It was 35 degrees Monday afternoon, with sun peeking through gray skies and light snowflakes in the air — but that didn’t stop hundreds from showing up at 87th Street and Harlem Avenue, rallying for Gaza and marking the first-ever Little Palestine Day in Bridgeview.
Families bundled in coats. Kids waved Palestinian flags. Protesters spilled across the sidewalk kitty-corner from the Shop & Save, their chants cutting through the cold.
They later marched through the area, prompting police to block off traffic lanes along Harlem Avenue. Bridgeview police had issued a public traffic disruption advisory in advance of the 4:30 p.m. rally.
“This is the heart of our community,” said Husam Marajda, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network’s Chicago chapter. “We protest downtown all the time — but today we wanted to do it here.”
Bridgeview and surrounding suburbs — including Hickory Hills, Palos Hills, Oak Lawn, and Chicago Ridge — recently issued proclamations naming April 7 Little Palestine Day, a recognition of the region’s deep Palestinian roots.
“It’s good, of course — we deserve the recognition,” Marajda said. “But we need more than that. Our goal is to end this genocide — to continue fighting for a free Palestine.”
Marajda said local support is appreciated, but what protesters want most is action — especially as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, as reported by the BBC. That number represents roughly 1 in 46 people in Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million. The United Nations has warned that famine is imminent in Gaza.
“It humanizes our people a little more, recognizing our people a little more,” Marajda said. “But the U.S. government is still sending weapons and aid to the state of Israel. That’s what we want to end.”
For longtime Bridgeview resident Maysa Alkisswany, the day was deeply personal. “This is the only thing that makes me live here,” she said. “I feel I’m in my country. It’s like the thing pushing me to be strong without family — because I find a lot of families like my family.”
She stood beside her daughter, Serne, who said she was born in the U.S. but never felt truly connected to her roots — until now. “I never felt what the people of Gaza feel like,” Serne said. “So I would actually really love this protest to be heard. I hope this protest helps us break them down.”
Asked what she hopes outsiders take away from the rally, she said simply: “I hope they can take the same thing from us — stand hand in hand.”
Among the crowd was Cynthia Brito, who came from Berwyn with her daughter to stand in solidarity. “In the last few days it’s been really hard with the escalation of the brutality that’s happening to the people in Gaza,” Brito said. “I’ve been in contact with a couple of families there. I’ve been helping them for the last eight months, fundraising and sending money over.”
It was her first time in Bridgeview, but she said she came because she knew this is where the community lives. “I would — I am ten toes behind the Palestinian people,” Brito said. “Even though I’m not from here.”
As a Latina and daughter of immigrants, Brito said she sees the same struggles in her community — from state violence to family separation — and urged protesters and allies to stay focused.
“These last protests that happened the last few days, the hands-off protests — they missed the mark,” she said.
“They didn’t denounce genocide. They talked about bringing back democracy, but for so many — including Palestinian people and immigrants being deported — that democracy never existed.”
