“Gaza is a Beach Town Too”
Surfers in Rockaway use their sport to stand in solidarity with Palestinians.
By Claudia Gohn
Beach Day and Paddle Out organized by Rockaway for Palestine and Surfers in Solidarity on July 21
On a blazing Sunday afternoon in July, surfers and beach-goers gathered under beach umbrellas and tents with their keffiyehs, Palestinian flags, and surfboards on the sandy shore at Rockaway Beach, Queens. Trays with watermelon were laid out on a fold out table, along with other dishes for attendees to enjoy. Music blasted on speakers and friends chatted to each other in the sand.
A sign hanging from one tent said “Gaza is a Beach Town Too.”
“Being a surfer, having access to the ocean is really important,” surf instructor Paul Godette said. “We know that Gaza is a beach town. It's a town on the water. People surf there. There are surfers that live there. For Palestinians to not have access to the water in the ways that they want to—it's oppressive.”
The beach day action was organized by both Surfers in Solidarity and Rockaway for Palestine, and included a t-shirt sale with profits going to aid organizations like Gaza Surf Club, teaching surf lessons to aspiring wave-catchers, and participating in a traditional Palestinian dance. The day ended in the late afternoon with a paddle out to remember and honor the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza.
The goal of the event was to raise money, but also to remember and honor Palestinians, to stand in solidarity with them, and to remind New Yorkers that Gaza is a beach town too.
T-shirts reading “Gaza is a Beach Town” were sold, with profits going to organizations like Gaza Surf Club
Surfers in Solidarity was born out of a larger Rockaway Surf group. These surfers had previously done paddle outs to honor the lives lost due to police brutality during summer 2020 including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, which a couple members said had been met with resistance, and when they raised the idea of doing a paddle out for Palestinians after October 7, even more opposition from other group members surfaced. So some members took things into their own hands, and organized events that they said raised $10,000 for Palestinian Youth Movement and Palestinian Feminist Collective.
“Out of that resistance, we decided to form a side group to that—Surfers in Solidarity—to organize the paddle out,” Surfers in Solidarity organizer Jan said. “We did that in the fall as well as a screening of Gaza Surf Club.”
Mica, who sat with Jan, is a surfer and activist in Surfers in Solidarity. She spoke about the creation of the group, and the importance of recognizing the appropriation and racism that has plagued the sport. “It’s really important to mention that somebody on the [Rockaway surf group] chat said, ‘let's keep this apolitical’. And so then a lot of us, mostly BIPOC surfers, started to clap back and, as you've heard with a larger statement that we made—Surfers in Solidarity, Rockaway for Ceasefire—that surfing is of course very political,” Mica said.
“It is a colonized, appropriated sport. And that is the spirit that led us into, of course, Israeli military violence towards Palestinians in particular, and all of those things that is basically applicable to every oppression.”
With the colonization of Hawaii in the 18th and 19th centuries came the appropriation of surfing, as well as the oppression of Hawaiian people, which limited their ability to participate in the sport. And now in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has limited Palestinians’ access to the water, and as consequence, surfing the waves.
Attendees brought their keffiyehs and Palestinian flags to show their support
A paddle out is a Hawaiian traditional ceremony that honors the life of someone who’s passed away. Paddle outs are also sometimes used as a form of resistance and solidarity, as it was on this beach day with Palestinians.
Tyler Breuer has participated in paddle outs before, including the ones that have honored the Black lives lost in 2020 from police brutality, ones that have spoken out about the dangers of climate change, and others that have emphasized the importance of beach access for all. He says he uses surfing as a form of protest. “I've always been involved with the community on that level,” he said. “For the Palestinian cause, probably October 7th was a catalyst for me. My wife is Palestinian. I'm Jewish. So it's obviously very close to home.”
As Palestinian music echoed against the pounding crashes of waves, speakers and Rockaway for Palestine leaders spoke. One was an announcement that President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, which was met with loud cheers among the attendees. Biden increasingly lost support from voters due to his unwavering support of Israel during the war. The event reaffirmed that despite the exclusion and repression from politicians and Zionists, these Rockaway residents stand up for Palestine.
One sign read Gaza is a Beach Town Too, a key phrase to this Beach Day action
One Palestinian organizer of Rockaway for Palestine, Ibrahim Mossallam, said that the group emphasizes the importance of applying pressure to local elected officials to stop supporting Israel. Rockaway for Palestine (previously known as Rockaway for Ceasefire) protests outside of Congressman Gregory Meeks’s office on Fridays, who is their local representative in Far Rockaway. Meeks also sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and was even the former chair. He’s yet to agree to the group’s demands.
“He actually met with our group twice—both times he pretty much insisted that there can't be a ceasefire,” Mossallam said. “He's gonna ‘roll up his sleeves,’ quote unquote, and do the dirty work, the hard work to get lasting peace there. But he refused to sign a ceasefire, which to me is an oxymoron.”
Chandni Tariq, who is part of Rockaway for Palestine, also speaks to the importance of ocean access for Palestinians, which has been hindered by the Israeli government. A common thread throughout the day is the importance of having a beach and how Palestinians have been deprived of that necessity because of Israel.
“We know that the Israeli occupation forces have really restricted Palestinian use of the waterways and their autonomy in fishing and going in and enjoying the water and enjoying the beaches” Tariq said. “We know that that's a big part of the Israeli occupation efforts is to police and surveil Palestinian joy and livelihood and survival—and part of that is the water.”
The event had plenty of food, including trays of watermelon. Watermelon has been a symbol of Palestinian resistance for decades.
Throughout the afternoon, more and more people showed up at the beach. They set up tents and beach chairs under umbrellas. Others opted for more sunshine and laid out in the heat on beach towels. Wetsuits came on and off as surfers came back and forth from catching some waves.
Before the paddle out, multiple organizers shared their own experiences, and speakers came from various groups, including Shut it Down for Palestine Queens, Palestinian Youth Movement, and more. Then, they made their way to the ocean.
For the attendees, it’s obvious that the beach and surfing is important to the movement. “Surfing is a mirror,” Breuer said. “It's what you want to project onto it.”
And for these surfers, that’s resistance against Zionism.
The action culminated with a Paddle Out, where many surfers brought out their Palestinian flags
Surfboards rolled over the two-to-three foot waves. Some carried flowers, while others carried Palestinian flags of various sizes. They paddled out past the crash zone and formed a circle, where they sat for a moment of reflection. The water rose and fell gently beneath them. Then, as a culmination of the paddle out, they splashed and cheered. Some rode a wave back while others cruised into to shore.
These surfers and Rockaway residents will not stop at anything to remind the surf community in New York City of the historical undertones of their sport and the importance of their community message, according to the activists. “We're gonna continue.” Mossallam repeated firmly. “We're gonna let our brothers and sisters and Gaza know they're not alone.”
Claudia Gohn is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief at Grassroots. She can be reached at claudia@grassrootsmagazinenyc.com