San Francisco rally demands end of war in Gaza, criticizes Israeli government

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Israeli and Jewish-American protestors gathered at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza on Sunday to demand an end to the war in Gaza and call for the return of hostages.

The protest saw a diverse crowd, including many of Israeli descent and Jewish-Americans, rallying against the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Participants expressed their desire for peace and criticized the actions of the Israeli government.

“We can’t see the deaths anymore of Palestinians, Israelis… this war has got to end,” said San Francisco resident Sam Lauter.

California State Senator Scott Wiener, who was among the protestors, stated, “And the hostages come home, this has been a catastrophe for Palestinians, and it is incredibly harmful for Israel as well because Netanyahu doesn’t have the interest of Israel in mind, he’s only looking out for himself.”

Offir Gutelzon, the co-founder of UnXeptable, organized the rally and said, “Not everyone hates Israel, everyone hates what the Israel government is doing right now, and so do the Israelis themselves. We appreciate more life than land.”

Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz expressed her support, saying, “It’s time to end the war now. We learned in the Torah that everyone is made in God’s image and all life matters, everybody’s life is of value.”

The protest was organized by UnXeptable, a grassroots organization comprised of Israeli people who advocate for a liberal democracy and an end to the war.

Participants at the rally voiced their concerns over the humanitarian impact of the conflict, highlighting the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of life in Gaza.

Watch the full report from KRON4’s Lindsey Ford in the video player above.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.