A pro-Palestinian crowd gathered outside the Boston Public Library on Saturday afternoon to condemn Israel’s attacks and decry United States support for Israel.
The protesters could be seen holding signs that said “free Palestine.”
“I think it’s very worrisome,” said Nooran Alhamdan of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. “The reason it’s worrisome of course is that Palestinian lives don’t matter in the international scale.”
Alhamdan says she’s concerned about family.
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“My heart goes out to my people back home,” she said. “There’s a lot to be hopeful for. The change is going to happen within our lifetime.”
The Boston rally was one of many that took place around the nation on Saturday as pro-Palestinian supporters took to the streets of Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and other U.S. cities to demand an end to Israeli airstrikes over the Gaza Strip.
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“The US is in a difficult position,” said Professor Deina Abdelkader, who teaches international relations at UMass Lowell and specializes in the Middle East.
“We’re blamed if we do interfere, and we’re blamed if we don’t interfere, so it’s a very difficult and fine line for the Biden Administration,” she said.
Abdelkader fears it’s possible this Israel-Palestinian conflict could become a full-fledged civil war.
“Unless cooler heads come to the table and decide to put an end to the bloodshed," she said, "unfortunately there is no ceiling to how violent things could get."
