In a display of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass., working with other organizations from that part of the state and Boston, will march from Northampton to Springfield on Saturday — a 25-mile walk that spans the same distance as the Gaza Strip.
“This is a nonviolent act of solidarity,” the march’s co-organizer and an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass., Kaia Jackson, told MassLive.
As of Thursday, the march has more than 200 people registered to take part, Jackson said.
“In terms of the strategy we’re using for this march, it’s called ‘high sacrifice, high visibility, low risk,’” they said. “Our intention is not to disrupt anything so much as it is to publicly display solidarity with Palestinians and care for each other as community members because we know communities of Palestinians and Jews and Muslims and people of other identities are all impacted by the events that are unfolding.”
The march takes place more than two months since the war in Gaza began following the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7. More than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since Hamas’ attack, the Gaza Health Ministry said according to the Washington Post. More than 1,100 Israelis have been killed, including 418 soldiers, the Israeli army said, according to Al Jazeera.
Jackson said the death toll in Gaza, due to people being buried under rubble following Israel’s airstrikes, is likely more.
They said the distance of the march was looked at by core organizers who worked out general routes from Northampton to Springfield. They drove those routes to determine where to stop, where bathrooms are located, where to get water and where sidewalks end. This information, under the guidance of the other groups involved in the march, helped determine how the march will be conducted.
“We’re being intentional to also not equate these 25 miles with the lived experience of those in Gaza right now who are being targeted and bombed and starved and all of that,” Jackson said. “But this is a symbolic act of solidarity to raise visibility and initiate more local dialogue around what is happening.”
Jackson said “a lot of thoughtfulness went into the march so that people feel good and within their capacity.” While many marchers will walk the full 25 miles, some choose to walk 1 mile, some marchers will tune in virtually to show support and others plan to drive and carpool.
It will start early in the day Dec. 16 from Northampton, towards Easthampton, Holyoke, West Springfield and Springfield, according to a post from JVP Boston’s Instagram page, before reaching Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ed Markey’s offices at 1550 Main St. in Springfield, Jackson said. Previously, IfNotNow demonstrated outside the office building on Oct. 17 demanding Warren call for a cease-fire.
Despite Warren calling for an extended cease-fire during the truce between Nov. 24 and Nov. 30, Jackson said she hasn’t called for a permanent cease-fire, despite confusion she did, and hasn’t seen Warren call for a permanent end to the war “in any statement that I have seen.”
“We’re still targeting her and Markey to unambiguously call for a permanent cease-fire and also to not approve more funding for weapons and military aid to Israel,” they said, after previously saying the “common ground among all these organizations (leading the march is) asking for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”
The odds of counter-demonstrators remains a possibility, they said. Marchers will have a safety team and police liaisons to ensure “marchers are protected and respond to whatever happens,” Jackson said.
The march will also have first aid kits available in case anyone gets blisters or needs water or snacks, they continued. Marchers will be able to contact the safety team along the way, with the hope that with a low-risk action like the march, “an entirely peaceful demonstration, we’re hoping for the best.”
What’s at the core of the march is to also change the narrative around what has gone on since Oct. 7, they said.
“Narratives are so powerful, and so if there is a narrative that nothing will change or can’t change, it feels disempowering for people, too,” Jackson said. “Then take action that can be impactful. I’m doing this because I believe that the power of public protest and public outcry and global solidarity on this issue has immense power. Part of the power lies in changing the narrative and telling the story of how we’re mobilizing the resources in our small community in rural Massachusetts to make something happen.”
With the different groups working together to lead this march, including the Western Mass. Coalition for Palestine, Existence is Resistance and others, the other goal is to build relationships to have discussions about supporting the Palestinians and to bring people together on a large scale, Jackson said.
“Corporate media is wanting us to believe that we have less power than we have,” they said. “I’m going to continue to look for ways to strengthen the networks of community as we’re working in coalition together towards social change and towards guaranteeing human rights for Palestinians.”
