Various Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters around the country held “National Day of Resistance” protests on myriad college campuses around the country on Thursday.
National SJP had released a toolkit for their various chapters to hold these protests, which stated, per Jewish Insider: “Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near. As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization. National liberation is near- glory to our resistance, to our martyrs, and to our steadfast people.”
The toolkits at one point could be seen on a Google Doc, but Google appears to have since removed them.
It appears @Google has taken down SJP's Google doc that provided guidance and resources on the group's national "Day of Resistance" for violating Google's terms of service.
The document praised last week's Hamas attack as a "historic win for the Palestinian resistance." https://t.co/up5wuTMwtL pic.twitter.com/MXt5QFDNJJ
— Gabby Deutch (@GSDeutch) October 13, 2023
“A lot of Jewish students are really struggling when they see their peers or their classmates celebrating, not just condoning, but celebrating what’s happening as a form of resistance,” Jewish on Campus CEO Julia Jassey told Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). “It’s a really impossible moment, a really impossible thing to grapple with and university administrations have an obligation to stand in support with Jewish college students.”
Here is a roundup highlighting some of the protests that took place on college campuses on Thursday.
UCLA
Hundreds of students held a pro-Palestinian walk-out on Thursday that was organized by 10 student groups on campus, including UCLA’s SJP chapter. Video footage shows protesters chanting, “Intifada intifada,” “Free Palestine,” “hey hey ho ho the occupation has got to go,” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
FOX 11’s Phil Schulman spoke with a pro-Palestinian student who said, “We’re here to condemn the genocide happening in [the] Gaza [Strip] and to hold our government and our university campus accountable for it.” Asked by Schulman about her thoughts on what Hamas has done to Israeli civilians, the student replied: “I think that the focus is on the wrong thing. I think people are neglecting to see that prior to anything happening this week, Gaza has been under a land, air and water siege.”
Schulman said that the students were rallying against “the perceived lack of empathy for their cause by UC officials” and called “for an end to the U.S. support of Israel in what they describe as the Israel government of apartheid.”
🚨As a @UCLA alum, part time lecturer and Jew, I find the chanting of "intifada, intifada!" disgusting in the wake of the barbaric terror attacks in #israel and Hamas call for violence against Jews globally.
This is happening now at UCLA pic.twitter.com/ua7tLk2dwX— Ariel Jalali ⚙️💬 (@arieljalali) October 12, 2023
There were some pro-Israel counter-protesters as well, though they were smaller in number. “We’re just here to preach peace and preach love, and we are hoping for better days, both for Palestinians and Israelis,” one Israeli student told KCAL News, adding that that’s not going to happen “if they’re gonna support Hamas. We gotta condemn Hamas first.”
UCLA student Rachel Burnett told NBC Los Angeles regarding the protest, “Hamas didn’t just target Israeli Jews, they [targeted] Bedouins, Thais, Filipinos… and so these horrors affect all of us. And if you aren’t appalled and horrified and so upset with what’s happening right now, I don’t know what you stand for as a progressive.”
University of Washington
Perhaps the protest that has received the most attention on social media was from the University of Washington (UW), which was put on by the Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return (SUPER)-UW. The reason why this protest received a lot of attention was because a video went viral of a female student breaking down in tears as she pleads with an apparent university administrator to end the protest.
“They want our people dead,” the student says to the administrator. “They want us killed. How can you be allowing this? They want us dead. Please end it, please.”
"How are you allowing this? They want us dead!"
Jewish students confront the University of Washington after student organizations held a pro-Hamas rally on campus. #HamasIsISIS pic.twitter.com/YPwikBEFD6
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 13, 2023
The protest reportedly featured chants of “resistance is justified,” “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free,” and “there is only one solution intifada revolution.”
This is currently happening at the University of Washington.
“There is only one solution. Intifada Revolution.”
