Mennonites March and Face Arrest to Protest Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

Tim Seidel only had time to check social media for a moment before he began his day last week. He glanced at the social media site just long enough to see news of the latest massacre of Palestinian civilians in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

During Israel’s ground raid into the city, more than 250 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded last week while Seidel and others marched toward Washington, D.C., singing hymns and carrying signs calling for a cease-fire and the end of U.S. support for Israel’s violent campaign.

“The massacre really grounded us,” Seidel said. The group was organized by Seidel and Mennonite Action — a collective formed in response to the war in Gaza, calling for a cease-fire and lasting peace and justice for Palestine. They walked 14 miles that day, contemplative and resolute, focused on the suffering thousands of miles away from Warrenton, Va., where they had begun that morning, still a little wet from the rainstorm that had soaked their campsite two nights prior. “We’re still drying out,” Seidel said.

Starting on Thursday, July 18, between 35 and 125 Mennonites and interfaith allies from the U.S. and Canada made steady progress on their 11-day, 141-mile “All God’s Children March for a Ceasefire” trek from Harrisonburg, Va., to Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in Washington on Sunday, July 28, the marchers urged Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration to support an immediate, permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and political prisoners, an end to military aid to Israel, and a political solution that ends the occupation of Palestine, ensuring peace for Palestinians and Israelis. And on Tuesday, July 30, 46 of the people were arrested by Capitol Police during a protest.

Seidel, an associate professor of peacebuilding, development, and global studies at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, has been moved to find ways to act locally throughout the “gutting” nine-and-a-half months since Oct. 7. Seidel previously lived in Palestine/Israel as a representative of Mennonite Central Committee. He said he hears the call of God’s spirit in the voices of Palestinian Christians — some of whom are his friends and colleagues — calling for the world to notice their suffering and to help.

Mennonite Action formed late last year, and since then Seidel and others have been looking for ways to act at the local level, raising awareness about the need for a permanent cease-fire. They have organized hymn-sings outside and inside government buildings, leading to arrests in Washington, D.C., as well as city council resolutions in Harrisonburg calling for a cease-fire.

Their actions are intended to be disruptive, Seidel said. The protests aim to speak into the political arena as an outside, prophetic voice. They want to participate in the political process as well, he said, calling representatives and elected officials. “We’re all doing that. We need to do that.”

The intergenerational group, ranging from age 11 to 74, traveled approximately 13 miles per day, stopping to rest in the midafternoon when temperatures reach into the 80s. They were lucky, Seidel said, as the daily highs in Central Virginia had been in the 90s in the weeks leading up to the march. The day they set off, the temperature dropped to a far more tolerable range. Still, they were accompanied by a medical supply vehicle, and they stayed well hydrated.

The presence of youths and children on the march was a stark reminder of the toll Israel’s war on Gaza has had on Palestinian children in particular. As of July 24, Gaza’s media office reports that more than 16,000 children have been killed since the war began in October. In addition to deaths from Israeli bombing and gunfire, deaths from disease and lethal food shortages have been rising.

Tito Miller Gonzalez, 11, was quick to cite the fact that one in three deaths from the war have been children. Marching with his parents and friends from church, he was clear about his reason for marching, and hopeful that their numbers would grow large enough to get a message across to the Biden administration.

“I don’t think it’s right that all these people are being killed, and I don’t think it’s right that we’re sending money to the people doing it,” Gonzalez said.

Tito and his brother, Sammy Miller Gonzalez, age 13, attend Shalom Mennonite Congregation in Harrisonburg. The war in Gaza has been part of their awareness for months, Sammy said, and he wanted to participate in the march and action in Washington, D.C., not only to pressure the U.S. government but also to generate news and images of solidarity that could possibly reach the people of Gaza.

“I just don’t want them to think that nobody cares,” he said.

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Other marchers, also supported by their home churches, came from as far away as Salem, Ore., and Tucson, Ariz. The group was not limited to Mennonites either. Nonreligious residents of Harrisonburg, and other Christian, Muslim, and Jewish marchers, joined. On their first night, the group hosted a joint potluck with the Shenandoah Valley Muslim Coalition in the Mennonite church where they were sleeping.

Each night the group slept at a different church or campsite. They stayed at Mennonite, Brethren, Methodist, and Episcopal churches. Sometimes supporters let them camp on private farms or in large backyards.

“The generosity and the hospitality has been wonderful,” Seidel said. “A lot of the places we’re going, people are just bringing out meals.”

The breakfast crew was up at 5:45 a.m. to prepare food before the march began. They convened a circle, spent time grounding and setting their intentions for the day, and started marching by 8 a.m. Spending the days marching, singing, and waving to people (whether the passers-by were friendly or not) on their path through Shenandoah National Park and the Virginia countryside was “a great experience,” Seidel said.

At night, the group gathered again to debrief. They spent a lot of time in reflection on the meaning of land and place — the heart of the Palestinian conflict and the U.S.’s own settler-colonial context. Recognizing that their protest took them over stolen Indigenous lands not unlike Palestine was a powerful reminder of the work to be done at home as well as abroad.

One of the main goals of the march was to remind Christians and Americans in general that not all Christians support Israel’s war. The timing of the march was planned to coincide with an interfaith action to counter the annual conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), an extreme Christian Zionist organization founded by Texas televangelist John Hagee. By the time the marchers reached the interfaith action in Washington, the group had grown significantly, to more than 100 people.

The numbers tell a potent story about the political power the Mennonites are up against: Christians United for Israel wields significant political influence as a major lobbying group advocating for strong U.S. support of Israel, boasting over 11 million members. The group is known for its alignment with far-right Christian nationalist views, promoting policies that support Israeli interests, often at the expense of Palestinian rights. The organization exerts its influence by mobilizing its vast membership base to lobby lawmakers, hosting large conferences that attract key political figures — including then-Vice President Mike Pence in 2017— and advocating for legislation that aligns with its agenda. This includes pushing for continued military aid to Israel and opposing measures that could pressure Israel to change its policies regarding Palestinians.

“That’s why we’re doing this,” Seidel said. That’s why they carried banners specifically calling out the Biden administration for its complicity in the deaths of thousands. “You can see us walking down the road … calling out our elected officials. … We’re saying let Gaza live, and we’re saying no to these political theologies.”