ATHENS — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered downtown on Friday night, marching from the University of Georgia’s famed Arch entrance to City Hall, the peaceful crowd swelling to more than 300 people.
The “Gaza Solidarity Rally” followed nearly a week of protests on or near the campus of the state’s flagship public university, and came four days after UGA police arrested 16 protesters, including nine students, at a campus demonstration.
The two-hour protest, the largest here this week, criticized Israel’s war in Gaza and was filled with speeches and chants admonishing President Joe Biden and UGA President Jere Morehead. Speakers criticized the university for suspending the arrested students.
There was no violence and no arrests, according to an Athens Clarke-County police officer.
One protester held a sign that said “Glory, Glory to the martyrs,” a play on UGA’s fight song. A large banner read “Stop the killing, where is your humanity?” One woman wore a shirt that said “Jews Say Cease Fire Now.”
At least four of the nine suspended UGA students joined the protest.
Dean Gerwig-Moore, a freshman student at Mercer also arrested Monday by UGA police and charged with criminal trespass, was among those who spoke to the crowd just outside the university entrance.
A group called Lefty Jews of Athens that supports Palestinian rights performed prayers on UGA’s campus earlier Friday. It brought Gerwig-Moore, who said he was Jewish, and a suspended UGA student, also Jewish, bread and grape juice.
“This means the world to me that they were willing to symbolically take this across the street to where I’m safe,” said Gerwig-Moore, who was banned from UGA’s campus for two years following his arrest.
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
“I am not not proud to have gone to this university,” said Sydney Benator, a UGA graduate and member of Lefty Jews of Athens, whose earlier campus prayer meeting drew at least 60 people.
UGA police arrested pro-Palestinian protesters on Monday morning after the protesters refused to disperse from the Old College lawn on campus. About 100 people joined another round of campus protests later Monday.
About 15 people joined a campus protest on Tuesday. Roughly 40 pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a rally outside the Arch entrance to UGA’s campus on Wednesday.
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
Cars passing by on Friday night honked. A large crowd of onlookers gathered across the street in front of Chick-fil-A. Some people cast curious glances while eating chicken sandwiches and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Others yelled with counterpoints, sometimes using derogatory terms.
“All of you are sick in the head,” one man yelled repeatedly at the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
After starting at UGA’s Arch at 7 p.m., demonstrators arrived at City Hall just before 8 p.m. Parked nearby at one end of the sidewalk was a long, tall black Mercedes van with tinted windows. Demonstrators speculated that police were inside. At the other end of the sidewalk was a bright red food truck with graffiti labeling that said “Propaganda Pizza — The people’s pizza.” Some observers joked police were inside that, too.
A Georgia State Patrol car circled by City Hall twice. Three Athens Clarke-County police officers on bicycles watched from nearby.
Two of the suspended UGA students were among those who spoke at City Hall. People chanted and sang. There was a moment of silence that lasted at least 10 minutes. Around 9 p.m., the group called it a night and slowly broke up.
As many demonstrators walked down College Avenue back toward the Arch, a group of mostly males gathered on the porch at The Silver Dollar Bar and faced protesters.
The men alternated yelling “USA, USA, USA” and performing the Atlanta Braves “Chop” chant. The protestors shouted back “Palestine, Palestine, Palestine.”
Two Athens-Clarke County police officers approached.
Eventually everybody filtered away, down sidewalks toward bars and the campus and elsewhere.
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