While traffic on the Hernando de Soto bridge was at a standstill, chants from protestors blocking vehicles alternated from “Free Gaza, long live Gaza!” and “Gaza, Gaza don’t you cry, we will never let you die!”
Frequent honks joined the cacophony of the scene on Saturday as hundreds of protestors blocked traffic on the bridge that connects Memphis, Tennessee, and West Memphis, Arkansas. The focus of the demonstration was to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war as it rages on.
“I think that both civil disobedience and causing major disruption like stopping the bridge … this has worked before. This has worked during the Civil Rights Movement. This is one of the most effective ways that you can protest,” said Kathryn Suda, who attended the shutdown because of the staggering loss of life. Other attendees said they were demanding the U.S. use tax dollars for people in the community rather than funding Israel Defense Forces.