Thousands across US gather for vigils, protests over Israel-Hamas war: 'Broken the hearts of many people'

Thousands of people across the U.S. gathered Monday for vigils and protests over the rapidly intensifying war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

More than 1,600 people have died in Israel and Gaza, including at least 11 Americans, and thousands more injured since Hamas launched its stunning attack on Israel Saturday. The militant group has claimed to have taken more than 130 hostages. Israel has since ordered a siege on Gaza, pledging to cut electricity, food, and fuel into the impoverished home of more than 2 million Palestinians. 

On Tuesday, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said that it has been struggling to accommodate over 187,518 Palestinians in Gaza displaced by ongoing Israeli strikes as hospitals and schools that it runs across the Gaza Strip were damaged in the fighting.

In Rhode Island, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Providence hosted a vigil Monday evening in response to the crisis across the globe. "It feels like a total nightmare," said Stephanie Hague, chief policy officer for the alliance. Hague said her in-laws in Jerusalem have been taking cover in a bomb shelter, and that her father and stepmother were in Israel to attend a wedding that has since been canceled and are now trying to get a flight back.

Rabbi Sarah Mack, senior rabbi of Temple Beth-El, said the community was celebrating Simchat Torah when the attacks began. The holiday marks when the Torah reading cycle restarts again and is a time of gratitude and rejoicing with Torah scrolls.

“It is a sad and devastating time. This is not even one degree of separation for most people in the Jewish community,” Mack said. The temple is offering support as members of the community try to account for loved ones’ whereabouts, she said.

"This is not far from anyone. It has broken the hearts of many people in the community," Mack said. "The Jewish community is gutted by this."

Packed auditoriums at Ohio vigil

In Ohio, politicians, Jewish leaders, and private citizens packed two auditoriums at a prayer vigil Monday night, as Jewish leaders led attendees in prayer and song. 

Organizers at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus called people to light candles for those affected by the war, including the relative of an Ohio family who had died in the attack. Politicians including state representatives, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, attended Monday’s vigil.

Event organizers called on people to ask their political representatives to push for aid to Israel.

 "Today Ohioans and Americans all over our great country are united with one message: We stand with Israel," Brown said.

But some in the community have voiced support for Palestinians they say have long suffered injustices at the hands of Israel, and are now concerned about what will happen to civilians as a result of Israel's declaration of war against Hamas. The Ohio State University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestine organization with chapters at universities around the United States, held a rally Sunday at the Ohio Statehouse attended by nearly 100 students and other community members.

"Today, October 7th, 2023, an unprecedented series of events have taken place, led by our heroic resistance in Gaza who have shown the world yet again that the spirit of the Palestinian people cannot and will not be trampled, and that our resistance to Zionism and Western imperialism remains strong," the group wrote in a Facebook post before the Statehouse event.

University of Florida vigil sent into frenzy

More than 1,000 people gathered at the Turlington Plaza at the University of Florida for a vigil Monday night, when a sudden loud noise sent the crowd into a frenzy, and more than 30 people to the hospital.

Rabbi Berl Goldman with Chabad UF said he was with university president Ben Sasse at the “United With Israel” candlelight vigil when someone fainted or fell down. He believes their bag or items dropped, creating a loud noise. 

Campus police said people began calling out "911," which was misunderstood by some nearby, and the crowd began screaming and running for safety. People fell and tripped over each other, witnesses said. More than 30 students were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital for their injuries.

UF Public Safety posted on social media that only five people were injured and treated on the scene.

Palestinians rally at New York park

In Rochester, New York, Palestinian supporters rallied at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. Jonathan Corey, a Palestinian American organizer with the Rochester Committee to End Apartheid said about 50 to 60 people attended the coalition’s rally.

"We are deeply saddened and frustrated about the lack of sympathy and empathy toward Palestinians," said Iman Abid, a Palestinian American organizer with Free the People Roc. Corey said Palestinians have long been dehumanized and mischaracterized by forces across the globe, and events over the last few days have heightened a grim sense of disappointment. 

"We feel like we’re screaming into a wall," Abid said.

Organizers also expressed frustration with how people in Gaza and the West Bank have been treated under occupation, citing human rights violations.

"Gaza lives under the most dismal circumstances," Corey said.

Timeline of the conflict:Why the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian fighting is among the most brutal in years

Israeli supporters rally in Florida

In Ormond Beach, Florida, a group of Israeli supporters gathered at the Granada Bridge, holding posters emblazoned with the Israeli flag.

"I'm coming out to show support for the Jews locally, for Israel and for America," said Raquel Levy, an attorney who organized the demonstration as a way to show support for her cousins in Israel. She said she had spoken to one, Odelia Cohen, who took shelter under a stairwell with her dog and cat as Hamas rockets landed in the area.

"They are going after civilians, dragged from their homes, just minding their own business, trying to live their life the way all of us live life. Yet, they were dragged from their homes kidnapped, killed."

Levy relayed a text message from her cousin that the pain is widespread throughout Israel.

Cohen said in her message: "I feel so stressed cause of all the uncertainly. I don't know what the future holds. Israel is a small country and everyone now knows someone who has been murdered or injured."

Palestinian supporters gather in Florida

About 85 miles north from Levy, Palestinian supporters rallied in Jacksonville, Florida, Monday evening. Sara Mahmoud, a Palestinian American organizer for the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, noted high energy and turnout of more than 100 people for the grassroots organization’s demonstration.

"We stand with Palestine, and we stand with the Palestinian people," Mahmoud said.

The longstanding conflict is often characterized as one of religion, but Mahmoud argued it was a conflict of occupation. The organization is demanding the end of three things: U.S. aid to Israel, siege and blockade in Gaza, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

"Palestinians have a right to dignity and self-determination," Mahmoud said.

Rallies follow massive presence over weekend

The demonstrations Monday followed widespread rallies across the U.S. over the weekend, from Times Square to Los Angeles. 

A skirmish broke out Sunday between opposing demonstrators near the United Nations compound in New York City after a large group of Palestinian supporters rallied in Times Square, and others protested outside Israeli consulates in Atlanta and Chicago. 

Dozens of rallies have already taken place since this weekend, and many more are scheduled for the coming days.

Contributing: Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch; Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal; Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal; The Associated Press