Today, some students are planning to leave campus during lunch and sixth period and walk towards downtown Los Altos as part of two walkouts. One is in support of Israel, and one is in support of Gaza.
The pro-Gaza walkout is organized by sophomore Lev Zeiger, who wants to use the protest to show support for the victims in Gaza while simultaneously condemning the actions of Hamas.
“Our intention is not for this rally to be anti-Jewish and pro-Hamas,” Lev said. “We want to focus it on being against the corrupt Israeli government and American support of Arab hate crimes, as well as being against the actions of Hamas.”
A focal point of the protest is to be peaceful: not to side against any one group or people, but more so to side against terrorism and oppression.
“I understand very well that there are two sides to this story, and I mourn for those on both sides equally,” Lev continued. “Regardless, it’s time to give a voice to the voiceless and take action. Everyone can be a part of positive change.”
The pro-Israel walkout is organized by seniors Tohar Markovich and Roy Ruppin, who aim to show solidarity with the nation.
“I was inspired to lead the Israeli walkout after we heard that several people would be walking to support the Palestinian people against genocide,” Tohar said.
“Our main goals for this walkout include increasing awareness of the situation in Israel and Gaza and condemning the actions of Hamas towards both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” Tohar said.
They want to focus the protest on helping not only to support students suffering from the actions of Hamas but also to educate their community on the dangers of spreading misinformation.
“We hope that many students in our school community stop sympathizing with Hamas and try to learn more about the conflict instead of following an antisemitic agenda,” Roy said. “We want our community to see how the people of Israel and Gaza are suffering because of Hamas’s inhumane actions.”
Read more about this topic at sources such as these articles from AP News and CNN.
