I would like to start with a confession: this was the first time I joined a demonstration against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, like many other Palestinian citizens, I was afraid — not just of the war itself, but of Israel’s escalating campaign of police repression.
According to Adalah, a Palestinian human rights organization and legal center based in Haifa, more than 400 Palestinian citizens were arrested or detained from October 2023 until the end of March 2024. Later, between May and July 2024, at least 34 protesters were arrested for taking part in peaceful demonstrations against the war.
As a mother of two children — 11 and 5 — my primary concern was their safety and mine, so I could be with them during these difficult times. In Haifa, where we live, Hezbollah’s missiles and Israel’s invasion of Lebanon last year brought the war much closer to home. Even so, the tension in the north felt like a distant echo compared to the devastation being unleashed on Gaza. ….more