Illinois State University students and community members gathered on the Quad on Thursday for a vigil calling for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian aid in Gaza.
About 50 demonstrators gathered and displayed signs in Schroeder Plaza to put pressure on officials to secure a cease-fire in Gaza. They gathered hours after Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000, according to health officials.
Thursday’s event was organized by ISU students with help from other community organizations. Nicté Rivadeneyra-Braswell, a sophomore at ISU and the main organizer of the vigil, said she believes events like this help people to be aware of what’s happening further from home.
“Pay attention,” she said. “Bear witness to the atrocities that are happening over in Gaza. I think that’s really important.”
Religious leaders from around Bloomington-Normal were also present at the event. Some gave speeches calling for peace and asking those at the vigil to contact their elected leaders.
“I think that it’s easy to overlook things that are far away,” said Mother Mollie Ward, an Episcopal priest. “Not recognizing that there are a lot of people dying and they are still dying, and that hasn’t changed.”
Students involved in organizing the vigil are also trying to start a registered student organization at ISU called Students for Justice in Palestine. It would be a chapter of an already established organization. Rivadeneyra-Braswell said she hopes students can come away with an idea of something positive to do to bring change.
“I would just hope that people come away from this with a call to action, wanting to actually do something and then also having the resources to know what they can do next,” she said.
Speakers at the vigil included Rivadeneyra-Braswell, Ward, the Rev. Rebecca Gant from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal, pastor Danny Bradfield from First Christian Church in Bloomington, and local community organizers Karla Bailey-Smith and Mike Matejka.
The organizers requested attendees to text a hotline organized to contact representatives regarding U.S. policy on Gaza.
The Biden administration and other countries have been attempting to help broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Rivadeneyra-Braswell said we need to do better.
“With the election coming up, he [Biden] needs to realize that this is a major issue amongst voters,” she said, “especially among young voters and Muslim voters.”
Added Ward: “It’s not one side or the other that’s holding up more pressure to bring an end to the killing. I think as Americans, we are all responsible for that,” Ward said.
