DETROIT — On Sunday, June 13, more than 1,000 people rallied in Midtown Detroit, in a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza. The demonstration, which was initiated by the Z Collective, an Arab and Muslim feminist network, was a part of public outreach campaign to link the struggle in Palestine to poverty in Detroit, as a part of a focus on global injustice.

Protesters gathered in front of the Detroit Orchestra Hall on Woodward Avenue, where the Concert of Colors, an ethnic music festival, was taking place. Demonstrators marched down the street and stood on the corner of Woodward and Warren, across from the Wayne State University Welcome Center. They engaged drivers and pedestrians with conversations, poetry and chants about the situation in Gaza.

Prominent activists and public figures, including State Rep. Rashida Tlaib; Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations; local activist Will Copeland; and Palestinian American comedian Amer Zahr, spoke at the rally. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, we, as Americans, should not only be raising our voices about what’s going on in Palestine, but also the misuse of our tax dollars,” Walid told the crowd. “I want to know why Detroiters are getting their water turned off over a small bill when $8 million a day are going to fund Israel… We are subsidizing apartheid with our taxpayer dollars.”

Walid urged Arab Americans to form a political partnership with other ethnic groups to fight oppression at home and abroad. “Palestine cannot be free until we are all free,” he said. 

Tlaib said that as Americans, we stand with “our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

“I’m standing here not only as an American… but also as a mother,” she said in a brief, passionate speech. “Our children should never be part of this kind of massacre. Children should always be hands-off in a war. These adults are idiots and arrogant and hateful. Our children should never be a part of this.”

The state representative led the crowd in chanting, “Not our children.”

“If they think they can kill this fight for freedom in Palestine, it’s just going to create another generation that will remember what exactly happened to them as children,” she said. 

Tlaib said mothers will be united in protecting children regardless of their identity, adding that one day a Martin Luther King or a Rosa Parks will emerge in Palestine.

Copeland spoke about the similarities between the struggles of Detroiters and Palestinians.

“The same media that is lying about the violence of Palestinians is lying about the violence of Detroiters,” he said. “The same media that is saying that Palestinians don’t have the right to control their territories is advocating for the removal of poor Detroiters, of Black Detroiters and other ethnic communities. The shame media. We know this is one struggle. We know this is a struggle for self-determination.”

Zena Ozeir, an organizer and a member of the Z Collective, asked for an Anti-Semitic sign in the rally to be taken down. “We do not tolerate Anti-Semitism of any kind,” she said.

Mirna Haidar, one of the founders of the Z Collective, described the turnout as “incredible.” Jimmy Johnson, a writer for the Electronic Intifada, dubbed it as “the largest turnout for Palestine in years.”

The protest coincided with the World Cup final. Haidar said some members of the community opted to stay home and watch soccer because they do not believe in the usefulness of protesting. She added that she received messages from Gaza residents under attack expressing their attitude for the demonstration.

“The messages from Gaza said, we know you cannot change the Israeli and American policies, but it helps us sleep better at night to know that people are thinking about us on the other side of the world,” Mirna explained.

Haidar said the Z Collective was formed about three years ago. She said the network advocates for social and gender equality.

“We are not a traditional organization,” Haidar said. “We are a collective. We are aiming to work with different groups from other communities and unify our efforts for our common goals of justice and equality.”  

Haidar added that the network is looking to organize and stand by Rasmea Odeh, a 66-year-old Palestinian activist, who is on trial in Detroit for allegedly not disclosing a conviction in an Israeli military court on her citizenship application.

On Friday, July 11, about 100 people gathered at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in solidarity with the people of Gaza. The protesters marched from the the corner of South State Street and North University to the Ann Arbor City Hall on East Huron Street. local students organized the rally. 

The protesters chanted “Boycott Israel. Stop bombing Gaza” and held up signs expressing support for the Palestinian people. “Where is the humanity?” one sign asked, referring to international silence to the Israeli attacks on Gaza, which had killed more than 100 people by the time of the protest.

Another protest is planned in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan Diag, on Friday, July 18, starting at 3 p.m.

On Monday, July 7, activists Blaine Coleman and Mozhgan Savabieasfahani had urged the Ann Arbor City Council to pass a resolution to boycott Israel to the maximum extent allowed by law. Both activists plan to propose boycott in front of the city council again on Monday, July 21. 

Savabieasfahani described last week’s protest on campus as a success. 

“It managed to bring the issue to a lot of people’s attention,” she said. 

The Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL), a Dearborn-based civil rights organization, called on both sides to stop the fighting instantly.  

“The ACRL stands in solidarity with the human rights community calling for an immediate cease-fire of the conflict in Gaza and a call to stop the violence. Since the onset of the conflict only seven days ago, there has been hundreds injured and hundreds killed, most of whom are innocent civilians,” the ACRL said in a statement. “Currently, Egyptian officials are trying to broker a peace, one that was initially accepted only earlier today, however is now unraveling. ACRL calls on both sides to take swift action to end the violence and to protect the innocent.”