Led by Jewish community members, dozens of Centre County resident gathered on Sunday at the Allen Street Gates in downtown State College for a symbolic hunger strike and protest vigil, in honor of the Jewish day of fasting Tisha B’Av.
Tisha B’av is a day of collective reflection and mourning for the destruction of Temples and historical catastrophes within the Jewish community. This year, community members, both Jews and non-Jews, marked the annual day of reflection by standing and fasting “in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, who are being subjected to starvation and forced displacement by the Israeli government,” according to a flier promoting the demonstration
“We refuse to remain silent. As Jews, we fast to mourn our own tragedies. This year, we also fast in protest,” the flier read.
Standing in the glaring sun starting at about 10 a.m., protesters held signs opposing starvation and expressing their support and grief for Gaza. A number of passing cars honked in approval and solidarity.
“I’m here to protest the starvation of Gaza genocide by Israel. I’m here as a Jew whose grandparents survived the genocide in Europe,” protest organizer and State College resident Tamir Sorek said. “I’m here as an Israeli citizen who is appalled by what this government is doing, and I’m also here as an American citizen who is funding these crimes.
“So I think that on many levels, it is my moral duty to be here, to scream, to protest, to tell people that the genocide is taking place, and we should do everything we can to stop it…I think this is an appropriate day for Jews to protest against Gaza, to fast as part of our tradition, but also as a way of being in solidarity with the people in Gaza who are now starved to death.”
The gathering appeared to be entirely peaceful, and it did not take to the street or block traffic. State College police were in the area, but remained at a distance from the crowd.
“I think it’s been very clear there have been a significant number of war crimes that have also been committed by Israel in Gaza, and now certainly meeting the formal definition of genocide by a number of people,” protester and State College Borough Council member Gopal Balachandran said. “I think it’s important for us to be able to raise our voices on this, and it makes it particularly important for Americans to raise our voice, because it’s through our funding and our bonds and our complicity that this genocide is able to take place. So we bear a special responsibility to be able to speak out against our government’s policies.”
The peaceful protest dispersed at around 1:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon, followed by another protest setting up shop at the Allen Street Gates, raising concerns about the recent anti-transgender health care laws.
“This is an issue that is very important to many members of our community. There’s always been a great deal of interest in support,” Balachandran said. “I’m very happy with that turnout over the summer, and we got a lot of people coming by marking their warrants and support. It’s something you think, ‘well this is occurring far away. How was it a local issue?’ But it means a lot to a lot of people of sorts.”
