Mourning the thousands of Palestinians killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the Students for Justice in Palestine, joined by the Arab Student Association, the Muslim Student Association and the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier, organized a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening.

Held on the Spine by the Lecture Hall, the vigil commenced with a short poem read in Arabic and English about the struggles Palestinians face and their connection to the land. As the crowd continued to gather, organizers distributed masks and candles.

“We want to remind the Binghamton community at large that the martyrs of Palestine are not statistics, but victims of genocide; each and every man, woman, and child deserves to be mourned,” SJP wrote to Pipe Dream. “We want our fellow students to know that what they feel is understandable if not rational, for our grief and our anger are inextricably intertwined.”

The vigil continued with 365 seconds of silence to commemorate the 365 days since Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a siege of Gaza. Students lit candles and leaned on each other for support.

Several student speakers shared poems and gave speeches voicing solidarity with Palestinians and condemning the ongoing violence in Gaza. One who did not share their name shared a self-written poem titled “When You Say Terror” that highlighted their struggle to speak openly against mainstream narratives.

“Edward Said told the world about the fact that they do not have the permission to narrate,” they said, referring to the Palestinian American philosopher and activist. “We must not wait for them to be given that permission. So I, too, will say terror, until every eye is opened to a violence of 75 years.”

Another speaker condemned the U.S. government for providing military funding to Israel. They said generic statements, like “bombs were dropped” and “shots were fired,” contribute to the dehumanization of Palestinians, specifically referencing a recent report that the Israeli military killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the West Bank.

“He is not a number,” the speaker said. “He was a child, he was a son, he was a brother. He had a favorite food, he had a favorite song, favorite color, and I’m outraged that I have to prove that Palestinians are just as human as the rest of us.”

The vigil was part of SJP’s “Week of Rage,” which included a walk-out and rally on Monday, a bracelet sale — with all proceeds going to the Middle East Children’s Alliance — a culture poetry night and a peer support group meeting. The organization said they were “SJP chapters across the nation in re-engaging and rebuilding anger and urgency among the campus community.”

“We aim to highlight how our universities are complicit in Israel’s genocide by exposing their ties to the military-industrial complex, which provides Israel with the funding and weaponry it relies on to execute its brutal bombing campaigns,” SJP wrote. “We urge our peers to join in these movement-wide calls to action by recognizing Israel’s role in the killings and destruction in Gaza, which has slaughtered over 40,000 Palestinians and pushed 2 million to the brink of starvation. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that we reflect on the past 76 years in which Palestinians have faced ongoing displacement, apartheid, and violence under Israeli occupation, and commit ourselves to amplifying their voices, resisting complicity, and fighting for justice and liberation.”

To conclude the vigil, Anas Shaikh ‘17, the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier’s executive director and lead imam, led the attendees in prayer.

When discussing their role in the event, ASA said that with solidarity as one of their seven core values, they “serve as a conduit of awareness and pillar of solidarity with our Arab brothers and sisters.”

“The goal of this vigil is to commemorate the lives lost due to the past year of ongoing genocide, in addition to the over 75 years of Israeli occupation,” ASA wrote. “This is meant to be a peaceful and solemn event as we reflect on the brutal reality of the settler-colonial state.”