I just wanted to weigh in on this topic today if I can. As we get into another week of anti-Israel protests on college campuses and police being called in and politicians opportunistically weighing in and all that here in the U.S., I wanted to share a conversation I saw from last week between a pro-Palestinian protester at Columbia and a Jewish student who left campus after experiencing much harassment there simply for wearing low-key Jewish insignia because it was the most inspiring exchange that I've seen on the subject to date not only in terms of the relationship between these student groups, but also in terms of the relationship between Palestinians and Jewish people everywhere. The conversation was facilitated by an NBC host and, to my surprise, it was remarkably constructive to a degree that I think may just give you hope against hope that peace between Palestinian and Jewish people is possible. What specifically made it possible to have such a healthy exchange, I would observe, was the fact that...
1) both students happen to be against the war in Gaza, which makes it clear that both are able to see the basic humanity of the people of Gaza, and...
2) Parker (the Jewish student) pressed the issue that anti-Zionist attitudes don't welcome conversation or respect for Jewish identity.
I think those principles are really the bottom line of how you get past the heat of the conflict and into a productive conversation: you must recognize the humanity of the people of Gaza in a meaningful and substantive way and also the right of Israel to exist. The protests need to be about peace like they are for Nadia, not agitating for the liquidation of the world's only Jewish state, and no one should pretend like Gaza's whole population and every pro-Palestinian activist is Hamas. I only wish that's what I saw more often at these encampments, from politicians weighing in, and so forth.
Okay, having supplied my two cents, here is the convo:
Just food for thought. Please try to see the humanity in other people. Everyone.
| Jaicee said: I just wanted to weigh in on this topic today if I can. As we get into another week of anti-Israel protests on college campuses and police being called in and politicians opportunistically weighing in and all that here in the U.S., I wanted to share a conversation I saw from last week between a pro-Palestinian protester at Columbia and a Jewish student who left campus after experiencing much harassment there simply for wearing low-key Jewish insignia because it was the most inspiring exchange that I've seen on the subject to date not only in terms of the relationship between these student groups, but also in terms of the relationship between Palestinians and Jewish people everywhere. The conversation was facilitated by an NBC host and, to my surprise, it was remarkably constructive to a degree that I think may just give you hope against hope that peace between Palestinian and Jewish people is possible. What specifically made it possible to have such a healthy exchange, I would observe, was the fact that... 1) both students happen to be against the war in Gaza, which makes it clear that both are able to see the basic humanity of the people of Gaza, and... 2) Parker (the Jewish student) pressed the issue that anti-Zionist attitudes don't welcome conversation or respect for Jewish identity. I think those principles are really the bottom line of how you get past the heat of the conflict and into a productive conversation: you must recognize the humanity of the people of Gaza in a meaningful and substantive way and also the right of Israel to exist. The protests need to be about peace like they are for Nadia, not agitating for the liquidation of the world's only Jewish state, and no one should pretend like Gaza's whole population and every pro-Palestinian activist is Hamas. I only wish that's what I saw more often at these encampments, from politicians weighing in, and so forth. Just food for thought. Please try to see the humanity in other people. Everyone. |
There is a lot of that, however the mainstream media chooses to focus on conflict :/
There are also many Palestinians living in Israel (in fear nowadays sadly) as well as Arabs and other nationalities. They can all live together, however it's the extremists (on both sides) that have kept the conflict and current escalation going.
On college campuses kids have also prayed together, both Muslim and Jewish prayers, eat together and generally have peaceful exchanges of ideas. But there are always trouble makers which the media focuses on. Part of those troublemakers are the universities themselves sending state troopers in, provoking violence.
Anti-Zionism is also not anti-Judaism. Zionism has been hijacked by ultra right hardliners like Ben-Gvir, now part of the war cabinet, living in an illegal settlement in the West Bank. So yes, the protests are anti Zionist anti current ultra right government of Israel. They are not anti Israel. At least I haven't heard anywhere that Israel should be disbanded and the 7.2 million Jews living there should pack up and leave. There aren't even many voices saying all the illegal settlements should be disbanded, but some reparations do have to be done for a 2-state solution.
