Sofia Gaviria Partow, Contributing Photographer

This past Saturday, Grey Matter Books, along with multiple student groups, sold baked goods and student artwork to support the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, or PCRF. 

The arts and bake sale was one of two pro-Palestine fundraising events organized by Caroline Solomon, a graduate student at the Yale School of Environment, and held at New Haven bookstores. The first event happened in November at Possible Futures, a neighborhood bookstore on Edgewood Avenue. 

This time, Solomon worked with members of Yalies for Palestine, Graduate Students for Palestine and the Environmental Justice Student Interest Group and raised around $2,200 for a family in Gaza.

“I know that energy around organizing for the University to disclose and divest from the Israeli army has been waning,” said Solomon. “A lot of people expressed to me that they were really grateful for this because it revived some of the energy that had been lost.”

When Solomon was in high school, she said her family hosted a man named Mohammed from Gaza through the PCRF. Soloman said that Mohammed had lost his leg as a result of an Israeli attack and was staying with Solomon’s family to receive a prosthetic in the U.S. before returning home.  

According to Solomon, Mohammed was killed in his sleep along with multiple family members in an Israeli airstrike in August 2024. Following his death, the PCRF set up a fundraiser with the goal of raising $34,100 for his 2-year-old daughter, Hala, who currently lives with her mother and uncle in Gaza, as well as another 14-year-old family member. 

“I was really shocked and pleasantly surprised at how many people came,” said Solomon. “I thought it was really beautiful and I really appreciated having a space to commune with people.”

The vast majority of baked goods and artwork sold at the event were produced by students. Tables were adorned with handmade products, ranging from prints to earrings to tote bags, alongside a variety of treats. Solomon, herself an artist, sold some of her sewn works at the event, including scrunchies and bookmarks. 

In addition to all the money raised through the sale, Grey Matter Books also donated 10 percent of the proceeds from books sold during the event to the PCRF. While the bulk of this sum will go towards Hala through the PCRF’s Orphan Sponsorship Program, Soloman said the rest will be received by verified contacts in Gaza who will then transfer the funds to Hala’s family. 

Apoorva Dhingra ENV ’26, a member of Graduate Students for Palestine, mobilized students to attend the event. Arriving at Yale, Dhingra was eager to participate in organizing for Palestine. 

Dhingra said that much of the artwork sold at the fundraiser was botanical in theme. Other pieces centered Palestine more directly, incorporating slogans like “Generation after generation until total liberation” and the colors of the Palestinian flag onto hand-painted cards. 

Another partner organization of the event, the Environmental Justice Student Interest Group hoped to draw attention to the overlap between ecological destruction and war in Palestine, said Ky Miller ENV ’26, co-president of EJSIG.  

“Environmental injustice in Palestine is one of the largest concerns in the region,” said Miller. “We’ve seen an incredible lack of access to water resources, we’ve seen the intentional destruction of generations-old olive groves and really important crop resources for Palestinian families, and those really are what underlie cultural identity as well.”

Solomon shared that she is currently working with other organizations in New Haven to plan a third event and continue working toward the $34,100 fundraising goal. 

Grey Matter Books stands on 264 York St. 

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SOFIA GAVIRIA PARTOW