Friday night protest draws crowd from UGA to steps of Athens-Clarke City Hall

A protest in support of Palestinians in the Israeli war against the Hamas began quietly before sundown Friday with prayer on a green space of the University of Georgia campus and it ended loudly under dark skies on the steps of the Athens-Clarke County City Hall.

About 60 people representing Jews who are opposed to the war being waged in Gaza gathered outside the UGA administration building for a “solidarity Shabbat,” a traditional day of celebration for Jews.

When the service neared an end, one organizer, Sydney Benatory, called for an end to the “genocide” in Gaza and she urged support of UGA students who have been banned from campus following their arrest during a small campus protest on Monday.

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This quiet protest, which included the sharing of drink and bread for a ceremonial nod to Shabbat, ended after about an hour. Many then joined another group, “Athens Against Apartheid,” which gathered at the UGA Arch.

Here the protest swelled on the sidewalk outside the Arch and across Broad Street at the College Avenue intersection.

Speakers used bullhorns as speeches were raised alternately on both sides of the street that was busy with Friday night motorists and visitors. The protest, while loud and exuberant, was peaceful and only a few hecklers surfaced during the evening.

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After an hour at the Arch, the mass had swollen to around 300 people as they marched through town to the steps of City Hall.

Here the protest continued strong for more than two hours. The protesters chanted and carried signs such as “Shame on you UGA.”

The plight of the people in Gaza was mentioned numerous times, but strong support was aired for those students who were banned from campus by UGA officials. Earlier in the day, a petition asking for the suspensions of the students to be lifted was signed by 183 UGA faculty members.

The faculty did not support the decision to ban the students as the spring semester comes to an end next week.

As the protest neared an end after 9 p.m., those leading the protests continued to urge support for the students.

One person who was banned from campus said he was Jewish and he did not support Israel in the war. But he noted that what is happening on college campuses across the country and now in Europe is known by the people in Gaza.

“Little children are writing ‘thank you American students’ on their tents,” he said. “We are really empowered by that.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Protesters against Israel draws large, loud crowd to downtown Athens