About 50 people gathered in Bangor Saturday to call for an end to the violence between Israel and Palestine and show solidarity with the people of Palestine.
The protestors gathered outside the Bangor Public Library to denounce what they called the occupation and colonization of Palestine by the country of Israel while also condemning the violence of Hamas militants. The group, made up of Bangor area residents and some people from as far away as Surry and central Maine, chanted and waved signs in support of the people of Palestine who have been caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hamas.
Brendan Davison, who lives in the Bangor area, helped organize the protest along with others in the community and said he wanted to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and his opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
“This issue affects every one of us because, for one thing, we [the United States] are complicit in the occupation, because our government gives billions of dollars every year to the Israeli military, to the Israeli government, to entrench the occupation and to expand the settlements and to murder Palestinian people,” he said.
The Israeli government formally declared war against Hamas shortly after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7 in Israel. In the days since the war has claimed at least 3,200 lives, according to the Associated Press.
“We do not support Hamas, we do not condone their actions,” Davison said. “That’s not what we’re here about. We’re here about the occupation.”
Ash Hebert, who said they were part of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, drove up to Bangor from central Maine to show support for the Palestinian people.
“This conflict didn’t start yesterday, it didn’t start six days ago. It’s been 75 years and counting of not only settler colonialism, occupation, and a violent one at that,” Hebert said.
The hope, Hebert said, is that people across Maine pay attention to what is going on and not take everything that is published in the media at face value.
Since the start of the war about a week ago, misinformation has swirled around social media and the internet. That includes videos users across social media platforms have shared about false claims that a top Israeli commander was kidnapped and a fake White House memo, the AP reported Friday.
Steve Benson drove from Surry Saturday to join the protest in Bangor. He said he saw an opportunity to stand up for civil rights and peace.
“I find it so necessary to stand behind the people of Gaza, who do not all identify with Hamas and who are, by and large, innocent of the aggressions that Hamas launched, but are paying the price,” Benson said.
The Israeli military has prepared a “coordinated” offensive in the Gaza Strip involving air, ground and naval forces, it said in a statement Saturday. On Friday, Israel ordered one million people to evacuate the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion.