The 2-state solution is the most heard, an intermediary phase to hopefully a union in the future.
Anti-Zionist attitudes are deserved as the way the Israeli government acts in the name of Zionism is the root cause of what's happening in Israel/Palestine. Yet anti-Zionist attitudes do not diminish respect for the Jewish identity. Zionism is just a recent experiment, which started with good intentions, yet has been hijacked by ultra nationalist and fascist movements.
https://www.huckmag.com/article/zionism-is-not-judaism-myths-about-israel
However Zionists do try to conflate Judaism with Zionism calling Jews that denounce Zionism self-hating Jews.
Also not all Jews in Israel are Zionists.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/08/israels-religiously-divided-society/
Another thing to note is that the fear of Islam, Muslims, Arabs in general is what has been keeping people inline since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Islam scare is the new Red scare. And that needs to be maintained for the powerful elite to continue to get away what ever they want. Hence so much push back against any empathy towards Palestinians...
One thing to remember is that Zionism nowadays doesn't equal letting Israel exist, it means letting Israel steamroll any inhabitants of whatever is in the way of Zion's final form. That is why anti-zionism isn't a bad thing really, it also means just resisting people getting massacred. Anti-Judaism is wrong, hating jews is wrong, but having rage towards warmongers that not only commit mass crimes on innocents but also pretend to be so morally high: it's absolutely justifiable. Actually, it just means you're sane! If that's you, give yourself a good pat on the back. You're healthy.
Students continue protest at Columbia University despite expulsion threats
We are outside the Hamilton Hall, a building that was occupied by a group of students who barricaded themselves inside and displayed a flag there, renaming the building to “Hind’s Hall”, after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed by the Israeli military in Gaza. The students remain there.
The people… outside – many of them are from Columbia University – have come to show their support for the students who remain inside. They are saying that they are not allowed in because the university is on lockdown. Only essential personnel and students that are living inside remain there.
The students inside say they are under siege and that the university is trying to isolate them and force them to quit this protest. We’ve seen the students outside bringing them food and water, so that they can remain inside.
The university is saying the students who remain at the encampment will be suspended and those who took over the hall will be expelled.
Despite these threats, the students inside say that for now they are not going anywhere.
Student protesters move supplies from outside Hamilton Hall, where students at Columbia University barricaded themselves as they continue to protest in support of Palestinians, in New York City on April 30
Palestinians in Ramallah protest Canada’s support for Israel’s war
Palestinians on Tuesday thanked Canadian university students for ‘standing up for Gaza’ at a protest near the Canadian representative office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday
Some held flags while others held posters calling for ‘unity against injustice’
Students at Canada’s McGill University, University of British Colombia, and University of Toronto have been protesting against the Canadian government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza
Members of the Palestinian Authority police force prevent demonstrators from reaching the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank
Students, faculty hold vigil at Austin jail for detained University of Texas protesters
I’m outside the Travis County Jail, where 79 protesters were taken after police broke up an encampment at the University of Texas in Austin.
Throughout the afternoon, we’ve been seeing a trickle of those protesters being released. There’s been a vigil held here that started overnight by faculty and students who say they will stay here until the very last of those arrested protesters is released.
Every time someone is released, the crowd cheers, claps and the drums kick in.
Some of the protesters are holding up blankets and umbrellas to shield them as some of them may come out not wanting the media attention on them.
‘Large police presence at Columbia’: Student organisers
The student organisers of the Gaza Solidarity encampment at Columbia University say there is a “large [police] presence on and around” the campus of the university in New York.
We’ll bring you more soon.
ACTION ALERT: Large NYPD presence on and around Columbia University’s campus. Strategic Resource Group (SRG), unit known for violent arrests in response to “civil unrest” is present. Come to campus gates NOW and stand up for students.
— Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (@ColumbiaSJP) April 30, 2024
University protesters released from county jail in Texas
Supporters hold a vigil outside Travis County Jail on Tuesday waiting for the release of protesters arrested at UT Austin on April 30
Students arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) were greeted by supporters as they were released from the Travis County Jail.