It’s insane how many college students are waving Palestinian flags while calling for genocide against Jews.
pic.twitter.com/BkEUbeo6X1— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 12, 2023
A purported UW student can also be seen in a video claiming that Hamas “is fighting for their people, fighting for their country. That’s what Hamas is doing. What America is saying… is that Israel is a victim. For what, Hamas defending their people?”
This @UW student openly says that they support Hamas.@thehoffather @choeshow @TPUSA @tpusastudents @jasonrantz @MrAndyNgo pic.twitter.com/7njc8LQGHE
— Rachel Anderson (@RachelA1776) October 13, 2023
Another video from the UW protest shows a pro-Palestinian protester interrupting a Jewish woman while she was being interviewed a camera; the protester shouted cuss words as well as “end the occupation” repeatedly.
TOTAL DISGRACE: As this Jewish woman talks to members of the media during Thursday's protest at UW, this FAR-LEFT activist interrupts her numerous times. They don't care about decency. #Seattle #Israel #Palestine #Hamas #Terrorism #UW #UWHuskies #uwhuskies… pic.twitter.com/XiqIff5IEr
— Jonathan Choe Journalist (Seattle) (@choeshow) October 13, 2023
Other footage shows a pro-Palestinian protester saying “F— Israel” and then, when confronted about whether he supports the killing of innocent civilians, saying “you guys are all f—ing gay.”
University of Washington- footage shows not only antisemitism but vile homophobia slurs as a pro Palestinian student yells “F*ck Israel … you guys are all f*cking gay bro” at a group of Jews. pic.twitter.com/fa3ykOFuih
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 13, 2023
Brooklyn College
Video footage shows pro-Palestinian protesters at Brooklyn College shouting, “globalize the intifada,” “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free,” and “hey hey ho ho Israel has got to go.”
New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R) posted a video to social media, where she called the protest “a pro-Hamas rally.” “When Jewish women, children, Holocaust survivors and babies are being beheaded slaughtered and massacred, this is what they’re doing: protesting. Supporting Hamas. Asking to globalize the Intifada. To bring the terror that the people of Israel are experiencing now, to bring it here to New York City,” Vernikov, who is Jewish, said. “If you are here today standing with these people, you’re nothing short of a terrorist without the bombs.” Vernikov, along with her fellow city council members Kalman Yeger (D) and Farah Louis (D), had worked with the City University of New York (CUNY) to ensure that the protest was off campus; the protest reportedly took place right outside of the campus.
At @BrooklynCollege rally this afternoon with @CMFarahLouis & @KalmanYeger. If you’re standing w/ the protestors, yelling “GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA” & “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE” while innocent women and babies are being raped, massacred and beheaded, you’re… pic.twitter.com/7ESRAGrjtb
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) October 12, 2023
Our joint statement with @CMFarahLouis and @KalmanYeger on the Brooklyn College rally taking place at 12:00pm. We WILL NOT ALLOW Jewish students to be or feel unsafe. @CMFarahLouis and myself will be there. And thank you @NYPDnews for always being here for us. pic.twitter.com/42g1qnIE6n
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) October 12, 2023
Vernikov was later arrested for bringing a firearm to the protest, as images surfaced on social media showing that the end of the gun protruding from her hip. Her permit license to possess the gun was surrendered at the police station. The New York Police Department did tell Fox News that “at no point in time was anyone menaced or injured as a result of her possessing the firearm at the earlier protest.”
George Mason University
Photos and video footage from the protest at George Mason University (GMU) showed protesters chanting, among other things, “they’ve got tanks we’ve got hang gliders glory to the resistance fighters,” “smash the Zionist settler state” and “tear down Israel’s border wall.” The protesters were also repeatedly told not to speak to the media. There were also signs saying “Occupation is a crime” and “Zionism is terrorism,” with a Star of David replacing the “o” in “Zionism.”
