Around 25 protesters gathered Tuesday night in support of Israel outside a Town Meeting at Brookline High School, where the Town Meeting Members Association, the legislative branch of Brookline, plan to vote on a ceasefire resolution.
Protesters carried Israeli and American flags along with signs that said, “We stand with Israel” and, “The war will end when our hostages are free.”
The protest was conducted without chants or interaction with passersby. Instead, those participating in the hour-long protest stood across the street from the Brookline High School Auditorium, where town hall meetings take place.
The resolution proposes a permanent ceasefire with unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza and the immediate return of all the hostages. It will be proposed Wednesday as part of the second half of the town hall meeting.
Scott Hayes, a Brookline resident, said he organized this protest and many others across Eastern Massachusetts in the last year “to show solidarity” with the Jewish community and Israelis and “to combat antisemitism.”
Hayes said they are protesting to encourage the council to vote “down” or refuse to hear the resolution.
“It’s full of antisemitic language, anti-Israel language,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t address any issues facing the people of Brookline, and we’re here to just show our support for Jewish citizens.”
Dina Brodsky, an artist from Brookline, said she attended the protest to express support for bringing home Israeli hostages.
More than 60 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others are still being held by Hamas in Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023, according to The New York Times.
“This is my community, and also this is the right thing to do,” Brodsky said. “This is a protest to try to get the hostages back or at least to get people’s voices heard.”
Brodsky said she also protested to bring attention to the rise in the antisemitism she has noticed across the country.
“Being Jewish is getting progressively less safe,” Brodsky said.
Hayes said “everyone is entitled” to have their own thoughts and opinions, but they should look at “unbiased history” confirmed by multiple sources.
“What makes America great is a bunch of people with different views coming together and getting things done,” Hayes said.
