Philly parents march in support of Palestine on Mother’s Day

Clutching baby carriers, rolling strollers, and holding tiny hands, hundreds of Philadelphia moms — and dads — ditched their Mother’s Day brunch for a Gaza solidarity march on Sunday.

Around 10 a.m., beating the cold, a crowd of parents, teachers, and children gathered at Fitler Square demanding a cease-fire and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

“We can’t celebrate Mother’s Day as usual while Palestinian mothers are being killed and pulling their children from the rubble at our own expense,” said organizer Jennifer Shraim — whose children and husband are Palestinian.

The march was led by Families for Ceasefire Philly, an organization that recently held a Passover Seder at the University of Pennsylvania’s former encampment site. Although the Mother’s Day march was an independent action, the attendees echoed the demands of the Penn encampment organizers. While the encampment organizers demanded Penn to divest from Israel bonds, the marchers demanded the same from the state of Pennsylvania in addition to, in the words of organizers, “an end to the occupation of Palestine.”

As marchers got ready to leave Fitler Square, heading to Rittenhouse Square, the crowd of 200 participants marched behind a “Mothers for free Gaza” sign, some holding Palestinian flags.

Children marched holding their parents’ hands, sometimes riding piggyback while holding signs, and speaking into the megaphone — even when some were too young to speak.

Some children chanted while others handed out red roses to passersby with cards reading “Wishing all mothers a safe Mother’s Day.”

Nyla Koncurat, 39, was walking by 21st Street when the marchers passed by.

“Everybody is very peaceful; the kids are chanting; it’s a really lovely community who cares for the well-being of everybody,” she said of the group.

Instead of continuing with her Mother’s Day plan with her husband — helping their son ride his bike and their daughter learn to roller skate — the Koncurats joined the march.

“If we don’t fight for the rights of other people who can’t fight for themselves, who will do it for us and our families?” she said holding her daughter’s hand.

Along the way, cars and trucks honked their horns in support of the crowd, that was escorted by one police car and legal observers who kept the march moving.

“The situation in Gaza is getting worse every day, this is the least we can do” said attendee Carmen Guerrero, who traveled for an hour and a half to attend the event. “We can’t celebrate when many mothers have a missing child, a dead child. This is an all mothers fight.”

For Laura Smith, 36, who attended the march with her 4-year-old and a baby strapped to her, the scene is sad but necessary.

“I am sad that they have to learn at such a young age about all of the suffering and the evil in the world,” she said. “But being a mom has always been challenging and they are learning about it in an empowering way.”

At Rittenhouse Square, where the marchers stayed on until early afternoon, the organizers requested attendees to call the state’s treasury and leave a voice mail asking them to divest from funding Israel.

By the end of the march there were about 500 marchers from multiple religious backgrounds, the organizers said.