Pro-Palestinian protesters, who have become a regular presence at Cleveland City Council meetings, shared a meal near the entrance of City Hall after Monday’s meeting.
For months, the activists have attended and sometimes disrupted council meetings demanding council pass a cease-fire resolution regarding the Israel-Hamas war, which council has so far declined to do.
For the first time since protests began, activists served food in their regular post-council meeting gathering place — just inside the front entrance of City Hall.
The meal was meant to help break a fast for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that started last week, organizers said. The time to break a fast for Ramadan is after the sun sets, which in Cleveland on Monday, happened during the City Council meeting.
Faten Odeh, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, helped organize the meal.
“They say Palestinians are the most generous and hospitable,” Odeh said. “As we were breaking fast, we acknowledge that there are people in Gaza right now that are fasting without anything to break their fast with. That’s something that weighs heavy on our hearts during this time.”
Shereen Naser is a member of the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community. Naser, who is a Christian Palestinian, also helped organize the meal. She said serving food was also an act of solidarity amongst different religions.
“It’s not just trying to push City Council, it’s also feeding each other and taking care of each other,” Naser said. “When we show up to City Council every week to say we want a cease-fire or we want to put our money in our people and not for war, that’s an act of love. So, feeding people is just an extension of that act of love.”
Before the Council meeting, the group of activists shared an interfaith moment of prayer, which included Muslim, Jewish and Christian prayers.
During the meal, people sat on steps and stood around with disposable plates and cutlery — family reunion style. They also made plates for some local police and City Hall staff.
On the menu: mujadara, a rice and lentil dish popular in Arabic cultures, with salad and yogurt.
