Athens, Madrid, NYC events and posters honor the struggle and martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar

On Thursday, 16 October, Gather 4 Gaza — together with an array of organizations and activists, including Samidoun activists in Athens, Greece — called for a vigil in honor of martyred Palestinian leader, revolutionary, liberated prisoner and chair of the Hamas political bureau, Yahya Sinwar, on the first anniversary of his martyrdom in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, battling the invading genocidal Zionist forces on the front lines of struggle.

The vigil was organized for Syntagma Square, a main square in central Athens that is often home to protests and demonstrations. However, one hour before the scheduled vigil, the director of Athens police banned the commemoration — and all other events in Syntagma Square until the morning of 17 October.

Undeterred, activists in the Exarcheia neighborhood hung a banner saying, “Let’s be clear: Armed struggle is a right!”

The vigil moved forward, as activists hung another banner featuring Sinwar, spoke, lit candles, and gathered together to honor his revolutionary legacy. Activists hung hundreds of posters in working-class and popular neighborhoods throughout the city.

Also on the evening of 16 October, posters in honor of Sinwar appeared throughout Madrid, Spain, honoring his legacy on the anniversary of his martyrdom.

In New York City, the Bronx Anti-War Coalition and others organized a vigil for Sinwar, with images, flags and banners highlighting the forces of the Resistance in Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon and Iran.

As Samidoun noted in our statement marking the anniversary of his martyrdom, “Zionists and imperialists have attempted to demonize Sinwar as a “terrorist,” while attempting to terrorize people against even mentioning his name, European governments have banned vigils in his memory, while the occupation has imprisoned Palestinians for posting about him. Occupation torturers and jailers have attempted to force the prisoners to curse him. All of this is because the reality strikes them with a great fear for the future of the colonial project in  Palestine: Yahya Sinwar was a peoples’ fighter who was martyred in battle against the national enemy. He gave his life in the struggle for the welfare of his people and in service of all free peoples of the world. He joined the thousands of martyrs who fought against the chains of colonialism from Vietnam to Lebanon to Cuba. His leadership, bravery and devotion to Palestine and his people requires our most profound admiration and respect. His behavior and life is a model and inspiration for all of us. All democratic and progressive people in the world must uphold his memory and legacy. Each one of us should strive to devote our lives to the task of liberation, in the Palestinian, Arab and international arenas, like the revolutionary martyr Yahya Sinwar did.”