Hundreds join to raise Palestinian flag in Fresno, demand cease fire in Gaza
A crowd of several hundred members of Fresno’s Palestinian community and their supporters gathered on a chilly Friday afternoon at Eaton Plaza to see the distinctive black, white, green and red flag of Palestine raised aloft in solidarity with their homeland of Gaza in the Middle East.
Many in the crowd wore black and white keffiyehs, a traditional scarf or headdress and symbol of the Palestinian people, and dozens waved smaller versions of the flag.
The flag raising was sponsored by Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias in response to almost two months of protests by Palestinians after Mayor Jerry Dyer and other city leaders raised the flag of Israel in the days following an attack by Hamas on Israel. Following the attack, Israel declared war on Hamas and blockaded a 141-square-mile area of the country. The ensuing conflict has resulted in missile strikes and cutting off power, medical and food aid to Gaza.
“I’m proud to join our Palestinian brothers and sisters and their allies in this city, your home,” Arias said, as he thanked residents “who recently educated me and other city leaders on the innocent lives lost in Gaza.”
Arias, who also attended the Israeli flag raising on Oct. 12 to remember innocent lives lost in the Hamas attack, said Friday that “today I stand with our Palestinian community in solidarity for the thousands of innocent lives that have been lost in this conflict.”
The Associated Press reported that the number of Palestinian civilians killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict has surpassed 17,400. About 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, the AP reported, mainly civilians killed during the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
Palestinian Freedom Project representative Layla Darwish, who has spoken before the Fresno City Council on multiple occasions since October to ask for a resolution demanding a cease fire in Gaza, said the ceremony “marks a turning point in a short story of persistence and determination” since Oct. 12, “when our city decided to take a partisan stance by raising multiple Israeli flags alongside the United States flag with no Palestinian flag in sight.”
“This was a slap in the face of every Palestinian and every conscious humanitarian constituent of this city,” Darwish added, “and made mockery of the One Fresno slogan” that has become a hallmark of Dyer’s administration.
At the October raising of Israel’s flag, Dyer responded to protesters who asked, “What about the Palestinians?” following the Israeli declaration of war. Many in the Palestinian community said they felt alienated by Dyer’s response. “We are not here today to alienate any part of our community,” the mayor said at that time. “However, if people in this community or anywhere else support the terrorist activity that occurred … in Israel, then I would question their allegiance to the United States of America.
In the weeks since, Palestinians have sought not only an apology from Dyer, but also a city council resolution for a cease fire and an opportunity for their flag to be raised.
Another Palestinian Freedom Project leader, Yasir Amireh, expressed disappointment that Dyer was not in attendance, and that the mayor had not apologized for the perceived slight.
Near the end of Friday’s ceremony, Amireh played the Palstinian national anthem as the flag was raised. Tears streamed down his face as the anthem played and supporters hugged him.
“This is the first time in my life that I feel that I have an identity; I never had one,” Amireh said amid chants of “Free, Free Palestine” from the crowd.
