Palestinian organizers rally for cease fire
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Mary Murphy
Protestors gather in Olympia asking legislators to ask for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hundreds of organizers sporting green, red, and keffiyeh scarves gathered on the capitol steps to read poetry, sing traditional Palestinian songs and call for a cease fire in the Israel/Palestinian conflict.
The Washington Coalition for Peace and Justice was the prime organizer of the event, but 37 other organizations showed support. The groups came to ask lawmakers to call for a ceasefire, an effort that has already been pushed across the world, country and state.
"We know that local and state officials can't do much because it's foreign policy, but we want to ask our state representatives to at least publicly endorse," said Rami Al-Kabra, the first Palestinian-American to serve on Bothell's city council.
Al-Kabra explained the group wants more than a ceasefire.
"Calling out and really condemning Islamophobia, anti-Arab, bigotry, and anti-semitism, which is on the rise, is something totally within their grasp," Al-Kabra said.
Seattle, Olympia, and Bellingham have called for ceasefires. Seattle was one of the first cities in the U.S. to do so.
