the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust (Israel responded to the attacks with relentless bombings which killed thousands of Palestinians and left infrastructure within Gaza dire) — there was a resurgence in interest. She says, since that day and after the emergency protests and rallies were held, PSGR has probably held around 100 or more events. These events include protests, support groups and cultural events.
Peter Berdo, a Grand Rapids local and Grand Valley State University student pursuing a degree in geography and environmental sustainability studies, also attended the event.
He said that he attended the rally because his “morals and ethics require it. I would feel guilty about not taking a stand against this oppression.”
“Really, Israel is an extension of U.S. imperialism. We give all this money to Israel because we like having a foothold in the Middle East. But really what that entails is that we create more and more violence in that area. Part of why that area is so violent is that we have made it like that. That’s been America’s fault, getting involved in there, getting those oil reserves and stuff. Basically, ensuring they’re a geopolitical power, but it can’t last,” he said.
Berdo has been participating in PSGR since the Oct. 7 attack— a year and a half now. He says that “a lot of people don’t get involved because it’s a lot of effort and a lot of work, but really all you have to do is show up.”
Twenty-five-year-old Anthony O’Heigarty has been participating in PSGR events for the last two years and has been helping organize meetings and events for the past year and a half.
“I’m here because what Israel is doing is wrong,” said O’Heigarty.“It’s been wrong since 1948. I mean, they are committing a genocide right now, the state of Israel started as ethnic cleansing… For the last 78 years, it’s been abuse after abuse.”
“Palestinians are treated as not even second class citizens, literally sub-humans,” O’Heigarty continued. “What’s going on there is analogous to what happened to Native Americans in the United States. And we need to stand up for it and PSGR has been showing up for it.”
O’Heigarty also notes that the group was headed to Dayton, Ohio to protest a NATO meeting being held there on May 24.
O’Heigarty believes that “NATO should not be a thing that exists. When people say that Trump wants to get the US out of NATO, that’s a lie. He’s using that to get NATO to contribute more than 5 percent of their GDP to NATO. Right now, NATO members are stipulated to do more than 2 percent of their GDP. He wants all NATO members to spend more and more money. So, that means that the Military Industrial Complex would get billions of more dollars in cash. And all of these companies that are profiting from the genocide would get a massive pay out, even more massive than what they’re getting right now. So, that’s why we’re going to Dayton, Ohio to protest.”
Jessica Plichta, a 22 year old student from Muskegon studying in Grand Rapids, said says that she attended the rally because she was “wanting to end genocide in Palestine.”
This is not her first protest, she has been consistently showing up as much as she can.
“I hope more and more people come out and do the same,” she said.
She says that “each individual has a duty to protect the rights of all people.”
PSGR holds frequent meetings and events. Those interested in getting involved with the organization can stay up-to-date through their Facebook and Instagram pages.
