South Lakes Students orchestrated a walkout in support of Palestine on November 16th, 2023. This war has ensued in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a militant group based in the Gaza Strip fueling this protest. During the Seahawk Advisory Block, around 300 showed up. Students showed support by making posters, wearing Keffiyehs (traditional Palestinian scarves), waving Palestinian flags and chanting.

Protests and walkouts have been held all over the country following an intense conflict breaking out between Hamas (a militant group) and Israel on October 7. Hamas launched a surprise attack on October 7 towards Israeli settlements which led to Israel bombing the Gaza Strip. Eight weeks after October 7th, it’s been reported that almost 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, 1,700,00 are currently displaced and 1,200 Israelis killed.

Tensions are rising all over the United States with an increase of hate crimes. On November 1st, the White House issued a statement for the “first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia in the United States.” America’s biggest Muslim advocacy group, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has reported 1,283 reports of Islamophobic prejudice after. The Anti-Defamation League has claimed that there has been a 338% rise of antisemitic incidents following October 7. President Biden clearly states, “There is no place for hate in America against anyone.”

South Lakes is not the only Virginian High School to walkout for Palestine. Students from Annandale, Edison, Falls Church, John R. Lewis, Justice, Oakton, McLean, Mount Vernon, South County and Woodson High Schools, as well as Lake Braddock Secondary School, have all organized their own walkouts. FCPS Policy allows for “The rights of [their] students to engage in peaceful protest and express their opinions through speech and other ways as long as it is done respectfully… [they’ll] respect Students’ rights to participate in walkouts especially during non-instructional time…”