PNN – Al Jazeera news channel wrote: Residents of “Little Palestine” in Chicago are protesting in support of their Palestinian compatriots and mourning their pain and suffering at the same time as the Gaza war.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Al Jazeera wrote: “Robhi Gharallah”, one of the residents of a neighborhood in the suburbs of Chicago, said while standing next to the neighborhood mosque: The Israeli war in Gaza is not forgotten by the residents of this neighborhood.
After the Friday prayer in this mosque, he told Al Jazeera: We pray, protest and collect money to help the people of Gaza. We will do anything for Gaza.
Gharullah, a resident of Bridgeview, Illinois, which is informally known as Chicago’s “Little Palestine,” added: With all the work he and his neighbors are doing for Palestine, they are not sure about one action, and that is participating in the next US presidential election.
Little Palestine is located in Cook County and is home to approximately 22,518 Americans of Palestinian descent, who constitute the largest Palestinian population in the United States.
Gharullah, wearing a cap the color of the Palestinian flag consisting of red, white, green and black, emphasized the strong presence of Palestinian immigrants in Chicago’s culture and business sectors.
However, he said: Americans of Palestinian descent are facing confusion in the upcoming presidential elections, because Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Rival Kamala Harris have shown that they are strong supporters of the Israeli regime.
A day before this Palestinian’s interview with Al Jazeera, Harris appeared at the Democratic Party convention in an area only 24 kilometers from Bridgeview to confirm his candidacy.
For the Palestinians of this area in Chicago, who are facing a devastating war in their homeland, holding this conference could be an opportunity to raise awareness and draw attention to this issue.
But the residents and the Palestinian population present in this area told Al Jazeera that this event was a bitter reminder of the fact that the identity of the Palestinians has been humiliated and subjected to political marginalization, even by the democrats who claim to value it.
They pointed to the Harris campaign’s opposition to a Palestinian speaking at the convention, calling it offensive given the size of the Palestinian population living in Chicago.
In part of its report, Al Jazeera quoted a lawyer and an organizer of anti-war protests in Gaza and wrote: While Palestinians in the Chicago area have always had strong feelings about their Palestinian identity, this community has transformed in the past 10 years and their activities in support of Palestinians have reached new heights.
He said: The important thing about the Palestinians of this region is that they are aware of their identity and are proud of being the representative of the small Palestinian community in Chicago.
According to them, being Palestinian is not just wearing Palestinian clothes and goods. They explained that this issue is inherently political in nature and requires them to constantly highlight the plight of Palestinians under occupation and bombardment in the Middle East.
Al Jazeera quoted Mohammad Noman, another Palestinian resident of Bridgeview, who works in digital media and advertising, as saying: People in this community are trying to do everything to support their Palestinian brothers.
He said: They are human beings. They have dreams. They want to live. So we are with them until the last moment.
When asked about Harris’ support for the Israeli regime, Nauman said: Palestinian Americans will not support any politician who does not support Palestinian human rights. We have a strong community. We stand together every step of the way.
Al Jazeera wrote: While the Palestinian American community is concentrated in Bridgeview, they are located throughout the Chicago area, which is home to important Palestinian rights organizations, including the Muslim American Society for Palestine, the United States Palestinian Community Network, and Palestinian Rights.
Other communities have shown solidarity with Palestinian Americans in Chicago. Nader Ahmed, editor of the Chicago-based Palestine in America magazine, said that Israel’s atrocities in Gaza have made more Americans sympathize with the Palestinians and learn more about the issue.