Protestors at state capitol question Gaza war

Dozens of protestors gathered at the Hawai‘i state capitol Tuesday for a Free Palestine Rally, organized by a local non-profit organization called Rise for Palestine.

The rally comes more than three months into the Israeli government’s occupation of Gaza.

In 2022, the state of Hawai‘i created a Joint Declaration of strategic partnership with the government of Israel. Previous marches and protests for Palestine have occurred throughout the state of Hawai‘i during the past couple of months, but this rally brought the issue right to the state legislators’ doorstep, during the 2024 legislative session, creating a conflict between the state’s strategic partnership with Israel and the on-the-ground horrors of war in the region between Israel and Hamas, on Palestinian lands.

“We are also championing our voices and our stories as well, but in a more public space,” said Fatima Abed, one of the rally’s chief organizers. “We want to give (the public) that perspective of, ʻHey, we are real people, and we are really suffering.ʻ … This is an opportunity for them to not only hear Palestinian voices, but voices from all over the world.”

The event began with attendees brandishing signs in front of the Father Damien statue at the capitol. Organizers led chants, and passing drivers honked in assent, to cries of “Free free Palestine.” One attendee made rounds, letting others know where to pick up bottled water if needed. The protest later moved into the capitol’s rotunda, where various organizers spoke out about the occupation and their personal connections to the issue. About 100 people participated in the protest.

“We’ve had folks from Hawaiian sovereignty and aloha ‘aina movements come out… and then just kind of like the general population,” said Lana Bilbo, another organizer and a member of a group called Kaua‘i for Palestine. “The oldest person we ever had at a rally was in his 80s and the youngest is one of the Palestinian kids. He’s four.”

Some Capitol staff members could be seen watching the demonstrations from above, including Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D-Kaneohe, Kailua). For those in his position, protests at the Capitol usually need a more personal touch to really get their point across.

“The most effective campaigns in the rotunda have a second step,” said Keohokalole. “They come up to our offices, and they directly ask us for specific commitments. And more often than not, they don’t do that.”

“It’s tricky because it’s an international issue,” Keohokalole added. “More specifically, it’s a federal issue, and so anything we could do here would be fundamentally non-binding.”

The next planned Rise for Palestine demonstration will be a march, starting at noon Jan. 29, from Magic Island to Kapiolani Park.

Contributing Writers: Hi‘ilawe Neves and Ethan-Michael Young also contributed to this report.