NASHVILLE—A third rally in support of the Palestinian struggle was held last weekend in Tennessee’s capital city. Like two previous protests for Palestine, this demonstration was held at Nashville’s Centennial Park, with several hundred demonstrators in attendance.
The trio of rallies have centered on an extensive list of demands: an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, cease the genocide, cease the siege, cease the blockade, cease the occupation, cease the apartheid, cease the funding of Israel, cease the land theft, cease white supremacy, cease Zionism, and cease imperialism.
In conjunction with demonstrations held around the world on Nov. 4, a rally was held in Nashville on the same date. This rally was organized by Veterans for Peace and local activists. The rally was held at Centennial Park on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. Several hundred marchers were in attendance at the event, which also involved the periodic blocking of traffic.
Speakers included an Indigenous representative, Dante Reyna, Tzotzil Maya/Tarahumara, who spoke of the connection between the Palestinian struggle and the plight of Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
“I stand before you with a heavy heart compelled to address the continuous genocide that unfolds in front of our eyes,” said Reyna. He continued, “In these shared experiences, we face a common oppressor, binding our struggles with a thread of injustice that transcends borders.”
This first Nashville ceasefire march was on Oct. 14, seven days after the Hamas attacks and the launch of Israel’s war. Termed an “Emergency Rally for Gaza,” the protest was called “a retaliatory response to propaganda” by its organizers. Protesters marched from the federal building to the War Memorial Building at Legislative Plaza and back.
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