Students Walk out for Palestine, Decry Ongoing Assault on Gaza

The following article appeared in The Graphic on January 15, 2024. It is reposted here with permission.

Since the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas, over 31, 497 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza strip, largely civilians. Those killed by Israeli air and artillery attacks include children, women, health and civil defense personnel, and journalists. Conditions in Gaza have also deteriorated drastically, making it a largely unliveable place.

As a result, people in our local community and all around the world are sad, angry, and frustrated, and many have taken part in protests or actions to show their distress and their solidarity with Palestine.

I spoke with high school students and teachers who were willing to weigh in on the war, including seniors Magdalene Marcus and Forrest Carvalho, sophomore Natalie Auerbach, and Social Studies department head Simon Leutz. 

“I’m angry at our government for standing with the oppressor and for directly contributing to genocide,” Auerbach said.  

When they first heard about the October 7 massacre targeting Jewish civilians, Auerbach said, “I was shattered.” 

But they noted that in the aftermath, they were hardest hit by “the reports that followed: the white phosphorus, the nerve gas, the hospital bombings, children writing their names on their arms so they could be identified after death, the death tolls.”

Auerbach and other students said they all were invested in being continuously educated on the topic, and noted that in addition to reading or listening to reports in established international news organizations, they followed independent local journalists in Gaza as well.

“I only really learned about it when things escalated, and I use journalists in Gaza like [Bisan Owda] who post on social media,” Carvalho said, to stay up to date. 

Marcus referred to learning from Instagram accounts posting from Palestinian territory, including @wizard_bisan1, @sbeih.jpeg, and @byplestia.

Leutz, however, had a different approach: “I’ve been learning about the topic since I was in college. I don’t tend to use social media to follow the conflict,” he said. “I rely on trusted news organizations for both breaking news and analysis.” 

They also shared their viewpoints regarding the involvement of the United States government in the war. “I think we are complicit as a country. We are handing money to the IDF and turning a blind eye when the Palestinians beg for our help,” Auerbach said.

Marcus added, “The US’ response, especially Biden’s response, is disturbing to me.”

Some also discussed their experiences with dialogue about the topic, both in school and outside.

“It’s been very challenging at times,” said Leutz. “Obviously, it brings up really powerful feelings.  I have found that in my classes when I’ve set clear norms for difficult conversations and provided careful historical context for what’s going on, students are interested in learning more about what’s going on. I think many ARHS students are hungry to understand the conflict in more depth.”

Marcus, who was around family for Thanksgiving weekend, recalled the four-day ceasefire at the time and “peoples’ reactions to it as either an inherently positive thing or even being mad that it was happening to begin with, as if [the people of Gaza] don’t even deserve a break.”

On November 11, ARHS students participated in a walkout in a demonstration against the violence. Auerbach described their experience organizing the walkout. 

“My close friend Salvador and I organized the walkout because we want as many people to know about the ethnic cleansing in Palestine as possible,” they said. “I want not only the school and the government to know that we care about the Palestinians, but I also want to show the Palestinians in our community that we are here for them during this horrible situation.”

Carvalho echoed a similar sentiment, referring to the war as “tragic and needs to be stopped years ago.” 

“It’s horrible, and I feel very powerless,” Marcus said. “I think there need to be resources available so that people know what they can do.”

Also, The Amherst Indy reported on December 30 that The Amherst Pelham Education Association (the district’s teachers’ union) recently joined labor unions across the US calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. 

At the APEA Representative Council December meeting on December 11, a petition signed by 50 members was presented to the body, asking APEA leadership to endorse the statement, which they did.  

The letter titled “The US Labor Movement Calls for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine.” called for a ceasefire and also asked for “humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza” and for “Israeli hostages taken by Hamas be immediately released.”

The letter begins, “We, members of the American labor movement, mourn the loss of life in Israel and Palestine. We express our solidarity with all workers and our common desire for peace in Palestine and Israel, and we call on President Joe Biden and Congress to push for an immediate ceasefire and end to the siege of Gaza. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We also condemn any hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, or anyone else.”

Zoe te Velde is a senior at ARHS and a member of Sara Barber-Just’s Journalistic Writing.