On Saturday January 13, six Palestinian-American families whose relatives have been killed, injured, displaced or abducted in the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza plan to speak on stage immediately before the start of the March on Washington for Gaza to share their personal stories, call on President Biden to secure a ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, and answer questions. The families are scheduled to speak on stage at 12:00 pm eastern before the formal rally and march begins.
WHAT: Palestinian American families from Gaza speak before March on Washington for Gaza
WHEN: Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 12:30 pm ET
WHERE: Freedom Plaza, 1325 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
CONTACT: Laila El-Haddad, Laila.Elhaddad@gmail.com, +1(617) 216-3209; Besan Abu Radwan, Baburadw@gmail.com, +1(703) 677-4228
The pre-march event features six Palestinian American speakers from Gaza from states including IL, MD, MI, NJ, TX, and VA, in addition to dozens of others participating in a non-speaking role. Collectively, more than 2,000 members of their families have been killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, and thousands more critically injured and displaced. Their trauma is repeated daily as they continue to receive news about who was killed, who has been displaced, and who cannot be found.
The press conference is part of the programming of the National March on Washington for Gaza, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to the city. Visuals will include photos and banners of family members who have been killed. Speakers will be available for interviews following the press conference.
Featured speakers include:
● Abed Ajrami (TX), who has had 32 family members of his family killed in the Jabaliya Refugee Camp, shares the story of how his nephew, a soccer player, is now paralyzed from an Israeli blast that killed his entire family immediately after evacuating to an area the Israeli army told them was “safe”.
● Adam Abosherieah (NJ) shares the story of his elderly mother, father and brother, who were killed in consecutive Israeli air strikes, along with more than 104 family members in Gaza City.
● Dr. Alaa Hussein Ali (MI) shares the story of the more than 100 members of his family who were killed in November in Israeli attacks, including the murder of his brother by sniper as he attempted to fetch water, and all of his in-laws after fleeing for safety to the south of Gaza.
● Mazin Badr (VA) speaks about the killing of 10 of his closest family members, including his blind sister and his 84 year old mother, a survivor of over 12 wars who had given up her home to host other displaced families .
● Randa Muhtaseb (MD) talks about how her cousin was operated on without anesthesia after an Israeli bomb killed her husband and unborn child. Thirty-six of her family members were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
● Yasmeen El-Agha (IL) shares stories of 120 of her family members killed in Israeli airstrikes, the youngest of whom was just a few months old. One elderly uncle froze to death after being forced from his home, and the small decayed bodies of two cousins under the age of 6 were found a month after they were killed under the rubble.
The March on Washington for Gaza is organized by the American Muslim Task Force for Palestine in partnership with the ANSWER Coalition. Find a full list of endorsing organizations here.