Southwestern University student Mercedes, who declined to give her last name, is released from Travis County Jail
Police arrested 97 protesters at UT Austin on Monday and dismantled an encampment set up on campus by students calling on the university to cut ties with Israel.
A University of Texas student is applauded after being released from Travis County Jail
Travis County Attorney General Delia Garza said 65 people arrested at UT Austin had been charged with criminal trespass.
Police fired tear gas at University of Southern Florida protest: Report
Police have fired tear gas at students who set up a Gaza solidarity camp at the University of Southern Florida in Tampa, according to videos from journalists and witnesses verified by Al Jazeera.
The videos also show police foces arresting two people at the protest scene.
Breaking: Florida cops are using tear gas and rubber bullets on students at the University of South Florida. pic.twitter.com/qDwpvceFwg
— Read Abolish Rent (@JPHilllllll) April 30, 2024
Police enter Columbia University campus
Police have entered the campus of Columbia University where students have been holding a peaceful Gaza Solidarity encampment since April 17.
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a post on X that the police officers were “wearing riot gear” and that “multiple blocks have been barricaded off”.
The new development comes soon after New York Mayor Eric Adams said the protest “must end now” in a joint news conference with the New York police chief.
BREAKING: NYPD officers including the strategic resource group are entering Columbia University’s campus. They are wearing riot gear. Campus is shut down. Multiple blocks have been barricaded off. pic.twitter.com/hFuZfSa75i
— Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (@ColumbiaSJP) May 1, 2024
Police move into hall Columbia students renamed after slain Palestinian child
There are dozens and dozens of police who have come here to remove the students… currently inside Hamilton Hall.
Let’s not forget what happened here on Monday evening. A group of students that were inside Columbia University occupied Hamilton Hall. They renamed it after Hind Rajab, who is a six-year old girl who was killed in Gaza.
The police came in with a truck. Now there’s a [ladder], they have broken a window. They’re going inside the building, probably to detain the students that are inside this building.
Lines of police in riot gear enter Columbia University campus
New York Police Department (NYPD) officers stand guard near an encampment in support of Palestinians in Gaza on the grounds of Columbia University on Tuesday night
NYPD officers in riot gear march onto Columbia University campus
The Gaza Solidarity encampment at New York’s Columbia university has inspired a movement throughout the United States after police arrested more than 100 students there on April 18
What is this, operation Shock and Awe against American kids?
‘Divest from Israel’: Decoding the Gaza protest call shaking US campuses
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/30/divest-from-israel-breaking-down-the-us-student-protesters-demands
Pro-Palestine demonstrations are spreading across campuses in the US and internationally as students call on their universities to “disclose and divest” their investments in companies and organisations linked to Israel and its war on Gaza.
So what exactly is “divestment” and how do the students want their universities to divest?
Sixteen pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at University of New Mexico
Sixteen people have been arrested at the University of New Mexico in the US as police forcefully ejected pro-Palestine protesters occupying the school’s Student Union building.
Five of those arrested are students at the University of New Mexico, while 11 people not affiliated with the school have also been detained, a university spokesperson said.
The demonstrators, who occupied the Student Union after a rally on Monday night, have been charged with criminal trespass and wrongful use of public property.
Footage of the arrests shows police violently throwing protesters to the ground before tying their hands behind their back.
Columbia University says it invited police onto campus
A spokesperson for Columbia University says that the New York Police Department entered the campus at the “university’s request”.
“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson also added that the university believed the leaders of the group that occupied Hamilton hall were “not affiliated with the university”.
Columbia faculty say university president, staff ‘responsible’ as police enter campus
Faculty members at Columbia University said they hold the “university leadership responsible for disastrous lapses of judgement” as New York police massed outside the campus in preparation for a raid on students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza.
In a statement issued around an hour before police entered the campus in overwhelming force, faculty members said the presence of armed officers “places students and everyone else on campus at risk”.
“We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point,” the faculty statement said.
“The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.”
