Protesters at a camp in downtown Boise say they’ll stay there until the Israeli occupation of Palestine ends.
Dozens of student and community members set up camp in front the Capitol Annex Building over the weekend following a pro-Palestinian march downtown. Drawing a crowd of several hundred, protesters demanded a ceasefire and condemned civilian deaths in Gaza.
On Monday afternoon, a handful of tents and shelters were still up on the lawn. Boise State University alum Ren Michaels was among the dozen people staying at the makeshift camp.
“We've been begging our legislator, our mayors, our senators, everyone, begging them to do something, say something, or even acknowledge that something is happening.”
But she said that hasn’t been working.
“What do you do when no one is listening? Is you get out on the streets and you make noise,” she added.
Israel attacked Palestine after the terrorist group Hamas kidnapped and killed more than 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7. Since then Israel’s military has killed 35,000 Palestinians. Michaels explained the goal of the camp is to bring awareness to what people in Gaza are going through.
“When something this disturbing and upsetting and morally reprehensible is happening in the world, none of us necessarily deserve to go about our peaceful, boring little lives,” she said. “It needs to be talked about.”
Boise’s pro-Palestinian encampment joins dozens of similar gatherings on campuses across the U.S.
