Rally protests Gaza violence

Mark Hicks / The Detroit News

DEARBORN -- As snowflakes swirled, cars streamed along Michigan Avenue and protesters chanted "No justice, no peace," late Tuesday, Abdallah Ali proudly hoisted a Palestinian flag in frigid air.

The 17-year-old Fordson High School senior was among dozens of demonstrators, who gathered on the City Hall steps, decrying a recent Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza.

"It's humans killing humans," the teen said. "It's not right."

The demonstration, which included members of Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit, featured participants who toted child-like dolls and raised signs that bore messages such as "We refuse to be enemies," "Occupation = Devastation" and "Wake up to the Holocaust in Gaza!"

The deaths of men, women and children are "abominable," Hasan Newash, director of the Palestine Office-Michigan, told the crowd. "We demand justice."

Bundling up against freezing winds to protest is "all we can do" to spotlight the situation overseas, said Bushra Hubaishi, 19, a Madonna University student from Dearborn Heights. "The government needs to be more aware. ... It's very unjust."

George Evalt, a retiree from Detroit who is active with Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit, said rallying fostered solidarity, showing "there are people over here who care. It helps."

For some, the overriding concern was peace.

"We have to end the bloodshed and live together as one," said Scott Paul, 47, a salesman from Detroit. "We're all people."