Pro-Palestinian Protesters Assemble in Covington as Israeli Forces Enter Rafah

Protesters from Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky cities gathered in Covington on May 7 to send a message to politicians and passersby about the latest development in Gaza.

“Shame! Shame!” chanted approximately 50 protesters at the corner of Pike Street and 7th Street. Mohammad Ahmad, head organizer of the Covington for Ceasefire organization, addressed the growing crowd gathered on a wide median:

“You want to pass a public comment ordinance because you don’t want to listen to us? That’s fine! You’re going to hear it from the street!” Ahmad shouted from behind a keffiyeh wrapped around the lower half of his face.

Covington for Ceasefire was not the only organization to brave the threat of severe storms – Cincinnati Socialists, Cincinnati Community Aid and Praxis, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Northern Kentucky University Students for Justice in Palestine and Coalition for Community and Safety all showed up. They were protesting, not only a proposed ordinance in Covington that could limit public comment at Commission meetings, but taxpayers’ contributions to Israel’s war effort in Gaza.

“Israel just started bombing Rafah, they started their invasion, the one that should not be happening after they literally evacuated over a million and a half people to the most densely populated place on Earth, knowing they're going to be at risk, knowing that they have nowhere to go,” Ahmad told CityBeat. “The United States is just green lighting it with our tax dollars, including Covington tax dollars. We're here to say, no, we're not okay with that.”

According to the Associated Press, Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing on May 7. CNN is reporting that the U.S. State Department has described Israel's seizure of the crossing as a possible "prelude" to a major military operation. The move comes as reports of a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has stalled, with Israel's government saying Hamas failed to meet its requirements. Israel has reportedly sent a delegation to Cairo where negotiations continue, but Egypt has also condemned Israel's move into Rafah as "a dangerous escalation," according to NPR. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on May 7 that Israel's invasion of Rafah would be “a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told reporters on May 8 that forces are conducting a "precise counterterrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah," including "targeted raids,” according to CNN. Israeli airstrikes hitting Rafah have killed hundreds of civilians since late March, according to NPR. Since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas militants that left upwards of 1,200 Israelis dead, Israel's counteroffensive measures have killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. It's unclear just how many of the 250 Israeli citizens who were taken hostage after Oct. 7 remain alive in Gaza.

Listening to Palestinian voices

Hatem Dahleh is a Palestinian-American who turned out for the Covington demonstration. He wants people to pay attention to the voices of Palestinians, especially those living in fear in Gaza.

“I'm here because I'm a Palestinian,” he said. “With our voices being here at protests or reposting what people in Palestine show us everyday on social media, we’re showing it to the people here in the United States.”

Jack Fogle is also a Palestinian-American. He may have grown up in Kentucky, but he’s had decades to learn the history of his mom’s far-flung side of the family.

“My mother is Palestinian, she's from the West Bank. My father's from Appalachian Kentucky,” Fogle said.

He’s used his family history and connection with the pain experienced by Palestinians to write a play that will debut at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival in June.

“I was just kind of writing it for fun, and then when Oct. 7 happened, I decided I needed to write it,” he said. “My play got picked to the primary lineup and it's about a Palestinian family. They're grieving the loss of their mother, who's from Palestine, and it's kind of the process of their grief and how they deal with it and when they're preparing for the funeral. [...] Everybody who plays a Palestinian is of Arab descent, so I tried really hard to be conscientious about the voices that are represented in the show.”

A portion of the proceeds from Fogle’s show will go to Palestinian charities, including the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Fogle said his play is only one small moment of education in a wide array of voices that can teach about the life of Palestinians.

“Listen to the voices of Palestinians and highlight their voices, amplify their voices,” he said. “I could recommend books, I could recommend movies, I could recommend documentaries. But at the end of the day, if you seek out the voices of Palestinians, you'll hear the truth.”

The hashtags about the ongoing war in Gaza are immeasurable at this point – #Palestine has 5.6 million hits on TikTok alone – Fogle doesn’t want the newfound mainstream spotlight on Palestine to fade, but he wants people to advocate consciously, not just because it’s a popular cause for young people.

