Supporters of Palestine are protesting Philly news coverage | CPT PPP Coverage

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When speaking with WHYY News, Palestinian Rami Ibrahim said the media is painting a picture that the conflict arose out of nowhere, with hardly any discussion of the displacement of Palestinians over several decades.

“This is what people don’t understand, 75 years of constant oppression, lives being murdered, Palestinian homes being demolished, Palestinian land being stolen. Gaza alone [has] been locked down for 16 years. We’re talking about being locked down, nothing allowed in or out for 16 years. This is not something that has just been unprovoked.”

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has provoked strong reactions from local communities. Ribhi Mustafa, a Palestinian Philadelphian, told reporters the issue has never been about religion.

“There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Jewish people who condemn the actions of the Israeli government,” Mustafa said. “Judaism is a religion. Zionism is an ideology. A Jew and I, we’re brothers. We’re the sons of the same father. We believe in one God. There is no difference between us. It’s the ideology that’s the problem. Zionism was created to take over and eradicate and exterminate the Palestinian people. This has nothing to do with religion, period.”

Members of the coalition and its allies delivered speeches and chanted in front of the entrance of WHYY’s studio, drowning out the continual live radio broadcast from an outdoor speaker. After the speeches concluded, members of the crowd took in safety information and proceeded down N. 6th Street to the headquarters of the Philadelphia Inquirer. By the time the crowd reached the Inquirer’s building, it grew to 250 people.

At the intersection of 6th and Market, members of Philly Stands With Israel held a counter protest. At one point, one of the members of the group was seen making obscene gestures at the protesters and shouting curse words at them.

Muslim artist Tone Trump spoke with WHYY News outside of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s headquarters, saying the small group of counter protesters doesn’t represent the entire Jewish community.

“There’s people that are Jewish that played parts in saving and changing my life,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do anything to harm them. One of my Jewish brothers posted something today talking about his concerns for his grandparents. I’d be lying if I say I don’t sympathize with that. You know what I mean? I’d be lying to say that, you know, as much as I love Palestine… This isn’t a Muslim issue. This is a humanity issue.”

Last Saturday, Hamas launched a surprise attack on civilian and Israeli military targets from the Gaza Strip and took hostages. The escalation occurred on the Jewish Sabbath and the Simchat Torah holiday, a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War. In response, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes.

The region has since been under siege by Israel, cutting off electricity and barring the entry of fuel, food, water, medicine, and more into the territory. U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday said the “sieges” were illegal under international law. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said health services “have reached a critical stage, medicines, medical consumables, and fuel will run out imminently.”