A candlelight vigil in Bruin Plaza will be held today honoring the victims of last month’s escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip.
The event, titled “Bring Light to Gaza,” is hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine, in association with the Muslim Student Association. The event was sparked by the news of a two-day Israeli incursion last March into the Gaza Strip, in which nearly 100 Palestinians were killed, many of whom were children, organizers said.
“The violence escalated one weekend, and one of my friends just called me that weekend with the idea of a vigil,” said Beeta Baghoolizadeh, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Organizers also hope to educate students about the issue and raise money for the hundreds who are without electricity, food or medical supplies because of the Israeli blockade .
One of the organizers of the event, Norah Sarsour, said she came up with the vigil because she wanted to do something about what she said were the substandard living conditions faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where many are living without electricity.
“The vigil has a positive connotation. … We’re trying to bring light to what’s happening in Gaza and also raise attention to the issue of the power outage,” Sarsour said.
Candles will be sold at the event, which begins at 7 p.m. with a group prayer and candle lighting, followed by speakers including Gazans from the conflict area. The proceeds from the candle sales will go to the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
Organizers said they hope the vigil will attract people from all backgrounds.
“I’m not Palestinian, so I’m not actually directly affected. … It’s just something that my conscience sees to be wrong,” said Baghoolizadeh, who is of Iranian descent.
Students from Bruins for Israel, a group that has had disagreements with Students for Justice in Palestine in the past, said though they approve of the group’s humanitarian efforts, they believe the crisis is not exclusive to Palestine.
“I think it’s great what they’re doing, but it’s important to stress that it’s not only because of Israeli policies that the Palestinian people are suffering,” said Sheila Solymani, a third-year psychobiology student and secretary of Bruins for Israel.
Trevor Klitofsky, a third-year political science student and member of Bruins for Israel, said he believes it’s important to look at the roots of the situation.
“There is absolutely a humanitarian crisis, but you have to look at why. There’s innocent people on both sides being threatened and hurt. … Every day, rockets land in Israel on innocent civilians,” he said.
Randa Wahbe, an Arab Christian and president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said she hopes students will focus on the humanitarian effort rather than the sectarian differences.
“This is not a Christian, Muslim or Jewish struggle, this is a humanitarian issue,” Wahbe said. “It goes beyond religious boundaries.”
Sarsour said she hopes the event will remain nonpolitical and instead focus on the affected population caught in the middle of the destructive conflict.
“Rather than being reactionary or anti-something, this is just to humanize the people in the conflict who aren’t always seen as the victims in a struggle,” said Sarsour, who is a cofounder of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Sarsour said she hopes the event will focus primarily on honoring the dead and raising money for the charity.
“I hope that UCLA students are able to realize that despite political stances, when a human being is suffering, all of humanity is suffering,” Sarsour said.