Kites Fly at Crissy Field in Message of Hope and Support

Photos: Leon Kunstenaar

(San Francisco, Sept. 26) – It was sunny and windy as kites took to the air at Crissy Field to bring a message: "Let it Bring Hope;100 Kites for Palestine" in support to the Gaza Soup Kitchen.

Initiated by Vigil4Gaza with many groups involved including CODEPINK, East Bay Families for Ceasefire, San Jose Against War, Saoirse, Democrats for Palestinian Rights, Taxpayers Against Genocide and others, they raised over $11,500 for the Gaza Soup Kitchen. They were there to “turn an act of joy into a message of solidarity with real material help.”

Palestinian flags were flying even before the 2 PM start time of the event. A large sign proclaimed “It's Genocide.” People donated twenty dollars for kites they then painted messages on. Some of the kites were from Gaza and honored specific young martyrs. Some people brought their own and someone sheepishly admitted having bought one at Amazon.

A couple of expert kite flyers manipulated kites with long tails forming elaborate patterns while it was also clear that many had not flown a kite since childhood many years ago. One kite decided to wrap its string around my camera.

Many kites were in Palestinian flag colors forming an impressive sight. And the Brass Liberation Orchestra played.

See all high resolution photos here.