Pro-Palestinian protest on Monument Circle met with pro-Israel counterprotest

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict that erupted in violence over the weekend spilled onto Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis in the form of peaceful but emotional protests Thursday night.

On the southeast corner of the circle, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors chanted “Free Palestine!” and “Occupation no more!” as about a hundred pro-Israeli counterprotestors competed for volume from the steps of the monument, chanting phrases like “Hamas is ISIS.”

Through the chanting, singing, speeches and music on either side, vehicle traffic moved slowly in between the two groups and multiple law enforcement agencies maintained a heavy presence.

Hamas launched a coordinated, massive surprise attack on Israel Saturday, and Israel responded by bombing the Gaza Strip, effectively launching a war. As of Thursday afternoon, Israeli officials are reporting 1,200 people dead from the Hamas attack, while the Gaza Ministry of Health reports at least 1,500 civilians have been killed in Gaza.

Many American politicians reacted to the violence with statements condemning the actions of Hamas and expressing support for Israel, while pro-Palestinian groups have taken to the streets across the country to call for the United States to end aid to Israel and to call attention to the decades of occupation and blockade-conditions on Palestinians that predated the Hamas attack. Organizers of the pro-Palestinian rally in Indianapolis, like Malkah Bird with Jewish Voice For Peace Indiana, said the event was about securing justice for Palestinians and “human dignity for all lives.”

Mohammad Abuhummos, a Fishers resident and member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said he feels the experience of Palestinians over many decades gets lost in the criticism of Hamas’ actions. He lost two cousins in Gaza to the siege over the weekend, and still has aunts and uncles living there, fearing for their lives.

“My family go to sleep every day not knowing that they will wake up the next day,” he said. “They all sleep in one hallway, hoping that if they get hit by an airstrike that they die together. This is not an unfamilar scene to them. They have seen this through decades of war.”

As Palestinian protestors chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” some counterprotestors supporting Israel interpreted the phrase as a call to eradicate Jewish people.

“They want us dead,” said Lewis Profetta of Indianapolis. “That is a charge to kill all of us.” 

The pro-Palestinian protest Thursday came three days after nearly a thousand members of the Indianapolis Jewish community gathered at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck to express solidarity with Israel and outrage at what they called a “senseless slaughter” of Israeli civilians.

The pro-Israel supporters who came to the downtown rally Thursday largely stayed across the street, with the road separating the two groups. At times pro-Palestinians gave speeches while facing inward toward one another; at times, they all turned to face the pro-Israel crowd.

There was just one skirmish that fizzled quickly, but resulted in the arrest of one protestor on a battery charge, according to Indianapolis police. More details were not immediately available.

This war is the latest chapter of a bloody, intractable conflict between Israelis and Arab Palestinians that dates back a century, with both indigenous peoples fighting for claim to the holy land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel-Gaza War: What’s happening in Israel? After Hamas attack, understanding the conflict in Gaza

“Not only is this a conflict between peoples claiming the same piece of land, it’s a conflict of narratives,” said Pierre Atlas, a public policy lecturer at Indiana University and expert on the conflict. “One of the real problems is that a lot of people on either side refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the other side’s narrative. And that’s a real problem.”

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.