‘This cannot happen in my name’, says Jewish American student
Sam Law, a Jewish American graduate student who took part in a protest at the University of Texas in Austin, recounted his arrest on Tuesday to Al Jazeera.
“I went to hear about the faculty talking about the destruction of universities in Gaza, and at around 12:45pm, a group of students started setting up tents and so I ran there and linked arms with people to defend the tents.
“We saw last Wednesday, the president of our university sending in militarised police – people with guns, riot gear and horses – and so when I ran to the tents, I knew that’s what’s going to happen. As a Jewish American… I needed to be strong and say this cannot happen in my name.
“We were encircled; it took the police several hours to pull people away, one by one, but there was a strong sense of solidarity, resolve among the students and community members. I wasn’t the only Jew; there were other people wearing Kippas.
“There were some people who were pretty badly injured. I saw people who really couldn’t walk because they had injured their ankle, someone covered in blood, people having asthma attacks, people having diabetic crises, people with tears running down their faces with medics putting saline solution in their eyes to help wash it [pepper spray] out.”
Freedom of speech, expression ‘supposed to be prized’ in US: Columbia student
A Columbia University student spoke to Al Jazeera’s correspondent Teresa Bo outside the campus about the events that led to the latest police incursion.
“A lot of students went into Hamilton Hall yesterday and occupied and [renamed] it as Hind’s Hall,” said the student who did not want to be identified by name.
“They were there all day long. All of us were hoping that the administration would behave like adults and negotiate in good faith with the students and find a compromise, find a way forward to get these students safely back to their classes where they belong.
“But a lot of us were very disappointed, obviously, and shocked, to see the police return to our campus – an American institution where freedom of speech and freedom of expression are supposed to be prized.
“Earlier today, via social networks, we were told that they expected the police to come so we came out here to demonstrate our support [for the student protesters], and for me personally for the American values that I believe in.
“I’m horrified by the decision-making process here. This isn’t Moscow. This isn’t Tehran. This is New York City. We should be able to protest peacefully.”
Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team move towards an entrance to Columbia University, on Tuesday night
Handling of Columbia protests a ‘betrayal’ of university’s history, memory of Edward Said
A graduate of Columbia told Al Jazeera’s correspondent Kristen Saloomey that the administration’s handling of the student protests was a betrayal of the university’s history and one of its finest scholars – the late Edward Said.
“Columbia is the university of Edward Said – a great scholar of Palestinian history and its people,” the student, who only gave his name as Henry, told Al Jazeera. “That’s a history that has been totally betrayed by the university.
“And it was betrayed before. In 2019, the students voted overwhelmingly for divestment. “We were told the university doesn’t get involved in politics.
“To me, this is politics [the police action against protesters]. “The Tel Aviv Global Centre [a Columbia research hub in Israel] is politics.
“The fact that there are students here who can’t participate in the full breadth of what Columbia offers because they partner with a country with race laws, with apartheid – a well-established fact – that, to me, is despicable.
“I didn’t like the old administration. I definitely don’t like how [Columbia’s President Nemat Minouche Shafik] is handling this.”
Members of the New York Police Department strategic response team load arrested protesters from Columbia University onto a bus in New York on Tuesday night
Columbia president asks police to remain on campus until May 17: Report
Nemat Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, has asked New York police to remain on the university’s campus until May 17 to “ensure encampments are not reestablished”, the AFP news agency is reporting.
Students previously re-established their Gaza Solidarity encampment on the lawns of Columbia University after it was dismantled by police on April 18, in a move that saw about 100 arrests and spurred a protest movement across many other US universities.
Trump praises police operation against protesters at Columbia University
The Associated Press news agency reports that former US President Donald Trump called in live by phone to a show on Fox News to praise the police operation against pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University.
As the station broadcast live footage of police clearing Hamilton Hall at the university, Trump said the police raid should have come sooner.
“But it should never have gotten to this,” he told a Fox host. “They should have done it a lot sooner than before they took over the building because it would have been a lot easier if they were in tents rather than a building. And tremendous damage done, too.”
