Students join 24-hour hunger strike in support of Palestine

Last Thursday, signs reading “Ceasefire Now” and “None Are Free ‘til All Are Free” were displayed by protesters in front of Renne Library. These individuals were participating in a hunger strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is sailing to Gaza with food and medicine. 

The flotilla, which includes over 50 ships from around the world, intends to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel, according to the flotilla’s website.

The strike was organized by the Bozeman chapter of Montanans 4 Palestine (MT4P), a community-led organization founded in 2021. “We are a group of individuals that stand in solidarity with folks facing occupation all across the world. We like to throw events that educate the public,” said MT4P representative and sociology major Jonah Henderson.  

In recent weeks, MT4P has hosted several other protests around the state to raise awareness about the famine and death in Gaza caused by Israel’s military pressure, according to a press release from the MT4P on Aug. 25. Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, according to PBS. 

“80 percent of people [in Gaza] are in stage five of famine,” said MT4P representative and Native American studies major Taylor Pujanen. According to the World Food Programme, this is the most severe stage of famine a person can be in. “Once you get food, your body still has irreversible effects of starvation,” Pujanen said. 

Israel is currently enforcing a blockade to prevent aid from reaching the Gaza Strip, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The UN and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation attempted to send aid to Gaza, but were intercepted by the blockade, as reported by the American Jewish Community on Aug. 28.

According to Pajunen, the blockade is illegal under international law.

“We’re raising awareness,” Henderson said. “Palestinians are human, and they deserve food, they deserve life, they deserve to feed their children. We are complicit — and it’s just not right.” 

Since the beginning of the war, the U.S. has aided Israel, providing military equipment and financial support to the Israeli government. According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has provided Israel with $175 billion in bilateral assistance and missile defense funding since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

“That’s our money,” Pajunen said. “We’re sending billions of dollars of aid to Israel, we’re sending money to support their schooling and healthcare. Us Montanans are struggling to go to school; we’re struggling to get healthcare. Our money is literally going to a genocidal, apartheid nation for them to thrive.”

Throughout the day, the protesters addressed a number of discussion topics, including ecocide — the genocide of ecology. “Military [action] is one of the leading causes of environmental degradation, of climate change,” Pajunen said. “Blowing up buildings is not good for the environment. Who would have thought of that?”

The protest also included artwork scattered around the area. Handmade signs colored in green, red, black and white — the colors of Palestine’s flag — bore a variety of phrases, including: “Mourn the Dead and Fight Like Hell for the Living.” One sign had a drawing of a blue and gold bobcat surrounded by the words: “Stop Complying with Fascism.” 

“Today is specifically about the flotilla and getting aid in,” Pajunen said. “Really, the ask today is that people use their own social media accounts to uplift the flotilla, uplift the hunger strike. Tag us @mt4palestine, tag the global movement to Gaza so that we really put on that international pressure.” 

To learn more about MT4P, visit montana4palestine.org or email the organization at mt4palestine@gmail.com.