At 1 p.m. on Oct. 5, dozens of local students and community members congregated at the Amherst Town Common for a pro-Palestinian march and rally organized by the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Palestine (WMC4P).

Several speeches were held at the common to begin the rally, all calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. There have been consistent protests locally and globally including on the UMass campus, sparked by the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack on parts of southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting about 250 people, mostly civilians.

In the year since, Israel has launched an aerial and ground bombardment of Gaza that has killed 42,000, more than half of whom are women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

On Sept. 23, Israel launched its most intense aerial bombardment of Lebanon since a month-long conflict in 2006. Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on Sept. 30, killing almost 2,000 Lebanese. In addition, 1.2 million Lebanese have been driven from their homes, the Associated Press reported.

The rally also highlighted the 130 people arrested on May 7 during a Gaza solidarity encampment on South Lawn at UMass’s campus.

Along with as an emphasis on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an organization that “works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law,” according to their website.

Multiple local organizations tabled at the rally, among them were Valley Families for Palestine, UMass Amherst Faculty for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace in Western Massachusetts.

Hoang Phan, English professor at UMass Amherst, led the rally, introducing speakers and directing the crowd during the march.

Leyla Moushabeck, Palestinian-American, local activist and co-founder of Valley Families for Palestine, led the first round of speeches.

“Our movement is growing,” Moushabeck said, “It has been a devastating few weeks of a devastating year, and the work can seem insurmountable. In these moments, our strength is in our solidarity.”

A small group of about 10 counter-protesters stood behind the speakers on the common. Two were holding the Israeli flag, and others held signs reading, “Bring them home now–ALIVE,” and “Don’t abandon Israel.”

Louai Abu-Osba, a Palestnian-American and local activist, spoke about the need for community during this period and the growth of the pro-Palestinian movement in the past year. He referenced a counter-protest he attended when he was a Hampshire College student in the early 2000s, where he and one other friend were the only two at that event supporting Palestine.

“We were vastly outnumbered [at the counter-protest],” he said, looking out to the large crowd before him, “so this is incredible progress for me and is deeply satisfying.”

At 2:30 p.m., the crowd began a march towards the UMass Amherst campus, going down N. Pleasant St. More speeches were held at Kendrick Park on N. Pleasant St.

Community member Hanan Yaktin, a person of Lebanese-American descent and has been affected personally by the violence in Lebanon, spoke at the rally.

She began her speech with a message of peace. “I pray that peace descends upon this entire Earth. There is nothing needed more than that right now.”

Yaktin described an extended trip to Lebanon she took with her three children in the summer of 2006, when Israel carpet-bombed Lebanon in a 34-day conflict with Hezbollah.

“I was obviously horrified, and terrorized,” Yaktin said, “I always thought that I would come back and tell others what we experienced, but I never had the chance.”

“So today I’m remembering that promise to myself and telling you, what is going on [in Gaza and Lebanon], is terrorism, in the worst sense of the word,” Yaktin said.

At 3:30 p.m., the march continued to the public roadway across from the Haigis Mall on Massachusetts Ave. Where the march and rally ended around 4 p.m.

The Western Massachusetts Coalition for Palestine is sponsoring a multi-faith vigil at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7 on the Amherst Town Common.

Luke Macannuco can be reached at [email protected]