The Austin chapter of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held an emergency “All Out for Lebanon” protest for National Day of Action at Austin City Hall on Sept. 24 to raise awareness for the ongoing attacks on Lebanon and Gaza which are widely believed to be carried out by Israel. Organizers and community members alike spoke out against the ongoing violence and occupation persisting in the Middle East, particularly in both Palestine and Lebanon. 

Hilltop Views reporters were told by official organizers at the beginning of the protest that there were certain media rules in place: interviews had to be with organizers from PSC, not with community members, and no pictures displaying full faces of protestors were allowed. 

The media liaison and current University of Texas student, who chose to remain anonymous, spoke about the nature of this protest as a call to action after the recent pager attacks on Lebanon.

“This was an emergency protest to acknowledge that, speak out against it and hopefully educate anyone who doesn’t know currently, because it’s very in the moment, every day there’s more bodies, more casualties,” they said. “Besides this specific protest, in general, the genocide has been going on since at least (last) October, but I find that language interesting because Palestine has been occupied for 76 years at least, so (we’re) protesting against the recent escalation in Lebanon and (the) almost century long occupation.”

Around 200 protestors, organizers and community members gathered at the Austin City Hall, waving signs and flags, draping banners and building community through their shared passion and advocacy. There were booths offering keffiyehs, shirts, flags, stickers and more, with the money raised going to various Palestinian funds. 

The liaison explained that their best friend from middle school is Palestinian, and introduced them to the why they felt passionate about protesting for Palestine. 

“At the simplest level, its just a calling out to my humanity and seeing the atrocities that are taking place in Palestine and also the genocide makes me think about my positionality in the west and how for instance, my tuition dollars are apart of UT, or UTIMCO,” the liaison said. “My tuition money is going to weapons manufacturing and kind of facilitating what’s going on there. Long story short, I feel like I do have a role to play in this, and a responsibility to take action against it.”

Protesters chanted “From the belly of the beast, hands off the Middle East” and “From Palestine to Mexico, from Lebanon to Mexico, all the walls have got to go,” among other phrases. Many community members

displayed their disapproval for the United States’ involvement and contributions to the violence by holding signs saying “Hands off the Middle East.”

PSC member and organizer of the protest, Jenna, who declined sharing her last name, described her dedication for organizing and attending this protest, among others. 

“I’m passionate about it because I imagine anyone who stands for justice and has any humanity in them would be passionate about calling for what’s right and people when defending their land,” she said.

The protest, which lasted two hours in front of City Hall, held a moment of silence towards the end of the gathering to “honor the martyrs who have lost their lives from the continued violence, occupation and apartheid being committed by zionist states,” according to PSC organizers.