Gainesville Activists Protest Mass Starvation in Gaza at Depot Park
Tuesday evening, activists organized by the Gainesville Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a demonstration at Depot Park to protest mass starvation in Gaza.
According to an article published by the United Nations (UN) last week, “Two out of three famine thresholds have been reached in Gaza: plummeting food consumption and acute malnutrition.” The report states there is mounting evidence of “widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease,” but that famine hasn’t been “declared.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that approximately 61,258 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since October 7, with an additional 152,045 injuries, as of August 7. The ministry reports that 197 Palestinians have died from malnutrition, 96 being children.
Videos and photos from Palestinian journalists in Gaza show adults and children starving to the point their bones are plainly visible on their skin.
Activists in Gainesville waved around signs and Palestinian flags, joining together in pro-resistance chants.
In a speech to protesters, PSL member Brooke Bennett said, “What is happening right now in Gaza is a direct result of U.S. imperialism and colonialism. If we don’t stop it now, it will not go away.”
Ocala for Palestine member Scott Westfall said in an interview that the best thing people can do to help the starving kids in Gaza is to look for “legitimate fundraisers.” He said Ocala for Palestine has legitimate fundraisers to help feed three families in Gaza. He said they’ve raised $7,000 since March. “Make sure you vet everybody you’re giving money to,” he said. “There are a lot of scammers out there, but there are some good accounts that can get money to those people pretty rapidly.”
In a speech to protesters, PSL member Marilyn Wende criticized the Gainesville City Commission for refusing to cut investments in war profiteers and Israeli-associated companies like Caterpillar.
Wende said, “Alachua County has divested, but Harvey Ward and the City Commission here in Gainesville refuse… We should shame them—they should feel ashamed. If the county can do it, so can the city.”
The last time activists protested at city hall to campaign for divestment was on September 5, 2024, at a city commission meeting.
Mayor Harvey Ward and all the commissioners, aside from Desmond Duncan-Walker, weren’t receptive to the activist’s proposal.
Ward and the majority of the commission held that the city couldn’t consider divestment because of Florida law requiring municipalities to only consider fiscal factors when making economic decisions.
Palestine advocates held that divesting from all corporations unanimously in favor of treasury bonds for long-term fiscal stability would be a way to divest from Israeli-associated corporations while still being in compliance with Florida law. This is how the Alachua County Commission was able to divest.
Ward, who reportedly pledged the city’s support to Israel a few weeks after October 7, 2023, disagreed with the Palestine advocates, saying, “Alachua County has an entirely different reading of the same law.”
Following the (Sep 5, 2024) protest, activists said they would return, but they haven’t been back to City Hall to campaign for divestment since.
Over the past year, the majority of protests have taken place at a park.
