By Clay Ludwig and Anastasia Merkulova
About 100 University of Maryland community members attended a vigil on Tuesday evening to honor Palestinians and promote peace for Muslims across the world.
Attendees listened to speeches, prayed and held chants at the vigil, which was hosted by this university’s Muslim Student Association at the fountain on McKeldin Mall. The vigil came after a sit-in hosted by this university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter earlier on Tuesday.
Tuesday marked two years since Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 people hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas’ attack spurred a military offensive that has since killed at least 67,000 people in Gaza.
This death toll doesn’t include the thousands of people who are believed to be buried under the rubble, according to the Associated Press.
“Every day, I think that I’ve seen the worst or heard the worst story coming out of the Gaza Strip or the West Bank,” Matt Foos, a member of Student for Justice in Palestine, said. “There’s no words left to say.”
The senior philosophy major said he came to the vigil to grieve and honor the people of Palestine. He added that he doesn’t have words left to describe the amount of rage, sadness and shock he feels every day seeing Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
[UMD Jewish students reflect on 2-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel]
Foos helped paint part of a large banner made by community members, which read “You buy, they pay.” Community members painted the logos of McDonalds, Amazon and other companies that provide aid and support to Israel.
Graduate data sciences student Omar Tawfik said the vigil aimed to “speak to people’s hearts” and inspire people to reflect on their activism for Palestine.
Tawfik, who is a member of Muslim Student Association and this university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, said he came to the vigil because he has spent years being involved in local nonprofits, charities and organizations to educate people and raise awareness for Palestine.
“Me doing this is kind of just the bare minimum that I can do if I can’t be there fighting and helping children and mothers on the ground,” he said.
Tawfik added that he thought the event’s security was dehumanizing since the student activists have always been peaceful.
The event was surrounded by a metal fence, which required students to enter through a metal detector and a bag search. University of Maryland police officers were also stationed outside the event.
The same security measures were implemented for events on McKeldin Mall earlier on Tuesday, including the sit-in and a separate memorial ceremony held by groups to honor hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It’s upsetting that we have to have this kind of security,” said AJ Gundrum, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences. “It kind of assumes that there will be violence or some sort of threat.”
[UMD SGA passes boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution on Yom Kippur]
Freshman public policy major Arlo Lentini said they see a violent narrative that surrounds the Middle East and Muslims in the United States. The group came together Tuesday evening to be united behind a cause, Lentini added.
“[The narrative] is that this is a violent group, that it’s a group of division and hatred,” Lentini, who attended the vigil, said. “It’s definitely not. Like, we all sat around learning how to make paper boats together.”
Senior biology major Tayyiba Khan said any cause affecting the community isn’t seen as “worthy of fighting for” because of the stigma.
Khan attended the event to show support for Palestine and to encourage more awareness of the recent news. She said it was amazing to see students come together for the vigil.
“There’s not enough just awareness of what’s going on in general,” Khan said. “So I came here to be a part of that.”
