For Lowell students Zayna Elkarra ’26 and Helena Awwad ’25, the January 15th ceasefire declared between the State of Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian political and militant group, has both revitalized their pro-Palestinian activism and provided time for reflection on their past. Now, the two are preparing to carry their work to new heights.
This ceasefire came nearly one and a half years after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 Israeli citizens and taking 251 as hostages, as reported by the BBC.
The United Nations notes in its article, “History of the Question of Palestine,” that this event is only one in the century-long struggle. It began in the late 19th century when Jewish refugees fleeing anti-Semitic persecution arrived in the region, which was then under British control. Later waves of refugees fleeing the rise of Nazism in the 1930s exacerbated existing tensions, as the native Arab population resisted this immigration, culminating in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Nabka (Catastrophe), during which roughly 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes. In 1967, the Six-Day War erupted, ending with Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, which the nation still occupies today.
The October 7th attack was a catalyst for Elkarra and Awwad. “After everything happened, I went to my mom and told her I wanted to walk out. I wanted to do something,” said Elkarra, who had never previously attended a protest. “She got me connected with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), and from there, we planned a nationwide walkout,” she said.
On October 18th, 2023, more than eighty Lowell High School students joined thousands of students nationwide, as they walked out of their classes, chanting “Say No to Genocide” and “Free Palestine.” They were led by Elkarra and Awwad, who, at the time, were the heads of Lowell’s Middle Eastern and North Africa Club.
Both second-generation Palestinians, Awwad and Elkarra’s activism is deeply personal, especially for Elkarra, who has lost over one hundred members of her family in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. “When there is something that is impacting you and your family, you are willing to just do anything to help. And the help I was able to do was activism,” Elkarra said.
photo courtesy of Helena Awwad
Israel’s control over Gaza today extends beyond simple occupation. According to the Middle East Research and Information Project, activists have described the strip of land as an “open-air prison” since the 1990s, to “point out the continuous degradation of living conditions” in the area. In 2007, after imposing an indefinite blockade on Gaza due to Hamas’s hostility, Israel restricted Palestinians from traveling in and out of the region. NPR also reports that “more than 80% of Gazans live in poverty, with access to clean water and electricity at crisis levels even before the latest violence.” On March 10th, 2025 Al Jazeera reported that more than 48,500 Palestinians and almost 2,000 Israelis have been killed since the October 7th attack.
When the ceasefire was announced, Elkarra cried from happiness. “I finally felt like I could breathe. It just made me so happy to see the people in Gaza happy,” she said. “It was a win for the whole movement.”
In addition to this first walkout, the two both led and participated in protests throughout 2023, including those at San Francisco’s City Hall, the SFUSD’s School District Office, major freeways, and even on the Golden Gate Bridge. Students also attended meetings of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, demanding the passage of ceasefire resolutions. As a co-founder of Bay Area Youth 4 Palestine, a local organization that connects young people to pro-Palestinian activism, Elkarra has also spoken at the People’s Conference for Palestine.
“The only negative side of protesting is when we get backlash,” Elkarra added. While many students at Lowell support pro-Palestinian activism, Elkarra and Awwad also received heavy pushback.
A second on-campus walkout and protest held on January 10th, 2024 protested the lack of Palestinian history in the SFUSD curriculum, garnering even more attention. “We both started receiving death threats and a lot of really racist accusations, like being called terrorists and barbaric, [some from] students, but mostly it was adults affiliated with [Lowell High School]” said Awwad.
On the 24th of January, 2024, the Lowell Alumni Association (LAA) Instagram account (@lowellhighschoolsfalumni) posted an official statement that condemned the recent protests as “grossly anti-Semetic” and asserted that Elkarra and Awwad’s activism, alongside that of the participating Lowell student body, was “abhorrently contrary to the values of [the alumni organization and the Lowell community].”
Both individuals responded on Instagram, calling out the organization’s “dismissive, harmful, racist and inaccurate” statement and refuting the LAA’s accusations of anti-Semitism, expressing that Awwad and Elkarra “find it incredibly important to acknowledge the Jewish students being affected… and want to make it clear that when discussing Israel, [we] are not referring to Jewish people.”
photo courtesy of Helena Awwad.
Today, the LAA’s post remains public. Neither the alumni organization nor the Lowell High School administration responded to requests for comment.
Protesting is an integral part of Elkarra and Awwad’s lives, but it has also taken a toll. “I felt really alienated within my own school because of the threats. I felt like I had to educate people and it’s just really exhausting. I had to completely relearn how to find balance between my life and my Palestinian identity,” said Awwad. “I have this really huge cause in my life that matters so much, but there has to be balance.”
Recently, Elkarra and Awwad have begun to focus on their futures beyond high school. “We’re organizing and shifting gears. I’m focusing on what I can do in the bigger picture, how I can move into a position where I can really use my voice” said Elkarra.
Additionally, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold, though its fate is increasingly unclear. According to the BBC, on March 2nd, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared a blockade on humanitarian aid, “[stating] that Israel would stop letting goods and supplies into Gaza because Hamas had rejected the new [ceasefire] proposal.” The United Nations has called this move a “violation of the ceasefire agreement.” In addition, Israeli Energy Minister, Eli Cohen, has ordered an immediate halt to all electricity supply to Gaza.
Despite these shifts, both Elkarra and Awwad’s motivations have stayed the same: spreading more awareness and initiating new conversations surrounding Israel and Palestine.
“I really want to be able to educate and help young people understand the world around them. People need to be more open-minded and willing to talk about things that they’re not comfortable with. At the end of the day, we all have very different life experiences, but it’s really important for us to care about issues affecting those around us,” said Awwad.
