Hundreds march downtown Asheville streets demanding a Gaza ceasefire: 'Hands off Rafah'
ASHEVILLE - Hundreds gathered at Pack Square Plaza in downtown, where calls for a ceasefire in Gaza rang out across the surrounding blocks. Organizers say it is the biggest local pro-Palestine turnout in several months of protests.
The more than 300 people gathered on March 2 marched a circuitous, nearly mile-long route through downtown Asheville, beginning at the plaza, cutting through the heart of downtown, then along its northern border and back to to the base of the Vance Monument.
"Continue to pressure, continue to boycott, continue to rage," said Claire Clark, an organizer with the Western North Carolina Chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She and others led the crowd in call-and-response chants. The message varied but often returned to the most vigorous cry: "Free Palestine."
Hoisting signs, banners and several Palestinian flags, the march clogged streets and stopped traffic. Protestors on bikes served as barricades at intersections, angling along car bumpers, creating a path that spilled across both lanes of traffic. Entire city blocks were filled with people as the march moved through the city. A handful of stroller-pushing parents held up the rear.
'Hands off Rafah'
The pro-Palestine protest in Asheville was one of dozens organized across the country as part of a “global day of action,” prompted by Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, the densely populated city in southern Gaza.
“Even from the beginning, we saw more turnout than we have seen before," said Cody Cogdell, another PSL organizer. "Part of that does come from the fact that there is this impending invasion of Rafah. People don’t want to see these 1.5 million people in tents being invaded and killed."
Cogdell said organizers did not obtain temporary closure permits for the blocked streets, but Asheville police did not intervene. An APD vehicle rolled slowly behind the crowd, and another officer on-foot near the front of the pack. There was minimal law enforcement presence throughout the protest. A Buncombe County paramedic vehicle occasionally circled the block.
Negotiations for a temporary ceasefire and release of hostages have made progress in recent days, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an agreement would only delay the incursion into Rafah, according to Feb. 26 reporting from USA TODAY.
Top Israeli officials have said if no agreement is reached, the military will invade Rafah by the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts around March 10. More than 1 million people, most of whom have fled from other areas of the territory, are crowded in overflowing shelters and sprawling tent encampments in Rafah with little food, water and medicine.
Israel has essentially agreed to a six-week ceasefire, that would include the release of hostages, USA TODAY reported March 2. Negotiators are now waiting for Hamas to sign off on the deal.
The U.S. began airdropping humanitarian aid into the stricken Gaza Strip on March 2, days after over 100 Palestinians were killed when witnesses said Israeli forces fired at people waiting for food in Gaza City.
Access to the Gaza Strip has been limited since the start of the war on Oct. 7, reports NPR. That's when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 240, according to Israeli officials. The Israeli response has killed at least 30,320 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
'I want the violence to stop'
Luke Meagher, from Spartanburg, at the plaza March 2, echoed calls for a ceasefire. He said that is the first step needed to stop the violence.
His interest is inspired by a young woman he met from Gaza.
“She has since returned to Gaza and is there now and has basically lost everything except for her life," He said. “So I’m here for that. Thinking about that times 2.3 million people.”
Also among the crowd, Alyssa Harrison, a University of North Carolina at Asheville student, originally from Charlotte, said as a part of the Jewish community, it was important for her to come and represent "free Palestine."
For passersby, she hoped the protest was an opportunity for "education and understanding."
“Asheville is a very big tourist town ... and there’s people walking up and down Pack Square all the time, having to stop by and see this," she said. "They have to listen, they have to read the signs, and even if they don’t want to educate themselves, even if the media around them is not educating them, or trying to, I think that’s really important. I find it very hard to believe that a lot of humans would be OK with what’s happening in Palestine if they knew what was happening."
Ceasefire calls at City Council
Public comment periods during the last several Asheville City Council meetings have been inundated with speakers — dozens calling for council to take up a cease-fire resolution, echoing action taken in Richmond, Virginia; Atlanta; Durham; Carrboro and more, where cities passed resolutions demanding a cease-fire and end the violence in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“We want City Council to listen to the voices of Asheville," Cogdell said. "We want our voices to be joined with the voices in Chicago and San Francisco, with the many cities across the country in saying, ‘Hey, our representatives who aren’t listening to us, we want a ceasefire, and we want it now. We want to stop the devastation.'"
City Council has not publicly responded to the demands during its meetings.
Pro-Israel speakers have also organized in response, though in smaller numbers. Recent meetings are punctuated by tension across the aisle of council chambers, with speakers occasionally booed or jeered at on both sides.
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Hundreds take to downtown Asheville demanding a Gaza ceasefire
