From coast to coast, calls to end the Israel-Hamas war are spreading on college campuses.
Archiv: civil disobedience
Pro-Palestinian Campus Encampments Spread Nationwide Amid Mass Arrests at Columbia, NYU & Yale
Palestinian solidarity protests and encampments are appearing on college campuses from Massachusetts to California to protest Israel‘s attacks on Gaza and to call for divestment from Israeli apartheid. This week, police have raided encampments and arrested students at Yale and New York University. Palestinian American scholar and New York University professor Helga Tawil-Souri describes forming a faculty buffer to protect students, negotiating with police, and the ensuing crackdown that led to over 100 arrests Monday night. Uptown in New York City, the encampment at Columbia University is entering its seventh day despite mass arrests of protesters last week.
12 suspended Columbia students reinstated just days after anti-Israel protest, as lawyer vows to take ‘fascist’ school to NY Supreme Court
“Speech, no matter how unpopular it may be, is the essence of academia. Protest against Zionism in Israel is pure protected speech. … If Jewish students are made uncomfortable by it, f— them!” Cohen, who was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, told the Village Sun.
“Speech is supposed to make you uncomfortable. This is not lighting candles and kumbaya. … All speech is protected unless the imminent intent is to commit violence — like shouting ‘Fire!’ in a crowded movie theater,” he added. (…)
“I got f—ing suspended from Columbia 50 years ago. I got thrown out of Columbia after a week for anti-war protesting,” he lamented.
“Columbia is fascist,” he said.
120 antiwar protesters arrested at NYU; Calif. students form barricade
At the University of Minnesota, police moved in during early-morning hours at the request of the institution, arrested nine people and cleared tents in a grassy expanse in front of the main library. That followed the arrest of 120 protesters at New York University on Monday night, according to the New York Police Department.
The developments at those two schools mirrored scenes at Columbia University on Thursday and Yale University on Monday. On the West Coast, California State Polytechnic University at Humboldt went into a lockdown after student protesters barricaded themselves inside a building.
It began with defiance at Columbia. Now students nationwide are upping their Gaza war protests
What began last week when Columbia University students refused to end their protest against Israel’s war with Hamas had turned into a much larger movement by Tuesday as students across the nation set up encampments, occupied buildings and ignored demands to leave.
Netanyahu‘s office responded to the hospitalized soldiers rejecting his visit with a formal statement in which they wrote: „An absolute majority of the fighters are very excited to meet the prime minister.“ (I am not joking.)
Declaration of Conscience and Concern of Global Intellectuals on Gaza Genocide
Under these circumstances, this Declaration calls not only for the denunciation of Israel’s genocidal assault but also for taking effective action to permanently prevent its repetition. We come together due to the urgency of the moment, which obliges global intellectuals to stand against the ongoing horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people and, most of all, to implore action by those who have the power, and hence the responsibility, to do so. Israel’s continuing rejection of a permanent ceasefire intensifies our concerns.
Many weeks of cruel devastation caused by Israel’s grossly disproportionate response to the October 7 attack, continues to exhibit Israel’s vengeful fury. That fury can in no way be excused by the horrendous violence of Hamas against civilians in Israel or inapplicable claims of self-defense against an occupied population.
(…)
In addition, Israel has been greenlighting settler-led violence and escalating ethnic cleansing efforts in the West Bank. Given these developments we urge national governments to embargo and halt all shipments of weapons to Israel, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, which should also withdraw their provocative naval presences from the Eastern Mediterranean; we urge the UN Security Council and General Assembly to so decree without delay.
Those saying “there are no innocents in Gaza” are enabling, consciously or not, criminal plans of ethnic cleansing by way of forcible-transfer, as well as extensive killing of innocent civilians. Words that policy makers speak become policy. As Israelis, we must not stay silent.
NBC News – Muhammad Ali on not going to war
(…)
Protesters calling for ceasefire in Gaza block Boston traffic
The group, IfNotNow, blocked traffic on the Boston side of the Boston University bridge for more than two hours. Many of the protesters said they had recently traveled from Chicago, where they attended a similar protest.
NOW ON THE BAY BRIDGE Dozens are shutting the bridge down during commute hours, DEMANDING a ceasefire in Gaza while Biden is here in San Francisco. No Gaza genocide, no more bombing, stop killing children.
