Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked traffic on Michigan Avenue for about an hour on Black Friday, hoping to draw holiday shoppers' attention to the war in Gaza and to press for boycotts of major retailers that do business in Israel.
The march began at noon on Friday, November 29, when roughly 100 people set out south from Water Tower park through the Magnificent Mile shopping district. The day was blustery, with temperatures in the 20s.
The demonstration ended in a chaotic scene at the Apple store along the Chicago River. A handful of protesters went inside and chanted, and Chicago police officers and store security spent several minutes removing them. Police spokesman Don Terry said no one was arrested.
The U.S. Palestinian Community Network of Chicago organized the event. It was smaller than the group's Black Friday march a year earlier, which drew an estimated 1,000 people. Participants were just as determined, however, in calling for an end to the war.
One marcher, who gave only her first name, Maram, said the recent ceasefire in Lebanon should not lead people to relax. "Just because there was a ceasefire with Lebanon does not mean that we can take a break and go back to our normal lives," she said. "We have to continue to be out here advocating for the people who can't advocate for themselves back home."
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire is the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest set off by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which left more than 1,000 people dead, according to the Associated Press. It does not address the war in Gaza, where Hamas still holds dozens of hostages. Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel the day after the attack, saying it was supporting Palestinians, and Israel returned fire. The AP reported that more than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon over 13 months, many of them civilians, and that 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Police were visible along the route on Friday. Officers on bicycles and on foot blocked intersections ahead of the marchers and sometimes stood between protesters and shoppers waiting in line outside stores. No altercations between protesters and shoppers were seen during the march.
At the Apple store, a person with a megaphone told the crowd that about a half-dozen protesters had gone inside. Police and security surrounded them and escorted them out a door roughly 10 minutes later, while other officers were told to lock the store's doors to keep more people from entering.
Mwafaq Jbara, an organizer who served as a liaison with police, called the protest a success. "It's all about the messages, keeping it alive," he said, adding that the goal was to let people in the streets know what is happening in Gaza.
