Another pro-Palestine, anti-Israel rally will be held in downtown Nashville this Saturday after the sun goes down, according to the new self-described “abolitionist” group Palestine Hurra Collective Nashville.
The “Shut It Down For Palestine” march will be held at 5:00 p.m. at the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Nashville, according to the group, which said the demonstration will be part of a “global mobilization for Palestine.”
Saturday’s rally will mark the seventh weekend of pro-Palestine demonstrations in downtown Nashville amid the terrorist group Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that left around 1,200 people dead.
Palestine Hurra Collective Nashville urges protesters planning on attending the rally to bring flags, drums, and wear keffiyehs, which are traditional headdresses Palestinian people wear.
“Be there. Organize groups & blocs to show up together. Dress WARM & be prepared to make noise! It’s time to be louder & apply more pressure. Be ready to chant with your heart, grieve & mobilize alongside community members with your soul, show tangible solidarity and shut it down for Palestine,” the group wrote in an Instagram post.
The group said it is rallying for the following demands to be met:
A permanent ceasefire & end to the siege/ blockade on Gaza;
An end to all US aid, arms & weapons funneled to the Zionist regime to carry out this genocide; and
The release of Palestinian prisoners (aka hostages being held by the occupation) including the Holy Land 5
Ultimately— we are pushing to weaken the infrastructure of the occupation of Palestine.
On Instagram, the group is also advocating for people to “continue disrupting spaces” and “making it impossible for people to look away” to show support for Palestine this week in what has been dubbed “Week of Solidarity.”
Palestine Hurra describes itself as a “Nashville-based, anti-imperialist, abolitionist, organizing collective dedicated to fighting for the total liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
The group says it mobilizes around the following principles, which include the “total dismantlement” of Israel:
We are mobilizing for the total liberation of Palestine which means an end to the occupation of all Palestinian lands, an end to settler colonialism, an end to apartheid & the siege/ blockade on Gaza, and freedom for all Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination.
We uphold the right of all displaced and exiled Palestinian refugees to return to their historic indigenous homelands. This requires а total dismantlement of the Zionist settler colonial state.
We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation, genocide settler colonialism by any means necessary. A diversity of tactics are necessary for the liberation of our communities and we uphold the right of all oppressed peoples globally to engage in all forms of struggle in pursuit of freedom.
Zionism is а settler-colonial white supremacist ideology built on the genocide and dispossession of the Palestinian people. We must reject all collaboration and dialogue with zionist organizations. The liberation of Palestine requires the abolition of zionism.
All oppressed colonized communities are resisting the same allied imperialist empires. Our struggles are directly connected and thus our liberations are tied. We have a responsibility to push for the liberation of all people- Black, Brown and Indigenous communities here in the US and globally. Our work centers the Palestinian resistance movement. We are also guided by the principles of internationalism & solidarity.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
