SAN DIEGO (KGTV)-- Hundreds of San Diegans with family ties to Palestine demonstrated in front of the federal building in Downtown San Diego Tuesday afternoon. They said they are demanding the United States government stop aid to Israel.
"It's a day we will remember. May 18, 2021," one protestor said into a megaphone. "Thank you to all of our supporters here today and across the world who are standing in support of Palestinian liberation!"
This rally comes as some of the worst violence in years broke out about a week ago between the Israelis and Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Airstrikes and bombings have increased the death toll on both sides to near 250, with almost half of them being women and children.
"If the Palestinians put down their arms tomorrow, they would have the land, and we would have peace. If we put down our arms tomorrow, we would all be dead," Dr. Eli Ben-Moshe, founder of San Diego-based Anti-semitism group, Shield of David, said.
Palestinian Americans said they do not want to disappear as casualties in a centuries-long conflict.
"Being out here shows people that we exist. People often speak about how Palestinians don't exist. But we do exist, and we are here," she told ABC 10News.
For several hours, streets leading to the Federal building, including Broadway and Front Streets, were shut down as Palestinian demonstrators marched the streets. Both sides said they are hoping for a truce and an end to the violence in the Middle East.
"Let's forget who is Palestinian and who is Jewish," Ben-Moshe said. "It's sad to all of us, that people are having to die. Let's all pray together for a united world. Christians, Muslims, Jews alike."
