CHICAGO (RNS) — On Tuesday night (Aug. 20), thousands of cheering delegates packed the United Center to hear former President Barack Obama and other dignitaries lend their support to Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the Oval Office.
About 20 minutes away, along Chicago’s lakeshore, a more solemn gathering was being held. There, as the sun set and the city’s skyline lit up, about 100 people from different faiths gathered to remember those killed in Gaza over the past 10 months in a vigil hosted by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization.
Small clusters of older women and men, some wearing kaffiyehs, the familiar Palestinian scarf, greeted one another with hugs. Families with kids and young activists made their way to the lakefront, where they were met with a table topped with battery-powered votive candles, pins reading “Remember Gaza” and AFSC literature. On the ground stretched a long, wide ribbon, marked with the amounts spent on military spending around the world and serving as an illustration of the American military budget compared with that of other countries.
As the crowd gathered, a young mom swung her giggling daughter while the song “Sido’s Dance” by Palestinian American musician Clarissa Bitar played over a speaker and a couple of joggers passed by.
The words “Remember Gaza,” drawn in red and green chalk, adorned the concrete walkway along the lakefront near where the group gathered, sitting on a series of high steps facing the water.
For months, many in the gathering had been protesting, making calls to elected officials, watching accounts of the war in Gaza and raising their voices in support of an end to the conflict. Now, they were taking time to stop and to find refuge in their faith and the bonds of friendship.
“I believe many of us have souls that are tired,” said Jennifer Bing, national director of the U.S. Palestine Activism Program for the AFSC, adding that many of the activists gathered were worn out from the news of bloodshed in Gaza, or from protesting and making calls for a cease-fire that many feel have gone unheeded.
“Our weary souls need to be nourished by our community of the faithful,” Bing said. “We hold each other up so we may continue to work for a world we still believe is possible.”
A series of speakers from different faith groups, some with family or colleagues in the Palestinian territories, then spoke to the gathering. Some read poems or offered prayers, while others shared stories of loved ones lost to violence.
Among the first speakers of the evening was Laura Boyce, AFSC’s associate general secretary for U.S. programs. For Boyce, advocacy for Palestinians reflects her Quaker belief that “there is that of the divine in all people.”
Above all, Boyce and the AFSC want to be “very clear that we need to see a cease-fire.”
While the city of Chicago is bustling with rallies and protests this week, Boyce said this interfaith vigil complements other such solidarity actions by offering a quiet change of pace. For her, this is just one of many ways to work toward the ultimate goal of a cease-fire and arms embargo.
