On a brisk October morning in 2025, the streets of Santa Ana, California, echoed with chants and the determined footsteps of more than thirty demonstrators. Their message was clear and urgent: solidarity with Palestine, an end to what they called genocide in Gaza, and a halt to U.S. military support for Israel. This protest, organized by the Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC), was just one of several actions across the United States that month, as American voices joined a mounting global outcry over the ongoing devastation in Gaza.
According to Fight Back! News, the Santa Ana protest unfolded at the intersection of Bristol Avenue and McFadden Street, where activists waved signs and called for an end to the siege on Gaza. Their demands were broad but pointed: support for Palestinian resistance, defense of the Freedom Flotilla, and a cessation of U.S. aid to Israel. The crowd’s chants—“Free, free Palestine!” and “When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!”—were met with honks and cheers from passing drivers, underscoring the resonance of their message with the broader community.
Matt Compton, a CSO OC member, drew a direct line between the oppression of Palestinians and the systemic racism faced by Chicanos in the American Southwest. “Chicanos living in the American Southwest recognize the oppression of Palestinians for what it is. The oppression currently happening here in the U.S. involving ICE snatching immigrants from the streets and out of the courts, comes from the same vein of racism used in the genocide of Palestinians. Shame!” he declared, according to Fight Back! News.
The protest’s emcee, David Pulido, turned his criticism toward both the Trump administration and local Santa Ana politicians. Pulido accused the administration of overseeing the genocide in Gaza and called out city council members Valerie Amezcua, Phil Bacerra, and David Penaloza for what he described as Zionist positions. He recounted a tense moment from early 2024, when a ceasefire resolution—brought to the council by popular demand—saw Becerra and Penaloza leave the room, while Amezcua summoned police to form a barrier and threatened arrests.
Rain Mendoza, representing the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, placed the blame for the ongoing violence squarely on U.S. shoulders. “The genocide that is being waged by Israel could not exist without the aid of the United States government. Since taking office, the Trump administration has approved $12 billion in foreign military sales,” Mendoza said. Mendoza argued that the U.S. government’s continued support for Israel was a result of the monopoly capitalist class’s grip on political power, contending, “The only way to change that is revolution. FRSO is dedicated to building a communist party that can lead the fight against the ruling class.”
Santa Ana’s demonstration was not an isolated incident. Just days earlier, on October 1, 2025, ten U.S. citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla—an effort to break the Israeli siege of Gaza and deliver food and medical supplies—were violently intercepted and detained by Israeli forces. According to Anadolu, these activists, upon their release, convened outside the U.S. State Department on October 16, 2025, to demand an end to American military assistance to Israel and accountability for the treatment of U.S. citizens abroad.
Tor Stumo, one of the flotilla activists, recounted his ordeal: “As soon as I stepped foot off that boat, I was beaten, punched in the stomach, and clubbed on the back of the neck. I was handcuffed so tightly I passed out. The Israelis have nothing but contempt for humanitarian activists and U.S. citizens and our government.” His words painted a stark picture of the risks faced by those attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
Marine veteran Jessica Clotfelter explained her motivation for joining the flotilla: “Veterans take an oath to protect our country from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she said, standing before the State Department. She urged law enforcement officers present to “come back to humanity” and reject U.S. policies that, in her view, enable Israel’s war on Gaza.
Stephen Wahab, a Palestinian American activist whose family fled their homeland in 1948, highlighted the flotilla’s brief but significant disruption of the Israeli blockade. “We tied up the Israeli Navy to a point where they couldn’t patrol Gaza, and the fishermen were able to feed their families. That’s beautiful,” Wahab observed, emphasizing the growing strength of global solidarity movements.
Antony Aguilar, a former contractor and whistleblower, condemned Washington’s continued military funding to Israel even as the U.S. government faced a prolonged shutdown. “Tomorrow makes day 17, and it’ll be the third-longest in history, soon to be the second, and then the longest. So, congratulations to our effective government, who shuts down our government, but we still pay $3.8 billion so Israel can continue to bomb Gaza. Every day, children die at our hands, all of us who pay taxes,” Aguilar said, as reported by Anadolu.
The activists outside the State Department announced plans to meet with members of Congress and human rights advocates to press for legislation halting U.S. arms transfers to Israel and safeguarding Americans abroad. Their calls came against the backdrop of a long-standing and intensifying blockade on Gaza—one that Israel has maintained for nearly 18 years and tightened further in March 2025 by closing border crossings and blocking essential food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave toward famine. Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, rendering the region nearly uninhabitable. A ceasefire to end two years of Israeli bombardment was finally announced on October 9, 2025.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, Tennessee, several hundred people took to the streets on October 4, 2025, for a “Two-Mile Walk for Palestine.” According to People’s World, the marchers gathered to commemorate two years of genocide in Gaza and 69 years of Palestinian oppression. Their demands echoed those heard in Santa Ana and Washington: peace, humanitarian aid, and justice for the people of Gaza. The walk began at the intersection of 22nd and Charlotte Avenue—near the headquarters of Starbucks and L3 Harris, both accused by activists of doing business with Israel—and ended at Caterpillar’s headquarters, another company cited for its ties to the Israeli state.
Marchers’ chants rang out: “No more hiding, no more fear, we want justice everywhere,” and “Gaza, Gaza don’t you cry, Palestine will never die.” Organizers condemned the ultimatum issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, which threatened Gaza with annihilation unless Hamas accepted a controversial 20-point plan. Attendees expressed cautious optimism for an agreement to end the violence—a hope realized less than a week later with the announcement of the ceasefire.
Organizers of the Nashville walk called for an end to U.S. government assistance that, in their view, enabled Israeli war crimes. They urged boycotts of corporations seen as complicit, including Starbucks, L3 Harris, and Caterpillar. The event drew support from a broad coalition of peace and justice organizations, such as Black Alliance for Peace, Middle Tennessee Christians for Peace, Nashville Jews for Justice, Nashville Stands with Palestine, Nashville Peace and Justice Center, and Veterans for Peace.
Across the country, these coordinated actions reflected a groundswell of American activism and solidarity with Palestinians, as well as growing scrutiny of the United States’ role in the conflict. With a ceasefire now in place, the question remains whether these voices will translate into lasting policy changes—or if, once again, the cycle of violence and protest will resume.