BREAKING: Bay Area residents have SHUT DOWN the Bay Bridge to demand ceasefire while @POTUS Biden visits San Francisco. #BayArea #CeasefireNow #BidenHarrisCeasefireNOW #APEC
NO GALA FOR GENOCIDE! Last night, as Biden visited San Francisco for the APEC Summit, attendees were forced to step over bodies symbolizing the 11,000+ Gazans who have been murdered by U.S. weapons recently. #No2APEC
Peace vigil demanding DNC call for ceasefire in Gaza violently attacked by police
(16.11.2023)
Washington, DC — Washington, D.C. police violently attacked nonviolent anti-war activists at a ceasefire vigil outside a fundraiser event held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Wednesday evening. Wielding pepper spray and pellet guns, the police rushed members of the interfaith vigil without warning, where some activists had blocked some of the doors of the Democratic DCCC’s candidate event, asking politicians to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The activists were joined by faith leaders in calling for a ceasefire to end the Israeli military’s massacre of Palestinians, to facilitate a hostage exchange, and to ensure that humanitarian and medical aid can reach Palestinians in besieged Gaza.
FAQs on Nov 15 Protest
What happened on November 15?
On November 15, a multi-faith group of nonviolent peace activists led a vigil to mourn the lives of Palestinians and Israelis killed since October 7, followed by a moral act of civil disobedience calling on Democrats to support a ceasefire to save lives, and to end our government’s funding of violence against Palestinian civilians by Netanyahu’s far-right government.
Police brutally attacked these nonviolent anti-war activists who were bringing their messaging for a ceasefire outside of a fundraiser event held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Without any warning or request to disperse, the police rushed members of the interfaith vigil and protest, wielding pepper spray and pellet guns. Police threw protesters down the stairs, sprayed pepper spray, and hit protesters with bikes. They knocked one protester to the ground, dragged them by their hair, and then knocked them back down the steps.
Over 11,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and siege since October 7, including over 4,600 children.
Opposition slams Netanyahu for reportedly casting blame for Oct. 7 on IDF reservists
Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman and Labor chief Merav Michaeli went further in their criticism, calling on Netanyahu to resign.
BREAKING: @SenBooker’s speech in New Jersey was just shut down by protestors who interrupted him after a few seconds, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza (Palestine) where a Palestinian child is being killed every 10 minutes. Booker was taken by surprise and had to exit immediately.
Free Palestine! National March on Washington Live Coverage
Free Palestine! National March on Washington Live Coverage
Join BreakThrough News for our LIVE on-the-ground coverage of the National March on Washington to demand a free Palestine.
This historic action is being cosponsored by Palestinian Youth Movement, Al-Awda (The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition), American Muslim Alliance, ANSWER Coalition, The Peoples Forum, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, US Palestinian Community Network, Palestinian Feminist Collective, Maryland to Palestine, Palestinian-American Community Center, and National Students for Justice in Palestine, and is endorsed by hundreds of others.
MEDIA ALERT: Washington DC to host the largest mobilization in support of Palestine in US history
When: 1:00 pm, Saturday, November 4, 2023
Where: Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C.
Washington DC, November 3, 2023 – The US capital is gearing up for the largest mobilization in support of Palestine in the country’s history. Tens of thousands of activists are boarding buses from cities as far as Chicago, Houston, and Tampa to participate in the historic march.
Over 9,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in its intense bombing campaign of the Gaza strip. According to a report released today by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel has used 25,000 tons of explosives on Gaza since October 7, equivalent to two nuclear bombs. This has continued unrelenting despite calls from world leaders and millions of people across the world for an end to this genocidal violence.
The hundreds of thousands converging in Washington DC will join people from across the globe to demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to all US aid to Israel, and an end to the over 16-year siege on Gaza.
National March on Washington: Free Palestine
Now is the time to stand with the besieged people of Palestine! Gaza is being bombed by the hour. Its people are denied food, water and electricity by Israel. Tens of thousands more people are likely to die. We must ACT! People are in the streets everyday in their local cities and towns. Now we must UNITE!
National March on Washington: Free Palestine
Now is the time to stand with the besieged people of Palestine! Gaza is being bombed by the hour. Its people are denied food, water and electricity by Israel. Tens of thousands more people are likely to die. We must ACT! People are in the streets everyday in their local cities and towns. Now we must UNITE! Join the tens of thousands people, from every corner of the United States, who are converging for a truly massive National March on Washington D.C. on Saturday, November 4.
Here’s what to know about the pro-Palestinian rally in D.C. on Saturday
Thousands of people are expected to rally Saturday in Washington, joining a push from people across the world to demand both a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
Brian Becker, the executive director of the ANSWER Coalition, one of the organizers of the march, said he hopes this gathering will be “the largest demonstration in support of the Palestinian people in the history of the United States.”
COLLECTIVE POWER FOR JUSTICE
USCPR is a political home for all who believe that freedom for the Palestinian people is an integral part of achieving our collective liberation. We provide resources and strategic support to the U.S.-based Palestine solidarity movement, channeling grassroots power into positive change in U.S. policy and public opinion. We work with local organizers and activists, policymakers, movement leaders, media, and advocacy organizations to advance a rights-based, accountability and justice-oriented framework from the U.S. to Palestine.