“It's really cool to see it entering the collective consciousness. I have to say, there's a little part of me that's afraid that it might be like a fad,” he said. “ I hope that this awareness continues into the future, and I'm really hopeful that it will.”

Thurman Wenzel showing up to protest in Covington shows how the Free Palestine movement is a lifelong effort for some. The most senior demonstrator, Wenzel said he’s inspired by the youth’s turnout for Palestinians.

“My main focus is encouraging young people who have just gotten involved to understand the history, to understand that its history did not begin on Oct. 7,” Wenzel said. “I've been doing this for approximately 50 years – there have been previous generations of Palestinian activists. The Israeli government is totally off base in suggesting that they can, quote-unquote, ‘win the war against Hamas.’ Even if they kill every member of Hamas, another Palestinian group is going to pop up and be even more angry. Their only solution is to find a ceasefire and negotiations to share the land.”

Many U.S. leaders with the power to effect change for Palestinians are going to be on the ballot in November, including President Joe Biden. Biden has lost considerable favor among young liberal and leftist voters for his handling of the situation in Gaza. According to CNN polling, Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict skews lower among young voters: 28% approval to 71% disapproval, with an 81% disapproval mark among voters younger than 35.

Ren, who didn’t want to share their last name, is an organizer for Cincinnati Socialists. They said, for young voters, the threat of another Donald Trump presidency just isn’t enough to overlook Biden’s foreign policy after Oct. 7.

“The two party system will not save us. This is not a democracy, this is fascism,” Ren said. “There is no place within government, bourgeois government, for them to ever cease to our demands. A vote will not bring any form of justice or peace to us, no matter who we vote for.”

Young leaders

Laila Shaikh is president of the University of Cincinnati’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization (UC-SJP). She’s been leading the way for UC students, but UC SJP hasn’t held any of the widely-reported student protests on its Clifton campus. Shaikh told CityBeat that UC’s semester wrapped earlier than most universities in Ohio. She said UC-SJP has been joining other SJP chapters across the state instead, protesting in encampments on their campuses and building strength in numbers.

“We thought it'd be most powerful to do it in the state capital, you know, Columbus, just because Ohio as an entire state is the second largest investor in Israeli bonds right after New York,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that our voices are heard, not just by our administration, and not just by OSU, but also the Statehouse.”

One of the protests that took place on OSU’s campus resulted in the use of force by law enforcement against protesters, including Shaikh, who said she was beaten while praying.

“I was a part of the people that was praying while the state trooper started beating us, like I still have bruises up and down my back,” she said. “Literally there's nothing more peaceful than praying. And I got beat for doing one of my five daily prayers where I can't control the time of when we have to do that.”

Shaikh works closely with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). She said she can feel the increase in Islamophobia since Oct. 7, especially in the way law enforcement responds to protests.

In Ohio alone, CAIR reported a 600% increase in Islamophobic incident reports between Oct. 7 and Nov. 4, 2023, with incidents ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults.

“[It’s] because of anti-Palestinian rhetoric and because of Islamophobia, and this is even more than during 9/11,” Shaikh said. “It feels like we're going backwards in time. It just feels like they're trying so hard to criminalize us and make us feel almost like we're doing something wrong for existing.”

Antisemitism has also seen a spike in recent months. In April, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released their 2023 statistics for antisemitic incidents in the U.S., reporting a 140% increase in assaults, harassment and vandalism, the highest level recorded since ADL started tracking incidents in 1979. Included in these incidents are “anti-Israel demonstrations,” which, according to the ADL, tip into the definition of antisemitic when protesters use words and phrases like “genocide,” “from the river to the sea” or when protesters call Zionism a racist endeavor.

“I'm sorry they feel uncomfortable by the truth,” said Ahmad. “I'm sorry they're uncomfortable by the fact that the truth hurts, but it's a genocide and Zionism is racism. I'm not worried about their feelings. I'm worried about the fact that people are being wiped off the face of the earth.”

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