DHAKA
\nMore than 1 million Bangladeshis assembled on the streets of Dhaka on Saturday to join the country\u2019s largest Gaza solidarity rally and take a public oath to boycott products and entities linked to Israel.
\nWaving the flags of Bangladesh and Palestine and chanting \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d \u201cStop the Israeli aggression,\u201d and \u201cBoycott Israeli products,\u201d residents of the country\u2019s capital flocked to the Suhrawardy Udyan \u2014 the main public space \u2014 for the \u201cMarch for Gaza\u201d demonstration.
\nOrganized by the Palestine Solidarity Movement Bangladesh, the event featured politicians, celebrities, artists, poets and popular social media influencers, who joined in a call on world leaders to bring to justice Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others responsible for Israel\u2019s mass killing of Palestinian civilians.
\nPolitical leaders present at the event called for international accountability and immediate action to end Israel\u2019s deadly onslaught on Gaza, where over 50,900 people have been killed, 116,000 wounded, and 2 million others face starvation after Israeli forces destroyed most of the region\u2019s infrastructure and buildings, while blocking humanitarian aid from entering.
\nA joint declaration read during the rally called on the international community to \u201ctake effective and collective action to end the genocide,\u201d and especially on Muslim countries to immediately sever all economic, military, and diplomatic relations with Israel and to \u201cimpose commercial blockades and sanctions on the Zionist state\u201d and begin active diplomatic efforts to isolate it on the international stage.
\n\u201cWe will boycott every product, company, and force that sustains Israel\u2019s occupation … We will start from our own homes, leaving an imprint of this pledge in language, history, education, economy, and society,\u201d said the declaration read by Mahmudur Rahman, editor of the Amar Desh daily newspaper, who helped organize the event.
\nIt was the largest Palestine solidarity rally in Bangladesh in recent history.
\n\u201cMore than a million people actually gathered today. According to the police, they have said probably it was 1.1 million,\u201d Rahman told Arab News.
\n\u201cIt was a huge gathering, but it was so peaceful … This is some sort of example for the entire world. It was peaceful and it was in favor of humanity. Because it\u2019s not only a question of Islam \u2014 we were protesting against the inhuman genocide (perpetrated by) the Israeli regime. So, this protest is for the humanity. We have asked the Muslim Ummah to get united to free Palestine.\u201d
\nThe protesters also called on the government to reinstate the \u201cexcept Israel\u201d clause in Bangladeshi passports, which had barred nationals from traveling to Israel. Even though Bangladesh has no diplomatic relations with Israel, the clause was removed in 2021 by the previous administration of Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in a popular uprising last year.
\nParticipants at the rally said they already follow many aspects of Saturday\u2019s declaration \u2014 especially the boycott call.
\n\u201cI stopped buying Israeli products from the very beginning of this latest round of Israeli aggression, which started about a year and a half ago. I even stopped buying Coca-Cola, though it\u2019s a very popular and well-known drink here. This is my personal way of protesting against Israel \u2014 as an individual,\u201d said Arman Sheikh, a businessman in Dhaka.
\n\u201cThis kind of boycott can definitely make a difference. There\u2019s nothing stronger than the power of the masses.\u201d
\nNasrin Begum, a teacher, said she has been trying to avoid global brands for their possible links with Israel, instead choosing local alternatives.
\n\u201cBefore purchasing cosmetics, now I always google about their origin. If anything in my search shows a connection to Israel, I avoid those products,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not very difficult to find a suitable substitute for Israeli-linked goods. It\u2019s an open market economy. We can get any products from anywhere in the world. It\u2019s all about our mindset and determination. I wouldn\u2019t be able to forgive myself if I continued purchasing Israeli-linked goods after all the atrocities they are committing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DHAKA More than 1 million Bangladeshis assembled on the streets of Dhaka on Saturday to join the country\u2019s largest Gaza solidarity rally and take a public oath to boycott products and entities linked to Israel. Waving the flags of Bangladesh and Palestine and chanting \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d \u201cStop the Israeli aggression,\u201d and \u201cBoycott Israeli products,\u201d residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-472309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n