A Peace March for Palestine

by Aidan Yoder

(Photo by Micaiah Landis)

Listen to Mary Swander’s interview with Aidan Yoder at the end of this article.

What would you walk 141 miles for? In the late July heat, I walked on a 141-mile march from Harrisonburg, Virginia to Washington D.C. for 11 days to physically demonstrate the dire need for peace in Gaza.

The All God's Children March for a Ceasefire, a call for peace, was organized by Mennonite Action, a group of Mennonites who formed after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Our movement’s demands include a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, an end to U.S. military support for Israel, and an end to the occupation of Palestine. Mennonite Action has organized local protests, contacted government representatives, and engaged in civil disobedience. The march was the boldest action carried out so far.

The march fluctuated in size, between 30 and 125 people, as we walked along the side of highways, through mountains, and on sidewalks in suburban neighborhoods. Each morning breakfast was served by 6:30 and our morning circle started at 7:00 so we could begin marching by 8:00 and finish around 2:00 in the afternoon. We took several breaks throughout the day for water, snacks, and lunch. In the evening we gathered for another circle to debrief the day and reflect on the ongoing destruction in Gaza.

As we marched we were led with a banner that read All God's Children March for a Ceasefire and carried signs with our messages of Let Gaza Live, Send Food Not Bombs, Biden, Open Your Eyes, and God Loves Every Child, No Exceptions. We sang choruses of Ceasefire Now, Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying, and O Healing River, as we walked step by step towards D.C. in supporting a ceasefire.

(Photos by Micaiah Landis) 4041, 4002

Each person had their own reason for marching. For me, it was the relationships that I had built with Palestinians during my time in the West Bank last summer. There, my group studied Arabic from a local Palestinian woman, took history lessons about Palestine, and took lessons from a dance group near Bethlehem. While we danced, we got to know a member of the dance group who was from Gaza. Even before October 7th, she said that if she visited her family in Gaza, the heavy restrictions on movement would make it difficult, or nearly impossible for her to return. She wouldn’t be able to return to Bethlehem where she goes to school, has her friends, and dances with this group.

I think of her when I think of what is happening in Gaza. I will likely never know if her family in Gaza is still alive, or if she will be able to see them again. Her family could have very well been destroyed by the money and weapons our own government and political leaders are sending to Israel.

Once our march reached D.C., Mennonite Action held a service of lament at the White House, calling on our leaders to take action for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation. Over the following two days, we joined an interfaith coalition of organizations committed to demonstrating the need for peace. Part of these actions were designed to disrupt and offer a life-giving theology of peace to counter the dehumanizing Christian Zionist theology promoted at the annual Christian United For Israel (CUFI) Convention. One method of disruption was singing during the CUFI convention registration in the atrium of the convention center until we were eventually escorted out by hotel security.

The events culminated in civil disobedience directly in the halls of power, in front of our public officials, their staffers, and members of CUFI who were lobbying in the Hart Senate Office Building. Those who marched to D.C. were joined by others who came for the day to take part in a peaceful, yet disruptive, demonstration of our personal convictions to peace and justice. Like the previous civil disobedience action organized by Mennonite Action in January 2024, our protest was not characterized by angry chants but by singing hymns and songs. We continued singing even as we were arrested, handcuffed, and led to police trucks that transported us to a processing center. For me, and for many others there, this was the second time we were arrested for our peaceful witness for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.

Photo: Elizabeth Johnson

Listen to Mary Swander’s interview with Aidan Yoder:

Bio:

Aidan Yoder grew up in Southeast Iowa, is a student in his senior year at Eastern Mennonite University double majoring in History and Political Science. He substitute teaches in his spare time. 

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