Rabia İclal Turan
06 April 2025•Update: 07 April 2025
WASHINGTON
Thousands of people from across the United States gathered in Washington, DC, on Saturday to demand an end to Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and the Trump administration’s intensifying crackdown on pro-Palestinian students and activists.
The rally dew support from more than 300 organizations and saw demonstrators convene at the intersection of 3rd Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Participants then marched to key sites, including the headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calling for the release of detained pro-Palestinian students and academics such as Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk.
The protest was co-sponsored by several advocacy groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, The People’s Forum, Jewish Voice for Peace and the ANSWER Coalition.
Protesters carried signs and posters depicting Palestinian children killed in Gaza and students arrested or deported for their activism, denouncing what they described as an attack on civil liberties under the Trump administration.
“We are so horrified about the treatment that students in the United States are facing just for saying genocide is bad,” said Ann Wright, a member of Code Pink and a former US diplomat, in an interview with Anadolu. “Some of them are getting detained, some deported. It is a horrible thing that’s happening in this country to people who simply have humanity.”
One such student, Mahmoud Khalil -- a green card holder and recent Columbia University graduate who helped organize campus protests last year, has become a symbol of the protest movement after being detained for his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Suzanne Ali, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement in the Bay Area, told Anadolu the rally demonstrated the resilience of the movement despite escalating repression. “We’re here with tens of thousands of people from across the United States, in defiance of the administration’s attempts to suppress our speech and detain our students,” she said. “With every arrest and threat, our movement shows up stronger.”
For many participants, the rally was deeply personal.
“I have been concerned about Palestine for 40 something years. This is the worse it’s ever been,” said Joni Nacef, a protester who traveled to the capital for the event. “It feels really hard right now in the United States. I just want to be able to do something.”
Another protester, Danny Moore, said, “I’m here because I want to support everyone being out in the streets to stop genocide, to stop oppression, to stop oligarchy, to stop dictatorship, which is where we're going. I don’t want to see any more people killed.”
Saturday’s march in Washington was part of a nationwide day of action, with similar rallies taking place in cities across the country.
