Sunday was an emotional day of protests, both for supporters of Israel as well as Palestinians.
In San Francisco, hundreds gathered near city hall for a Stand with Israel rally. They wanted to make sure people paid attention to what is happening there.
“This is not okay,” said one attendee. “Our lives matter.”
The intensifying crisis in Israel has emotions running high thousands of miles away, especially the issue of the hostages taken by Hamas.
“Holocaust survivors are taken as hostages,” said Sigal Likin, a Cupertino resident. "Our hearts are broken. Everybody in Israel has been affected. Such a small country.”
“Obviously the overall goal is to get them home,” said Marin resident Illyse Wassermann. “But it’s also, at some point, to be proactive in not allowing things like this to happen, and for the world to realize what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis, fighting for their land and their lives.”
In San Jose, around 700 people gathered in front of Santana Row to show their support for Palestinian people.
Demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and marched through the upscale mall. At one point, the rally grew so big that police shut down a section of Winchester Boulevard.
“We are here for human rights, to stop killing innocent people in Gaza,” said San Francisco resident Ramzi Jada. “People need to do their education on what is going on in the Middle East because a lot of people think it’s just one way. It’s not. Our people have been occupied for years.”
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“This is not about Jewish versus Palestinians,” said Tamara Husary of Cupertino. “We don’t want innocent civilians killed, but we also don’t want any more settlers taking over the homes of Palestinians.”
Despite such opposing views on the violence happening now, demonstrators from both sides told NBC Bay Area they had one thing in common: they wanted peace.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area (JCRC Bay Area) on Sunday posted a photo on social media showing two messages spray-painted in red on the windows of a building in San Francisco.
One message read, "Death to Zionism. Kill a settler." The other read, "Death 2 Israel."
"We are deeply disturbed by graffiti along Market Street reading after yesterday's pro-Palestinian rally in San Francisco," JCRC Bay Area said in the post. "We have been in touch with city leaders and @SFPD to investigate this crime."