Pro-Hamas protesters at George Mason University chant “they’ve got tanks we’ve got hang gliders, glory to the resistance fighters.” pic.twitter.com/roHHr8ixa3
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 12, 2023
Here at George Mason University where pro-Palestine students are gathering in an “emergency protest” supporting “the resistance” and ending “the occupation.” pic.twitter.com/M489CuRF36
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 12, 2023
Students are being strongly encouraged not to talk to media. Leaders say the media is twisting their sentiments to appear “vulgar.” pic.twitter.com/SxV6knVDHu
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 12, 2023
“Zionism is terrorism.”
📸 @christianlasval pic.twitter.com/DHZL6bNw5o
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 12, 2023
“Smash the settler Zionist state” pic.twitter.com/ldl12roMGp
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 12, 2023
Christian Julio Lasval, media manager of The Heritage Foundation, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that at one point a counter protester shouted to free the hostages being held by Hamas. In response, “a group of the young men in the crowd began chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ before being quickly silenced by the leaders of the rally,” Lasval claimed.
After one counter-protestor expressed support for Israel and called for freeing the hostages, a group of the young men in the crowd began chanting “Allahu Akbar” before being quickly silenced by the leaders of the rally. https://t.co/CqX3MA5vyZ pic.twitter.com/WdLEi6gFiG
— Christian Julio Lasval (@christianlasval) October 12, 2023
Columbia University
Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protest featured chants of “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” and pro-Israel counter-protesters held Israeli flags and signs of those who are being held hostage by Hamas. The pro-Palestinian protesters reportedly held a moment for Palestinian civilians, causing pro-Israel counter-protesters to shout that they should be holding a moment of silence for those killed by Hamas.
Hundreds of people reportedly attended the protest.
Happing now : Students chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during a protest on Columbia university campus in New York pic.twitter.com/8QKK1qefM3
— Davide Lerner (@DavideLerner) October 12, 2023
Opposite side of campus pic.twitter.com/gscuLc9YA3
— Davide Lerner (@DavideLerner) October 12, 2023
Penn State
According to the Centre Daily Times, more than 100 people participated in the pro-Palestinian protest at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), which featured signs like “End Ethnic Cleansing” and “Anti-Zionism =/= Anti-Semitism.” Some pro-Israel counter-protesters showed up as well, featuring a large Israeli flag with a candle in front of it and a sign that stated, “I’m here to mourn, not to fight.”
The Centre Daily Times also reported that spoke to Penn State graduate student Roua Daas, who was among the pro-Palestinian protesters. She told the outlet, “The point today was to stand in solidarity of the Palestinian people who are currently enduring bombing after bombing after bombing at the hands of Israel.” Daas declined to provide the outlet with her stance on Hamas.
University of North Carolina
The pro-Palestinian protest at the University of North Carolina (UNC) reportedly became heated as pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters were shouting at each other.
The Daily Tar Heel reported that Rev. Mark Davidson, executive director of Voices for Palestine, gave a speech during the protest where he said, “We contend the Hamas attack, as horrible and shocking as it was, but nevertheless, we understood in this broader context they were Palestinian freedom fighters using armed resistance in [an] attempt to throw off their Israeli colonizers.” This prompted pro-Israel demonstrators to shout, “Do you condemn Hamas?”
UNC Religious Studies Professor Evyatar Marienberg moved in front of the pro-Palestinian protesters on the steps of the university’s Wilson Library and held up an Israeli flag, prompting the pro-Palestinian protesters to start chanting, “Free Palestine.” He was pushed off the steps and escorted away by university police. Video footage also showed Marienberg going up to individual pro-Palestinian protesters and calling them Nazis.
The protest escalated, tensions seem high between students.
A counter protester, UNC religious studies professor, began shouting “Nazis” at the protestors supporting Palestine and was escorted away by UNC Police. pic.twitter.com/PPv8AU4Rs7
— Emmy Martin (@emmymrtin) October 12, 2023
Additional video footage appeared to show a UNC student shouting, “Hamas are Palestinians, ok? All of us Hamas!”
