ATLANTA — Dozens of Palestine supporters gathered near Lenox Square on Friday in a protest that, at one point, included a charged face-off with Atlanta Police officers in the street.
The protest unfolded at the intersection of East Paces Ferry Road and Lenox Road. Videos and photos showed the protest consisted possibly of 100 or more people occupying three of the four corners of the intersection.
One video obtained by 11Alive showed at least two people being detained as the protest spilled into the street, sparking chants of "Let them go! Let them go!" A chant prior to that rang out, "APD, KKK, IDF, all the same," referring to the Atlanta Police Department and Israel Defense Forces.
One protester who spoke to 11Alive, Ashley Dorelus, said the Palestine support was interconnected with the ongoing protest movement in Atlanta against the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which opponents call "Cop City."
She highlighted in particular the training exchanges between Georgia law enforcement agencies and Israeli military and police that have been done through the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program.
"I think the intersectionality of what's going on - the coalition of 'Stop Cop City' and what's going on with IDF and training people is really important," she said. "I think that people need to see that it's not just one problem, it's all of the problems."
Officers responded as the demonstration moved into the street by ordering protesters to get back on the sidewalks.
"There were a number of demonstrators at this location today. During the demonstration, some demonstrators entered into the roadway. A total of 8 people were arrested after refusing orders to disperse from the street," a police statement said. "APD continues to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of shoppers, visitors and demonstrators, and to uphold the law and protect the right to free speech. We ask everyone to be safe and report illegal or suspicious activity."
Dorelus called the police response "retaliation against protesting, which is our constitutional right."
"It's something that we need to be able to stand proud and tall and say enough is enough," she said. "We're not doing anything illegal, and you guys should be able to honor that."
Dorelus added that part of the goal of the Black Friday demonstration, with Lenox Square as the background, was to show the effectiveness of protest movements in impacting business as usual.
"It's important for us to show... that this four-day pause (Israel and Hamas' cease-fire deal that went into effect Friday) was only sanctioned because of all the efforts that you're seeing across social media, because of how strong people are, and determined to say - 'hey, we're not gonna get our Starbucks today, we're actually gonna say no to that' - and Black Friday, we're seeing it," she said. "We're seeing it at the biggest time of their market - this is the time to make money, and we're hurting them. People constantly keep saying - 'follow the money, follow the money, follow the money' - so that's exactly what we're doing."
The protest came the same day a ceasefire deal took effect between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with 13 Israeli hostages being released by Hamas and 39 Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel.
There were no reports of fighting after the truce began. The deal offered some relief for Gaza's 2.3 million people, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment and dwindling supplies of basic necessities, as well as for families in Israel worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
The truce raised hopes of eventually winding down the conflict, in which Israel has flattened vast swaths of Gaza and violence has surged in the occupied West Bank, stirring fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. Israel, however, has said it is determined to resume its massive offensive once the cease-fire ends.
Under the deal, Hamas pledged to free at least 50 of the about 240 hostages it and other militants took in the Oct. 7 raid. In exchange, Hamas said Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel said the deal calls for the truce to be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.
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