Capitol Police arrested activists in @SenWarren‘s, @SenMarkey‘s, @SenSanders‘s, @SenJeffMerkley‘s, and @SenBrianSchatz‘s offices. 180 human rights activists held sit-ins at 8 senators‘ offices at risk of arrest. They took a stand to stop Israel‘s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza
LIVE AT GRAND CENTRAL: RABBIS GETTING ARRESTED DEMANDING A CEASEFIRE AND AN END TO THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA. cc @jvplive @jvpliveNY @JvpAction
HAPPENING NOW AT NYC‘S GRAND CENTRAL STATION: HUNDREDS OF JEWS AND ALLIES ARE GETTING ARRESTED IN THE LARGEST MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE NYC HAS SEEN IN TWO DECADES.
NO GENOCIDE IN OUR NAMES!
CEASEFIRE NOW TO SAVE LIVES!
NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!
Standing with our Jewish brothers & sisters who are screaming NOT IN OUR NAME! Last night, thousands of Jewish New Yorkers & their allies held a massive civil disobedience sit-in at Grand Central Station demanding an immediate ceasefire. #LetGazaLive #CeaseFireNow @jvpliveNY
#ceasefirenow
‘Let Gaza Live’: Calls for Cease-Fire Fill Grand Central Terminal
Hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war streamed into Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on Friday, in one of the largest protests New York City has seen since the start of the conflict three weeks ago.
The demonstration, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, came as Israel ramped up its military operations inside Gaza.
Combatants for Peace: About Us
We are a group of Palestinians and Israelis who have taken an active part in the cycle of violence in our region: Israeli soldiers serving in the IDF and Palestinians as combatants fighting to free their country, Palestine, from the Israeli occupation. We – serving our peoples, raised weapons which we aimed at each other and saw each other only through gun sights – have established Combatants for Peace on the basis of non-violence principles.
CFP’s mission is to build the social infrastructure necessary for ending the conflict and the occupation: communities of Palestinians and Israelis working together through non-violent means to promote peace.
About Yesh-Gvul
Yesh Gvul was founded in 1982 with the outbreak of the First Lebanon War, as a refusal movement of soldiers in the reserves force.
Its first petition, which would define the movement’s trajectory, reads:
„[…] you are trying to solve the Palestinian problem by warfare … to impose a ‘new order’ on the ruins of Lebanon, to spill our blood and the blood of others for the sake of the Phalange. That is not why we enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces.”
Close to 3,000 reservists signed the petition, 160 of whom were jailed for refusing to serve on Lebanese territory. Yesh Gvul supported the first Lebanon War refuseniks, most of whom were selective objectors, and worked to influence public opinion against waging wars in Lebanon. Ever since, the movement has helped soldiers who refuse to serve or are considering refusal, as well as their families.
Several top nuclear scientists said weighing resigning from atomic commission to protest overhaul
The report, which did not cite sources, stressed there was no collective action, with the scientists deciding for themselves how they will act. It added that the scientists were still deliberating the matter with each other and their predecessors, along with “heads of the scientific-military community,” but have not raised it with any superiors.
IDF says battle-readiness weeks from being impacted as reservists decamp en masse
Thousands of reservists have threatened to end their volunteer reserve duty in protest of the overhaul in recent weeks, sparking alarm from defense brass, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who issued a rare video statement Tuesday calling for unity within the military.
The IDF has said that the “cohesion,” or unity of the IDF has already been harmed amid the protests against the judicial overhaul, and it will take time to fix.
IDF chief to reportedly speak with PM about reservist protests’ impact on IDF
IDF chief Herzi Halevi is expected to speak tomorrow with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the growing number of reservists suspending their volunteer service to protest the judicial overhaul and the expected impact on military readiness, according to Hebrew media reports.
Ex-Shin Bet chief Diskin: Suspending voluntary reserve service now ‘is a heroic step’
“My brothers and sisters… who have saved our state on the battlefield from our enemies,” he says, “the battle today is for the nature of the state, against those who are seeking to destroy its foundations and its values.”
Diskin continues: “Suspending voluntary reserve service is certainly an irregular step — but it is a legal, democratic and non-violent step. And above all, it is a heroic step.”
Dozens of ex-security chiefs: Netanyahu ‘directly responsible for harm to security’
Comparing the current climate to “the eve of the Yom Kippur War,” a highly traumatic event for Israel, the signatories said they were “holding up a bright red stop sign in front of you and your government.”
The signatories include former IDF chiefs Ehud Barak, Moshe Ya’alon and Dan Halutz; former Mossad heads Nahum Admoni, Efraim Halevy, Shabtai Shavit, Danny Yatom and Tamir Pardo; former Shin Bet directors Carmi Gillon, Yuval Diskin and Nadav Argaman; several former police commissioners and prison service leaders; and many former military generals.
