Groups gather downtown in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel declares war

Demonstrators gathered in the Loop to show solidarity with Palestinians on Sunday afternoon following the surprise attack launched against Israel by Hamas.

The three-hour rally and march, organized by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine — a group of local Palestinian solidarity groups — started at 1 p.m. in front of Ogilvie Station, where the Israeli Consulate is located in the building above, and moved throughout the downtown area.

Chicago police confirmed officers had responded to a public gathering in the area, but didn’t have any further information.

Muhammed Sankari, a member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, which is part of the larger coalition that organized the event, said seeing Chicagoans who are part of the “indivisible” Palestinian nation gather in solidarity was “powerful.”

“This is a moment of international mobilization for Palestine,” Sankari said. “We are taking part in sending that message that we are united for national liberation, an end to apartheid and occupation and liberation for the Palestinian people.”

Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund, said he felt “horror” and “despair” about the conflict, but that groups such as his and others have set up aid funds to help those affected by the war.

“We know that Israel will be OK at the end of this, and they will prevail in this war against a terrorist organization,” Nasatir said. “They will need a lot of love and affection and support from the diaspora Jewish community, and we intend to give it.”

Nasatir said he was frustrated by Sunday’s protest by pro-Palestine groups, saying he believed it celebrated the loss of life both sides had seen, among other things.

“I was appalled that people would be celebrating the loss of so many innocent lives to these disgusting terrorists who perpetrated these acts,” Nasatir said. “That, to me, says it all about what Israel is up against in terms of an enemy that is, again, celebrating the loss of life and the destruction of the Jewish state. … I’m ashamed they walked the streets of our great city.”

However, Sankari said those standing in solidarity with Palestine are also anxiously awaiting calls reporting the loss of loved ones, and that the groups were also eager for the conflict to end — albeit with an actual solution to the ongoing issues.

“It’s a situation in which they’re literally watching the news and at any moment could get horrific news,” Sankari said. “They’re just hoping for the best and that Israel ends this wave of violence.”