Silent March and Vigil for Palestine Held at The Walkway Over The Hudson

HIGHLAND, N.Y. — Palestinian flags waved high above the Hudson River on Oct. 7 2024, as about 50 activists marched silently across the Walkway Over the Hudson, holding signs, flags and adorned in clothing colored red, black and green.  

The march was held on the one-year mark of attack and subsequent invasion of Israel by Hamas, which prompted the continuation of the 77-year-old conflict and subsequent genocide of the Palestinian people.  It was organized by various grassroots, pro-Palestine organizations in the Hudson Valley (HV) to show respect and solidarity with “all of those who have lost their lives in Palestine since October 7th,” according to the Hudson Valley for Free Palestine’s Instagram. 

The marchers were a collection of HV residents, activists, and people from, or with family in or around the Palestinian territories. Many brought their families, and children held signs and waved flags during the march out to the middle of The Walkway. Once at the center of The Walkway, the group chanted “Free. Free. Palestine,” and took photos before starting the walk back to the Highland side of The Walkway.  

On the march back, some of the children gathered and broke their silence, making jokes and talking. “It made me emotional,” said one of the walks organizers. “It made me think about the children in Palestine that deserve to laugh and joke and be free and even go to events like this for what they believe in.” 

In addition to paying respects to those who lost their lives, the walk was also held to draw attention to the lack of awareness that the genocide of the Palestinian people are getting from western nations. “It is believable that the worthiness of your life is very much dependent on the color of your skin, your identity, where you come from, your religion, but I’m fucking sick of it,” said Raz, one of the speakers at the event. “Sept. 11, Oct.7, are days that are sacred, that are etched into memory forever. The people that died on those days, may they all rest in peace, are etched in marble down in Manhattan. Their stories are told. They have faces, they matter…What is our day to remember…Why are we still shouting from the rooftops to ask for our stories to be told, to ask for our deaths to matter, to ask for our deaths to stop. Why?” 

After the walk, the group gathered around the Sojourner Truth Statue that stands at the start of The Walkway, placed a Palestine flag over its arm, and prepared to listen to the various speakers, some of whom were from Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. One of those speakers, Raven Bayersela, spoke about her experience being both Israeli and Palestinian. “This didn’t start October 7th, this didn't start in the 21st century…It’s going to be our job, as it was the Germans, to explain why we didn’t prevent this from happening, why we didn’t step in when people were openly being murdered before our eyes,” Bayersela continued. “This is a dystopia, and frankly I don’t know how to be quiet anymore. I don’t want to peacefully protest. I want to kick and scream and punch until somebody hears me.”