The march marked the second anniversary of the dismantling of the Gaza Solidarity Encampments at Columbia University and the City College of New York (CCNY), as well as the infamous takeover of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall.
Students who took over the building unfurled a banner that said “Hind’s Hall,” a reference to Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old who was killed in Gaza during Israel’s war with the Palestinian group, Hamas.
The crowd consisted of students and supporters, many clad in keffiyehs, headscarves associated with the Palestinian movement.
Throughout the march, protesters chanted, “We don’t want no two states, we want ’48,” “from Harlem to Gaza, globalize the intifada” and “Palestine is our demand, no peace on stolen land”.
Once they arrived at the end of the march, a new chant began: “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here”.
“Mayor Mamdani, you were very comfortable in using the struggle of the liberation of Palestine to win the hearts of New Yorkers and to put you in office. But now that you’re in office, we will hold you accountable to your words, and we will not allow you to use Palestine as a political tool,” a protester said before reading the list of demands.