UNC Chapel Hill student – “Hamas are
Palestinians. WE are Hamas! F*ck your mother” [in Arabic]!”.Imagine being a Jewish college student right now. 💔 pic.twitter.com/RBm5ZxIOJI
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 14, 2023
“All of us are Hamas”
– Student, University of North Carolina today pic.twitter.com/2gDR0tKEKM
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 14, 2023
UMass Amherst
The pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) reportedly featured a speaker who reportedly yelled, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied. What did you expect would happen when you besieged Gaza for all of these decades!” Olive, a Jewish student on campus, told Fox News that some of the pro-Palestinian protesters tried to trip her as she held an Israeli flag. “I don’t know what the semester is gonna be like for me here,” she told the outlet. “I don’t feel safe at all.”
Fox News reporter Kassy Dillon, who was one of the outlet’s reporters covering the protest, posted on X that when she left the protest, “two guys kept asking me my ethnicity. When I got into my car, I was approached by a group of the protesters demanding to know my address and phone number.”
Just left the anti-Israel protest at UMass Amherst. As I was leaving, two guys kept asking me my ethnicity. When I got into my car, I was approached by a group of the protesters demanding to know my address and phone number.
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) October 12, 2023
Here’s footage of the end of it once I grabbed my phone from my bag. You can hear me responding that they cannot have my number. pic.twitter.com/A2XGurJ4ti
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) October 12, 2023
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut’s (UConn) protest reportedly featured chants of “Free Palestine,” “end the occupation now,” “when people are occupied, resistance is justified,” and “it is right to rebel, Israel can go to hell.” The university’s SJP chapter president, Jenna Rabah, told the Hartford Courant, “From this day on no more condemning Palestinian resistance. We need to be revolutionary. We need to be unyielding. We need to be relentless. The tides of freedom have turned and it’s important now more than ever that we speak up against public perception.”
The Courant also talked to the chapter’s former president, Basel Alnajjar, who said: “Hamas is not a representation of the Palestinian people. We’re talking about freeing Palestine, we’re talking about supporting the people of Palestine … not any separate organization.” He argued that the protesters weren’t supporting violence.
However, UConn student Sadaf Zarei told the paper that the protesters didn’t denounce “the atrocities that Hamas committed and it’s very sad.”
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) protest, among the chants were “Palestine is our demand, no peace on stolen land,” according to The Daily Illini. The student paper quoted UIUC graduate student Josh Isaacs, who is Jewish, as saying: “The resistance that Hamas is putting forth, even if there are parts of it that I disagree with, is essentially the only shot — given global politics — that it (Palestine) has at freedom or liberation As long as the United States government and other institutions like UIUC continue to support Israel, then thereʼs not going to be (liberation).”
Rutgers
SJP at Rutgers University-New Brunswick had moved the protest to Zoom, saying that University President Jonathan Holloway’s statement about road closures and increased security made the chapter feel unsafe, the North Jersey Media Group reported. But around 300 pro-Palestinian protesters still showed up, according to TAPinto New Brunswick; the outlet also reported that small group of pro-Israel counter-protesters showed up holding Israeli flags, and some of the pro-Palestinian protesters shouted at them to “put that flag down.”
University of Louisville
WAVE 3 News reported that the University of Louisville’s (UoL) pro-Palestinian protest featured chants of “hey hey ho ho the occupation has got to go” and “end U.S. funding to Israel apartheid.” The news outlet also noted that the UoL’s SJP chapter had advertised the protest with an image of a paraglider; Hamas terrorists abducted and killed Israelis at a music festival after flying in on paragliders. An SJP member told WAVE 3 that the image was intended to signify “our return to our land we are not sympathizing at all with the actions these people and these paragliders may be doing.”
Other SJP chapters at Georgetown University and UC San Diego reportedly held vigils for “martyrs” on Thursday.