Demonstrations and memorials marking the anniversary of the 7 October attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza are taking place around the US, where cities and campuses are on high alert for any unrest as the threat of a full-scale war in the Middle East looms.
Dozens of rallies, marches and other events are planned on Monday in protest against the Israeli offensive, which was sparked by the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in another 250 being taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory war has killed more than 41,000 people in the besieged territory.
Demonstrations are planned around New York City throughout the day. The pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, backed by dozens of other groups, has called on people to “flood New York City for Palestine”.
At Columbia University, in New York, where a pro-Palestine protest encampment last year inspired dozens of others on campuses across the country, dueling rallies were held inside and around the campus. Israel supporters gathered outside the gates singing Jewish prayers and chanting “Bring them home”, in reference to hostages held by Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian students, many wearing keffiyehs, had gathered after heeding a call by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for a “national student walkout”. Other students waving Israeli flags stood nearby, next to an exhibit of structures resembling milk cartons displaying photos of hostages.
Outsiders were not allowed on campus, but Carolina Sophia Pedrazzi, a graduate student, said pro-Palestinian protesters continued with a vigil that started last week, reading out the names of more than 40,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza over the last year.
“The climate on campus is extremely tense,” Pedrazzi said.
In Washington DC, vice-presidential candidate JD Vance spoke at a “Standing with Israel” rally organized by the Christian group Philos Project at the National Mall.
He called the attacks of 7 October “the worst terrorist attack since 9/11” and an attack not only on Israel and Jews but “on Americans”. He also used the event as an opportunity to attack Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“It is disgraceful that we have an American president and vice-president who haven’t done a thing,” he said. “Vice-President Harris, our message is: ‘Bring them home.’ Use your authority to help bring them home.”
Vance also criticized what he described as “pro-Hamas” protests happening across the country and the students that he said are “supporting Islamic radicals, destroying property, and threatening Jewish students and professors”.
A Trump administration, Vance warned, “would stop funding anti-American and anti-Jewish radicals” – a threat to withhold federal funds to universities office.
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“If you’re an elite university and you’re using federal money to harass Jewish students, we are going to resolutely stand against anti-Jewish hate, and we’re going to go after the accreditation and federal support of colleges that won’t look out for their own students.”
Campus administrations and police departments have come under scrutiny for a heavy-handed response to the protests, and, in the case of universities, a clampdown on pro-Palestinian speech, in part in response to pressure from politicians. In an effort to neutralize tensions leading up to the anniversary, the University of Maryland revoked its permit for an SJP vigil planned for Monday, announcing that only university-sanctioned events would be permitted on the day. A federal judge reinstated the permit after the group filed a lawsuit alleging its first amendment rights had been violated.
At Wake Forest University in North Carolina, a talk planned for Monday by Rabab Abdulhadi, a Palestinian-American scholar, was cancelled after students circulated a petition against it. The university said it was not confident it could ensure security at the event.
In the lead-up to the anniversary, tens of thousands of people around the world protested over the weekend demanding an end to the war in Gaza and to Israel’s rapidly escalating bombardment of Lebanon, which has killed more than 1,400 people in the last two weeks.
Smaller pro-Israel events were held in cities such as Berlin and London, calling for a return of the hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel has vowed to retaliate for an Iranian missile strike that itself was a retaliation for a series of high-profile assassinations attributed to Israel. The escalating tit-for-tat has led to fears that a wider regional war could quickly spin out of control.