A large crowd assembled on Thursday for a candlelit gathering to remember those who were victims of Israeli brutality. The event was organized by the All Marxist–Leninist Union and Students for Justice in Palestine.

At the vigil, representatives from the hosting organizations spoke, followed by the opportunity for members of the public to express their thoughts. The first speaker started off by honoring the victims of an Israeli occupation forces attack on a refugee camp in Jenin, Palestine.

The second speaker focused on the differences between the manual labor of Indigenous Peruvians and the lifestyles of those living in major cities. They also explained the reasoning behind the protests currently taking place in Lima, Peru.

“They don’t get the Peru that they’re making. They work the land. They make the food. They make the country what it is, but they don’t get that at the end of the day,” the speaker said.

The speaker highlighted the deaths of Keenan Anderson and Tyre Nichols as a consequence of the greater issue of police enforcement in the United States. They focused their argument on the state‘s authority over people and property and asked the validity of such power.

“It all comes down to … defending property and ultimately, to upholding the genocide of Indigenous peoples of Peru, the Indigenous peoples of Palestine, of Black Americans here in the U.S.,” the speaker said. “Who are not only targeted by racist policing but are also targeted by the military-industrial complex that is using them as free labor and continuing the slave system that has been in this country since the 17th century.”