[Los Angeles] Pro-Palestine Protest at Pershing Square, Saturday Oct 21

Stop the genocide!

End the occupation!

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to call for an end to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, one in a series of protests in U.S. cities calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

After a round of speeches, the demonstrators began a slow march down Hill Street chanting and carrying signs opposing the occupation of Gaza and denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal.”

The crowd of demonstrators stretched for several city blocks. Some participants estimated tens of thousands took part. The Los Angeles Police Department said it did not have a crowd estimate.

Among the protesters was Hilda Tarazi, 91, who joked that she is “older than Israel.” She moved with the help of a walker, over which she placed a handmade sign reading “This is Not a Conflict This is Not a War This is Genocide.”