Police locked down the area surrounding Disneyland on Saturday as pro-Palestinian protesters blocked one of its entrances.
On October 12, following the Hamas attack on Israel, the Walt Disney Company donated “$2 million to organizations that are providing humanitarian relief in the region.” The financial aid was met with fierce backlash online though, with many calling into question the morality of the decision.
Why were there protesters at Disneyland?
Rida Hamida, the founder of Latino Muslim Unity, claimed to SFGate: “Disney has failed to recognize, condemn or even send some type of message that is empathetic to Palestinian suffering and the genocide that’s happening in Gaza.”
“So the message here is: shame on Disney for not seeing that Palestinian children matter, and are just as equal as Israeli children.”
Latino Muslim Unity spearheaded the demonstration alongside Jewish Voice for Peace, the Islamic Society of Orange County, and Los Angeles’ chapter of Black Lives Matter.
What happened at the theme park because of the protesters?
Due to the 1,000-person demonstration, the Harbor Boulevard entrance to the park was blocked for around 3 hours on Saturday afternoon. Anaheim Police Department closed down the surrounding area.
Sgt. Jon McClintock also said the march was peaceful and no arrests were made.
It was also claimed Disneyland covered its marquee sign on Harbor Boulevard during the protest so it was not associated with pictures circulating online
The Israel and Palestine conflict is continuing to be discussed online. This latest demonstration has joined with many similar ones across the globe.
On Twitter, now called X, one person posted a video of the protest alongside the caption: “really big pro-palestine. protest going on now right outside of the disneyland entrance!”
“Some photos I took from yesterday’s protest at Disneyland – 2,000 of us shut down the street that connects to the park’s drop-off lot, and two cast members (that I know of, there might be more!) walked out and quit their jobs,” wrote someone who attended the march.
In contrast, another social media user wrote: “There is a free Palestine protest happening at Disneyland, just saw it live on TikTok. This is unacceptable and not the place for any of this. It’s a family place, not a place for political demonstrations. Go to the cities buildings and do that, not disney.”
The post Disneyland entrance blocked by thousands of protesters as police shut down area appeared first on HITC.
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