By Casey Parker
Protesters marched through the Allentown area of Buffalo, New York, on Aug. 20 to protest the genocide and famine in Gaza, perpetrated by Israel and aided and abetted by the U.S empire. The demonstration was organized by Workers World Party (WWP) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), with speakers from both parties, as well as State University of New York (SUNY) Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). More than 50 protesters attended, banging pots and pans together as they moved through the neighborhood.
Gaza pots and pans protest in Buffalo, New York, August 20, 2025. (WW Photo: Alyssa)
Protesters demanded an end to the blockade that prevents humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and an end to the siege on Gaza. A speaker from PSL said: “When you bang on your pots and pans, think of the starving children in Gaza. This is their voice crying out in the only way it can, here in the heart of imperialism. The sound of their empty stomachs and the voices of humanity should be louder than Israel’s brutality.”
Speakers emphasized the need to fight back against local actors who participate in the U.S. military-industrial complex, including Western New York’s Democratic Congress member Tim Kennedy who recently took an AIPAC-funded trip to Israel in the midst of the on-going genocide. They also denounced the University of Buffalo’s recent partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, at a time when the Israel Occupation Forces are using AI models to choose their bombing targets.
Protesters chanted, “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop! We will not rest!”
The connection between the fight for socialism and against imperialism was emphasized by a speaker from WWP who said: “While imperialists spend millions of our dollars on starving out children and bombing hospitals, children in our communities are going hungry with cuts to SNAP [food stamps] and losing health care with cuts to Medicaid. They [the capitalist ruling class] would rather not spend money here making things better but spend money there making things worse.”
Across the world, the capitalist ruling class starves the poor. It’s time for workers to fight back!