New York Police Department officers in riot gear break into a building at Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian students were barricaded, in New York City on April 30
Dozens arrested, loaded onto police buses, at Columbia University
We’ve been reporting on police entering Columbia University to dismantle a pro-Palestinian protest there.
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo, who is at Columbia University, says police are saying that at least 50 people have been arrested, with the students taken away in two police buses.
Students being taken away from Columbia university in an NYPD police bus
The USA has gone off the deep end. This is not the behavior of a democratic free country.
Student organiser expects ‘large blowback’ against Columbia University’s leadership
Cameron Jones, a lead organiser at Columbia University for the Jewish Voice for Peace activist group, told Al Jazeera that there is a groundswell of support seeking the resignation of the university’s leadership.
“We have seen the university try again and again to silence pro-Palestine voices on campus and every time they try to silence us, we only get louder. We only bring larger numbers to our rallies, larger numbers to our protests,” Jones said.
“I am certain that you will see a large, large blowback from the student body, from the faculty, from alumni in the coming weeks. “We will not stand for this violent police brutality on our campus and we will stand up for what we believe in.
“There is large support for [Columbia president] Manouche Shafik to resign… and for a whole investigation of everything that has happened in the past few weeks.”
New York Police officers escort a protester outside the Columbia University campus on Tuesday night
Arrests at Columbia University as New York City police clear Gaza protest
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/new-york-city-police-enter-columbia-campus-as-gaza-protest-escalates
Hundreds of New York City police officers entered the Columbia University campus and took many people into custody in the latest escalation of the student-led, pro-Palestinian protests that have swept college campuses across the US and many other countries.
The move to clear the Columbia protest came exactly 56 years after police swept into Hamilton Hall to end a 1968 protest by students against racism and the Vietnam War.
Police use a special vehicle to enter Hamilton Hall, which was occupied by protesters, at Columbia University in New York City on April 30
Search for survivors after deadly Israeli strike in Gaza City
An Israeli air attack on a house in the centre of Gaza City has killed several people and injured others, the Wafa news agency is reporting, citing local sources.
People are still searching for bodies and survivors in the ruins of the house in Jalaa Street, Wafa added, with the number of people killed in the attack yet to be confirmed.
‘More trauma and death’ if Israeli assault on Rafah goes ahead, UN aid chief warns
UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths has issued a statement warning that a ground operation on Rafah is “on the immediate horizon” despite the world “appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare” the Palestinian city.
Israel’s plan to send ground forces into the last civilian refuge in the Gaza Strip – where more than 1 million people fled in search of safety from Israeli attacks – will “spell even more trauma and death”, Griffiths warns.
“We are in a race to stave off hunger and death, and we are losing,” he said.
“For agencies struggling to provide humanitarian aid despite the active hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints, and Israeli restrictions, a ground invasion would strike a disastrous blow,” he added.
“The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that.”
A ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words.
— Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) April 30, 2024
Israeli military arrests three men in Fawwar refugee camp
The Israeli military has arrested three Palestinians during a raid on the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, local media reports.
One of the arrested men, Tariq Abu Hammad, was freed from Israeli detention only days before.
Israeli forces have also arrested a Palestinian man in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, while they’ve also stormed the city of Qalqilya and the Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem.
◾ تغطية صحفية : " قوات الاحتلال تواصل اقتحام مدينة قلقيلية." pic.twitter.com/1ZAKUYBSl8
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) May 1, 2024
At least six arrested in overnight West Bank raids
The Israeli military has carried out another night of raids throughout the occupied West Bank, searching Palestinians’ homes and making arrests, according to the Wafa news agency.
Arrests were carried out in the following areas, with at least six Palestinians, including a minor, taken into Israeli custody:
Israeli military strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military has said that is has carried out attacks on Hezbollah targets in the Khiam and Kfar Kila areas of southern Lebanon. Posting on X, it added that “terrorist infrastructure” was also struck in the Layda, Al Adisa and Meiss el-Jabal areas of southern Lebanon.
There are no reports of casualties at this time, but we will update you as information comes in.
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