Walk for Gaza Connecticut 2024
Gaza - 25 miles north to south
3 Days at 3 Locations = 25 miles
Memorial Day Weekend: Thursday May 23, Friday May 24, & Saturday May 25, 2024
New Haven, Bridgeport, and Shoreline to Hammonasset State Park on 3 respective days
Please register here to participate and for more detailed information:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0arMVj25nD9lQUiQlmy2joldt56h8zwUc7vDzX4cU4cPVyA/viewform
Please see the link tree here:
For more information or to volunteer to help, email walkforgazaCT@gmail.com.
Route Information & Schedule
New Haven, Thursday, May 23, 10 am: Walk starts on the lower New Haven Green and will end back by the New Haven Green in front of City Hall. Length: 7.7 miles.
Bridgeport, Friday, May 24, 2 pm: Walk starts at the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center (BICC), 703 State Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604. All walkers are invited, if they would like, to arrive at BICC at 1 pm to participate in prayers there before the start of the walk. The walk will end at Seaside Park. Length: 8.5 miles.
Shoreline, Saturday, May 25, 9 am: Walk starts at The First Congregational Church, Guilford, 122 Broad St. and ends at West Beach Hammonasset State Park. Length: 9 miles.
Inspired by a global movement to walk a distance equivalent to the length of Gaza, CT's walk, like all the others, will call attention to the crisis in Gaza, with the following demands:
1. End all United States financial and military aid to the Israeli government for the prosecution of its genocide against the people of Gaza.
2. An immediate, permanent ceasefire and facilitate as quickly as possible the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, with safe passage for aid workers.
3. The safety and negotiated release of all hostages on both sides.
4. Call our elected officials in Congress to facilitate these outcomes, beginning with the cessation of all military aid.
In addition to being visible and vocal about the crisis, organizers are raising money through the walk for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA provides the most survival services to the people of Gaza. Donate to UNRWA.
Participants are invited to join for any and all portions of this three-day walk. A sag wagon will be available to shuttle walkers who need a break, and to transport walkers back to their cars at the end of Friday and Saturday.
Please see the following links for flyers, graphics, and pdfs to distribute, especially within your organizational membership or individal contacts:
Speakers
New Haven:
(invited: CAIR-CT)
Dr. Liza Goldman Huertas (Healthcare Workers for Palestine), in front of YNHH, 20 York Street
Dr. Phil Brewer (Healthcare Workers for Palestine), in front of St. Raphael's Hospital
Imam Zaid Shakir (New Islamic Directions), City Hall
Bridgeport:
(invited: Councilwoman Jazmarie Melendez)
Statement authored by Palestinian researcher Azmi Ahmad to be read in front of Bridgeport Hospital
If you, and especially your organization, would like to endorse the Walk for Gaza CT, please fill out this form: https://bit.ly/walkforgaza
Endorsers (to date):
New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice;
First Congregational Church of Old Lyme;
Tree of Life Educational Fund;
Connecticut Palestine Alliance (CTPA);
Shalom UCC, New Haven;
Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven;
Mt Aery Baptist Church, Bridgeport;
Amistad Catholic Worker, New Haven;
Promoting Enduring Peace;
Middle East Crisis Committee,
Mending Minyan, New Haven;
Rosette Neighborhood Village
UCONN Muslim Students' Association;
Social Justice Council of the Unitarian Society of New Haven;
We Will Return
Yale Muslim Students' Association;
Islamic Association of Greater Hartford (IAGH Berlin, CT mosque)
Moral Mondays CT (Bishop John Selders)
Veterans for Peace
CT for a World Beyond War
New Haven Health Workers for Palestine
Muhammad Islamic Center of Greater Hartford (Hungerford Street, Hartford, CT)
Farmington Valley American Muslim Center (FVAMC, Avon, CT)
NB: Connecticut Palestine Alliance (CTPA) is only one of several organizations co-sponsoring this Walk for Gaza CT.