Three events were held in Portland, Oregon, on October 7 to protest the genocide in Gaza.

The Revolutionary Bicycle Club sponsored a day-long ride in honor of the Palestinian Resistance. Speakers addressed points of unity: Mourn the martyrs whose names we will never forget; honor Palestinian resistance in all its forms; expose U.S. and Portland complicity in genocide; and affirm our solidarity with Gaza and all of Palestine. The event was co-sponsored by Al-Awda, Rainbow Bloc, Global Movement to Gaza, Jewish Voice for Peace and Democratic Socialists of America.

The ride ended at Wallace Park where riders joined a second event, a rally and march of over 200 demonstrators.

Portland for Palestine and Portland Contra Las Deportaciones organized the third rally and march in support of Gaza. Freedom Road Socialist Organization organizer Holly Brown spoke at the rally about how just days earlier she was targeted by troops at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility for speaking out about the horrendous treatment of migrant workers. They slammed her to the ground, dragged her back to the detention facility and detained her for five hours, along with at least 10 other protesters.

Brown said when she was detained, she thought about how Palestinian freedom fighters were in jail at the same time being treated much worse than she was. She said it made her feel more committed to continue fighting for the freedom of Palestinians and that we know why Palestinians are imprisoned: “We know that the root cause is U.S. imperialism, whose objective is to extract resources wherever they can.”

The message from Brown and the other speakers at both rallies was that Palestine has a right to resist and that we in the U.S. have a responsibility to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Portland activists were reminded over the weekend that they are fighting the same enemy as the Palestinians when they are attacked by President Donald Trump’s federal troops being sent into their city.