A 24-hour vigil in Federal Plaza began Thursday morning as demonstrators read the names of more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.
“We’re going to be reading every single name that we can — and even 24 hours is not enough to cover all the people that have been killed,” said demonstrator Zaina Ahmed.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered as the names of children, women and men were read aloud. Organizers say they intentionally chose the same day as the State of the Union to raise awareness of the government’s role in the crisis and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
“We are doing it on this day as we reach the five month anniversary and as President Biden prepares to say his State of the Union Speech this evening,” said Martin Levine of Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago.
During the State of the Union address, organizers will hold their own special event called “The State of Genocide.”
The vigil began at 8 a.m. and will continue until 8 a.m. Friday, March 8. Many local organizations worked together to set up the vigil, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Chicago chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, and many more.
“It’s a lot to do a 24-hour event, but we’re here to show up in force and support each other and remind the world that it is not okay what we’re seeing; it’s unconscionable,” said Nitaawe Banks, Vice President of the Native and Indigenous student organization at DePaul University.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the crisis five months ago, health officials said. Israel says around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 and around 100 people are still being held hostage in Gaza.