Statement from Vigil4Gaza Following the Violent Assault on its Members

On November 7th, members of Vigil4Gaza were violently attacked while displaying Palestinian flags and banners calling for justice in Palestine. This was the 30th bannering event in an ongoing awareness campaign that began in July 2025.

The encounter started when an unidentified masked man approached a large Palestinian flag on display, crouched down and used a knife to cut the cords holding it up.

Upon noticing his act of sabotage, our volunteers demanded that he stop and leave the bridge. The man escalated the tension by waving a metal flashlight to intimidate the team. Fearing for their safety, the volunteers began to escort him away, fully aware of the knife in his possession. He shouted aggressively while being ushered away and made derogatory racist comments towards Palestinians and their flag.

Despite having every opportunity to disengage and a free path to leave, the man instead became physically violent, forcefully and repeatedly shoving a woman trying to deescalate the tensions. Despite this, she did not respond physically or vocally and continued to peacefully escort him away from the group.

Instead of walking away, he struck the woman in the face with his flashlight, causing heavy bleeding from the face and mouth. This triggered the volunteers to subdue the assailant until the police could arrive in order to prevent further injury. The man used his flashlight to strike another volunteer several times on the head during this time, opening several lacerations that bled profusely and required emergency medical attention. The police rapidly responded to the call and arrested the assailant.

While the actions of this one man are deplorable, expressions of anti-Palestinian racism directed at Vigil4Gaza members are nothing new. In fact, the attitudes that spurred his hateful rhetoric and violent assault are merely representative of the hate, discrimination and, in this instance, violence that Palestinians — and those who speak up for Palestinian human rights —experience in the United States; and as distressing as his actions were they are but a modicum of what is endured every day throughout Palestine.

We will not let this act of violence deter us from our advocacy, and we will not let it silence our calls for justice and an end to the genocide.

For further information or questions contact Vigil4Gaza
Vigil4gaza [at] gmail.com