Candles in the shape of Palestine Students for Justice in Palestine
On Nov. 6, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Saint Xavier organized a vigil to honor the martyrs in the Gaza Strip. In the Schmitt Quad, students, faculty, and community members attended to remember those lost and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The vigil comes after over 11,000 Palestinians rising to martyrdom in the Gaza Strip at the hands of the merciless Israeli war machine.
The event was organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine organization on campus. Their mission is to educate Saint Xavier students on the injustices occurring in Palestine, as well as advocating for Palestinian rights and upholding their culture.
The SJP President stated the purpose of the vigil was to “honor the 10,000+ Palestinian lives that have been taken away from us. It served as a way to remember their names, their faces, their stories. By coming together in solidarity and remembrance, we are allowing their memories to inspire change.”
The event started off with a speech given by the President of SJP, Jena Kanaan. Kanaan began her speech thanking those who took time out of their day to come and support the cause.
The SJP President expressed that while it may be difficult for those outside of Gaza to mourn the martyrs, it comes from privilege, as Palestinians in Gaza cannot spare time to mourn. Every ten minutes a Palestinian is murdered by Israeli airstrikes.
Kanaan stated, “We are so lucky to be here today with the chance to mourn the lives of our 11,212 (and counting) brothers and sisters in Palestine who do not have the chance to mourn. Neither do they have time to mourn, as in another ten minutes another Palestinian will be killed.”
Kanaan then respectfully asked if everyone in attendance would give a moment of silence to remember and honor each of the 11,212 lives lost in the genocide.
Beautiful poems were performed by other members of SJP after the speech by the SJP President, followed by lighting candles and placing them in a drawn map of Palestine. Flowers were then layed around the outline of the map.
There were 300 candles lit; each candle represents 34 lives.
Kanaan stated in her speech, “Each of these candles today represents [34] lives. Each candle represents [34] beautiful faces, with beautiful stories, and beautiful aspirations.”
“We will never forget your names. We will never forget your faces. We will never forget your resilience.”
The ongoing massacres in Gaza are a genocide of the Palestinian people. The Israeli war machine is committing genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza for resisting 75 years worth of brutal occupation, colonization, displacement, and oppression.
Since Oct. 7, thousands of Palestinians and Palestinian allies alike have taken to the streets of major cities in the United States to protest the mass killings of those in Gaza and the West Bank.
Protestors are calling on the US government to stop funding the Israeli War Machine with American tax dollars. Each year, the United States gives $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel. The US is complicit in the genocide of the Palestinians by not only funding it, but encouraging it.
On Nov. 4, over 300,000 people in support of the Palestinian cause marched in the streets of the nation’s capital. Pro-Palestinians are making their demands loud and clear and are reassuring everyone that they will not be silenced.
SJP also had their own demonstration organized on campus on Oct. 18. to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and demand the end to the suffering in Gaza. Saint Xavier students, faculty, and staff joined the demonstration and media outlets came to cover the event.
Students for Justice in Palestine held another demonstration on campus in the Diner Atrium, on Nov. 8 at 12 PM. Fellow SXU students were encouraged to attend once again and make their voices heard.
To be involved with future events organized by SJP, students can follow their Instagram account @sjpsxu_ and their X (formerly known as Twitter) account @SJPSXU_ as well as on The Den.