GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Several dozen people gathered in Grand Rapids on Tuesday and held a vigil for the nearly 20,000 Palestinians killed so far in the Israel-Hamas war.
Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids hosted the event, which happened across from DeVos Performance Hall on Monroe Avenue.
Those in attendance held signs as cars drove by and paid respects to the live lost. They also called on city leaders to pass a resolution that condemns Israel’s military action and for Michigan’s congressional delegation to end U.S. aid to Israel.
“I believe that tax money should be going to our own communities here in Grand Rapids, in the United States so that folks here can have a better life,” said Danny Celaya, a spokesperson for Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids. “I myself am also an immigrant from Mexico and so there's a lot of parallels [between Mexico and Palestine]. Everything from our border wall separating families, our history of coming from a community that was also colonized, also faced a lot of oppression. It's just the right thing to do and we're just trying to be on the right side of history.”
