Shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, a crowd of roughly 300 protesters walked up the Front Street ramp and onto the Hernando de Soto bridge.

The protest was organized by Memphis Voices for Palestine and Palestinian Memphians who have relatives in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Jana Abuirshaid, the spokesperson for Memphis Voices for Palestine, said the protesters assembled Saturday to demand a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. She said she felt a sense of guilt and obligation to speak on behalf of Palestineans who were in Gaza and the West Bank, while her family had come to the U.S.

She also said the point of the Saturday demonstration was to demand U.S. tax dollars to go to helping people in this country, including the many needs of Memphians, rather than funding the Israel Defence Forces.