Marking a year since October 7, hundreds of students donning keffiyehs and facemasks gathered on McKeldin Mall this past Monday to grieve the Palestinians killed during Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Amid the to and fro of students hurrying to their classes, organizers with this university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine hung up banners and hoisted a Palestinian flag at the heart of campus.

The event was only permitted to take place after a hard-fought legal battle by the campus SJP against the university administration.

The group’s petition, announced last month, saw a federal judge overturn President Darryll Pines’ cancellation of all non-university sanctioned events slated for October 7, citing violations of students’ first amendment rights.

Although SJP organized the event on short-notice in wake of their dramatic win, spirits were high as students gave emotional speeches and flew kites, a tribute to the Palestinian children who have been killed over the past year.

Banners scattered across the grassy mall echoed common slogans of the pro-Palestine movement in the US such as “Stop genocide, divest now” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine is almost free.”

Large tri-fold display boards on the sundial extolled Palestinian martyrs, referring to the Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment over the past year. While the Gaza’s Ministry of Health puts the death count at some 42,000 people, SJP maintains that the number is much higher, some 180,000 people.

Some Jewish attendees subversively touted their identity with banners and t-shirts. One protester held a sign that read “Jews for Intifada” while another sported a shirt distributed by Maryland Hillel commemorating Hamas’s massacre, but with the words “never forget” crossed out in red paint and replaced with “never again for anyone.”

Most campus Jewish organizations came out strongly against the event, alarmed by the anti-Israel group’s decision to hold a demonstration on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

SJP defended their position, asserting that the date also marks the outset of Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas, which it dubs a genocidal campaign against Palestinians in the enclave.

One student speaker, who declined to give his name and wore a face mask, claimed that “[Israeli] lies create a distorted reality used to dehumanize the oppressed [Palestinians].”

To the solemn agreement of students in the crowd, he insisted that over the past year, misinformation has “obscured the real dynamics of oppression and prevented something as basic as a ceasefire from happening.”

He denounced dialogue between pro-Israelis and pro-Palestinians due to the “oppressor vs oppressed” nature of their relationship.

Brandee Kaplan, a Jewish student and co-founder of Jewish Voice for Peace at Maryland stressed that the events of October 7th “did not exist in a vacuum.” Hamas’s attacks, she reasoned, were inevitable thanks to the decades of oppression Palestinians have endured.

“The state of Israel is a response to a form of bigotry: antisemitism… I believe this world can be a safe place for Jewish people, Israel demands that this world remains hostile. We don’t need Israel if this world cared for Jewish people,” she said, to which the crowd erupted in claps and snaps of approval.

One speaker from the university chapter of the Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (TerpCHRP) asked “is anyone surprised that these Zionists are white supremacist freaks?” The crowd erupted once more.

“No matter what Zionist is in charge, the conditions of the Palestinian people will not improve,” he added. Other speakers drew parallels between the oppression of people in the Philippines to the plight of Gazans, calling for solidarity among all oppressed peoples around the world.

None of the speakers made any comments on the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7th of last year, including rape, murder, and kidnapping. 

“Our intention for having this event is for students to come and learn about human rights violations in Palestine and for others to have a space to grieve,” said SJP organizer Daniela Colombi. 

“October 7th is a really critical day, it marks a shift in the way the occupation has treated Palestinians,” she said, explaining that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians has progressed from occupation to “full-on genocide.”

She insisted that the issue of Palestine is important to college students: “the Zionist state has obliterated every university in Gaza and as students, we should care about those peers.” 

UMD SJP member Kaylee Mendoza Diaz said her Latina identity drew her to the group.

“I like to connect with people who are marginalized or oppressed or are being occupied,” she told Mitzpeh.

“I believe that they [Hamas] were justified … we fight with stones and Israelis fight with bombs and guns, so I do believe that it [the attacks] was justified.”  

Aaron Smith, a Filipino student affiliated with TerpCHRP, says “We believe the international struggle is for everyone, not just certain ethnicities. We see a lot of parallels between the Filipino struggle and the Palestinian struggle.” Smith said.

“I hope that [students] realize it’s been a year and that speeches touch people. I hope [the event] reinvigorates people who have lost hope.” Smith remarks further, “before October 7th I was aware of Palestinian movements and the ongoing Palestinian struggle … Hamas is doing what they’ve been doing because they think they have to.” Like many other pro-Palestinian students, Smith blames Israel for Hamas’ terror towards Israeli civilians. 

At the 6PM vigil, students gathered in groups on the barricaded McKeldin lawn and SJP organizers began reading the names of 186 Palestinians who have died over the past year, calling on the crowd to hear the pain of the Palestinian people.

Muslim students prayed on the lawn, grieving for lost loved ones and praying for the bloodshed to end.

In a powerful display of unity amongst Palestinian students, their prayers resonated as a call for peace for Palestinians, reminding us all of the profound desire to end the cycle of conflict and suffering.