Amherst “Pots & Pans Protest” Calls Attention to Starvation in Gaza
"Pots and Pans Protest" for Gaza, July 24, 2025. Photo: RIch Karsten
Approximately 150 people gathered on the Town Common in front of the Amherst Town Hall on July 24 to protest the intentional starvation of 2.2 million Palestinians. Bisan, a journalist, humanitarian, and resident of the Gaza strip, reminded us on Instagram that we are not helpless as she called on us to, “Bang the pots, because the sound of our empty stomachs and the voice of humanity must be louder than their brutality. Bang the pots to stand for the most just cause in the world.”
Residents brought pots, pans, forks and spoons to call upon those who are staying silent to act for humanity; to call upon the nations of the world to force Israel to end the blockade of food, water, and medicine, critically needed by the people of Gaza. Speakers drew attention to the apocalyptic hell Palestinians are suffering under Israel’s military enforced blockade of humanitarian aid. There are hundreds of tractor trailer trucks that have been stuck at the border for months on end as children starve, die, and suffer irreversible physical and mental damage. Another speaker called for the immediate end of all military aid to the Zionist state of Israel until such time that the regime abides by international law and dismantles its apartheid system of dehumanization, oppression, and human rights violations against the indigenous populace of Palestine.
Voices from the Crowd
“Not that we don’t care, it’s that millions of us do care and we can’t stop it.”
“Privileged have a responsibility to speak for those who can not speak”.
“This Genocide has broken me in more ways than I would have thought possible” Palestinians and our supports are sick and tired of screaming. Tired of screaming as the war profiteers are lining their pockets while children die and become orphans everyday.
“Because Genocide is evil”
“If telling the truth is a crime then let us all be criminals. “
“It is an impossible feeling, a horrible burning sensation deep in the soul, to watch this live-steam mass mutilation of humanity in Gaza as a passive bystander and think you cannot do anything to stop it. This is the moral issue of our time and time has never been more urgent that we act, as individuals, as communities and as nations to regain our humanity and let Gazans LIVE!”
Videos:
Leyla Moushabeck shares a message from the Sumud school in Gaza. Part I
Leyla Moushabeck at the July 24 “Pots and Pans Protest”. Part 2
Let’s do this daily.
Let’s start here and maybe it will spread around the globe.
How about 6 pm? Suggest another time.
Bang pots or make any other sound to call for humanitarian relief in Gaza.
If you are in a place where you cannot make noise,
pause for a minute in silence to demonstrate your support for relief.
Call for peace, but with immediate humanitarian relief.
Innocent civilians – many mothers and children.
Suffer and die for the violence of Hamas and the Israeli military.
The vast majority had no part in the violence, and yet the are punished.
There is no benefit to this hateful inhumane practice.
Please join in a daily reminder that this tragic situation must stop.