‘This is where we draw the line’: 10,000 more reservists to stop volunteering
Some 10,000 Israel Defense Forces reservists will suspend their volunteer reserve duty in protest of the government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system, a large protest group announced Saturday evening.
At a press conference in Herzliya, leaders of Brothers in Arms announced the move, the latest to send shockwaves through the Israel Defense Forces, which is struggling to stem a growing flood of reserve troops dropping out of volunteer duty to protest the overhaul, as defense officials warn the phenomenon could affect national preparedness.
Netanyahu’s Judicial Coup: 10,000 Reservists Announce Suspension of Service Until Judicial Coup Nixed as Tens of Thousands Protest Across Israel for 29th Straight Week Ahead of Key Vote
Netanyahu’s coalition is set to vote on Monday to significantly weaken the Israeli High Court’s ability to review government decisions
Over 1,000 Israeli Air Force Personnel to Suspend Reserve Duty if Netanyahu‘s Judicial Coup Continues
(today)
„The [judicial overhaul] legislation, which allows the government to act in an extremely unreasonable manner, will harm the security of the State of Israel, will break the trust and violate our consent to continue risking our lives – and will very sadly leave us with no choice but to refrain from volunteering for reserve duty,“ a letter penned by 1,142 reserve officers read. It was sent to Knesset members, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and IAF Commander Tomer Bar.
Israel‘s Judicial Coup: Hundreds of Reservists in Israeli Army’s Medical Corps Say They Won’t Report for Duty
The announcement came a day after 161 air force reservists said they would stop reporting for duty in protest of the overhaul. The day before that, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned reservists threatening to end their service.
Likud minister calls attorney general ‘the most dangerous person’ in Israel
(today)
The minister pointed to widespread “chaos” the day before, when anti-overhaul protesters blocked roads and disrupted train services while, he said, the attorney general “doesn’t see anything.”
“In my opinion, she is the most dangerous person in the country today,” Amsalem said. “In practice, there is a revolt going on in the IDF, and the attorney general doesn’t see, doesn’t hear.”
Netanyahu‘s Judicial Coup – Israeli Army Heads to Defense Minister: Decline in IDF Cohesion Already Evident
In recent days an increasing number of reservists have announced that they will stop volunteering for duty due to the overhaul legislation, particularly the amendment repealing the reasonableness standard.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met Sunday with IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and other senior IDF officers to assess the effect of the protest and the reservists’ initiatives on the military.
‘Unprecedented civil resistance’: Mass rallies Saturday open 28th week of protests
(15 July 2023)
On Friday they were joined by the Israel Medical Association, which warned that hospitals and doctors could strike in opposition to the bill.
The association held emergency discussions Thursday to discuss the ramifications of the law and members agreed that “it will devastate the healthcare system and is not just a theoretical concern,” said IMA Chairman Prof. Zion Hagay.
Unprecedented: Family members and even a few graduating officers (!) turned their backs to Netanyahu as he spoke at ceremonies for infantry officers, yesterday, and air force officers, today.
Unprecedented: As Netanyahu speaks at the graduation ceremony of the Israel Air Force pilots‘ course, family members stand and turn their backs to him, showing him the „No Dictatorship“ emblazoned on the backs of their t-shirts.
Amid New Momentum, Israeli Protest Leaders Call for Demonstrations at Int‘l Airport as More Reservists Threaten No-shows
The announcement came as reservists from the Israel Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit said they would stop volunteering for duty, citing “the anti-democratic regime coup” being advanced by the coalition.
They joined reservists from other Israel Defense Forces units, including the 8200 Intelligence Unit, the Medical Corps, operational units and cyberwarfare units, who said a day earlier that they would stop volunteering.
*מחר בשעה 9:00 בבוקר הפגנה מול בית משפט השלום בירושלים* למען שלושת העצורים שעדיין במעצר בעקבות שנעצרו בעקבות החסימה היום. בואו לעמוד איתנו. גאות בפעולות תמיד והיום במיוחד. מול משטרה אלימה ופאשיסטים חסרי בושה הצלחנו להציב אלטרנטיבה למצעד הגזעני והאלים.
(15 hours ago)
Every year on „Jerusalem day“ droves of fascists flock the city and fill it with violence and hate. This year we blocked them from entering the city, keeping the main entrance from West Bank settlements closed for over an hour. @freejerusalem1
Hundreds of IDF Reservists Warn System Will Collapse if Negotiations With Opposition Do Not Progress
„The heads of the defense establishment tell you in the most classified rooms that if you insist on passing the legislation in a hurry and sharply – at that moment, the contract of tens of thousands of reservists with the Israeli government will be broken to pieces,“ the letter stated.
„And then, as we heard from a variety of sources, many active permanent personnel will also start breaking contracts,“ they continued.