Protests in Italy in solidarity with the Gaza aid flotilla stopped by Israel continue unabated on Saturday, with large crowds gathering for a fresh demonstration in Rome.
The organizers spoke of several hundred thousand participants, but there are no official figures from the authorities.
Since the Israeli Navy stopped the Gaza flotilla, there have been protests in Italy on an almost daily basis.
People carrying banners and Palestinian flags took part in a march from Porta San Paolo to Porta San Giovanni, passing by the Colosseum. They shouted ‘Free Palestine’ and other slogans.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that flags of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia were also waved during the march.
According to the report, some demonstrators also carried a banner with the slogan: “October 7 – Day of Palestinian Resistance.”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other extremists carried out an unprecedented massacre in southern Israel, leaving around 1,200 people dead.
On Friday, trade unions called for a general strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest aid flotilla for Gaza to date.
Nationwide demonstrations attracted more than 2 million people, according to organizers. However, the Interior Ministry estimated the number of participants at just under 400,000.
The Israeli Navy intercepted the flotilla with more than 400 crew members from dozens of countries, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, and took them into custody,
According to the activists, they wanted to bring aid supplies to Gaza. Israel had offered to bring the aid supplies ashore via harbours outside Gaza and from there to the Palestinian coastal area. Activists rejected this saying they believe Israel’s Gaza blockade is illegal under international law.
People take part in a national demonstration called by movements associations and unions for Palestine and the Global Sumud Flotilla. Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
The noise — unsettling and dissonant — has been a constant inside the barricaded pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
Soon after protesters, most of them students at the Westwood campus, pitched tents on Dickson Court on April 25, pro-Israel counterdemonstrators showed up with megaphones. Some shouted racist, homophobic and anti-Islamic slurs, according to campers interviewed.
They set up a giant video screen near the camp that played and replayed videos of Hamas militants. They broadcast a running torrent of loud, disturbing sounds over a stereo — an eagle screeching, a child crying — and blasted a Hebrew rendition of the song “Baby Shark” on repeat, late at night, so that campers could not sleep.
They returned night after night.
A woman kneels in prayer before a line of CHP officers at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles)
Inside the encampment, pro-Palestinian protesters, who occupied scores of tents on the grassy expanse, said they tried to maintain a tranquil space during the daylight hours when they felt some sense of control. They led Islamic prayers, observed Shabbat and hosted grief circles that included breath work and trauma therapy.
“It’s still an emotional, heavy space, but it’s also a very open, welcoming and loving space,” said Marie, a 28-year-old graduate student who, like many protesters interviewed, declined to provide her full name because she feared for her safety, physically and online. “Unfortunately, we experience the harassment and the terrorizing at night, which can be really upsetting.”
On Tuesday night, Dickson Court exploded into savagery and chaos. A large, mostly male crowd of masked counterdemonstrators tried to break into the encampment, ripping down wood and metal barriers, spraying bear mace, igniting stink bombs and tossing fireworks near the camp perimeter — and in at least one case inside the camp.
They aimed their green lasers at camper’s faces, prompting shouts of, “Shield your eyes!”
“They attacked us from physical and psychological fronts,” said Mona, a third-year student who also declined to provide her last name. “The outside aggressors have been working hard to create a harsh environment and make us feel unsafe.”
A pro-Palestinian protester, second from right, is assaulted by pro-Israel counterdemonstrators at a UCLA encampment.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
After Tuesday’s late-night melee — and a slow campus response that a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called “unacceptable” — the encampment remained. And the pro-Palestinian protesters, who are demanding divestment from Israel and an end to the country’s military actions in Gaza, were defiant.
Kaia Shah, 23, a postgraduate researcher who has acted as a spokesperson for the encampment, said demonstrators got notice Tuesday from a university liaison that the encampment was unlawful and that students who continued to occupy the space could face suspension or expulsion.
Nonetheless, she said, “We plan on staying here until we get UCLA to divest.”
Shah described the scene Tuesday night as “violent and terrifying chaos,” and said her throat burned from inhaling all the mace in the air. She and another female demonstrator said some of the counterprotesters threatened to sexually assault women inside the encampment.
Shah said that, at one point, she saw police cars — it was unclear from which agency — pull up, turn around in a circle and leave. “The cops came and left as we were getting violently attacked by the Zionists,” she said.
Dueling chants rang out.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA huddle behind a makeshift barricade under attack by pro-Israel counterdemonstrators.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
From inside the camp, they shouted: “Free, free Palestine!” and “Hold the line for Palestine!”
Outside, some counterdemonstrators screamed: “Second Nakba!” referring to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Others chanted: “USA! USA!”
As the violence unfolded, Citlali, a 25-year-old from Santa Ana who works for the organization Youth Organize! California and declined to provide her last name, said she frantically texted her younger brother, a student who was inside the encampment.
“Hey can you answer? Are you okay?? It’s okay to retreat,” she texted.
She said her brother was sprayed with bear mace and left the encampment Wednesday morning to wash up in his dorm room. “It’s gut-wrenching,” Citlali said. “I couldn’t sleep until 4 a.m. when he texted me that he was OK.”
After sunrise Wednesday, the UCLA chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a list of their needs at the encampment: gas masks, skater helmets, shields, “super bright flashlights with strobe,” EpiPens, inhalers, hot lunches, gluten-free food.
Campus security teams, faculty members and California Highway Patrol officers guarded entrances to the encampment Wednesday morning.
Hannah Appel, an assistant professor of anthropology, stood at one entrance, where people dropped off medical supplies, face masks and water bottles. Only students with wrist bands indicating they were previously in the encampment and those who had someone on the inside vouching for them were allowed to enter, Appel said.
“Because of the escalated violence last night, we have to be very vigilant and careful about who can come in and out,” Appel said, before stepping aside to let a student squeeze through the barricades.
Vanessa Muros, an archaeology researcher at UCLA, showed up outside the encampment with finger cymbals, maracas and a tambourine. She said a call was sent out to students and faculty who participated in a band during a 2022 UC academic workers’ strike. The musicians were asked to help boost morale at the encampment.
“Apparently morale is low in there, and playing music or just making noise will help rally people together,” she said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with pro-Israel counterdemonstrators at a UCLA encampment.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Muros has worked at UCLA for 19 years and said she has never seen such mayhem on campus. “It’s upsetting, and I feel like the administration will blame the chaos on the students who have been peacefully protesting,” she said.
Renee Tajima-Peña, a senior faculty member, stood in a line outside Royce Hall to make a donation for the protesters: solar phone chargers, a poncho, some respirators.
“The story has been that all these students are irresponsible or causing problems,” she said. “I teach here and this encampment has been beautiful.”
A growing coalition of University of Michigan faculty members has united to confront what they see as the university administration’s inadequacies in crisis response concerning the challenges faced by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and staff within the campus community. This collective action follows “biased” statements from the administration over the past five months, coupled with numerous appeals for action from members of the pro-Palestinian community, which have yielded minimal results.
On Oct. 10, 2023, U-M’s President Santa Ono released a “statement regarding Mideast violence” following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens. In the statement, which Ono began with “violence is never the answer,” he expressed that he reached out to universities in Israel to express his concern for students, with zero mention of Gaza or Palestine or the Palestinian lives lost at the hands of Israel.
Since then, the university administration has been criticized for its lack of response to issues affecting Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities within the university and its failure to protect pro-Palestinan students and staff from hate and violent threats.
After more than five months now of ongoing violence in Gaza, Ono has barely expressed concern for the over 32,000 Palestinian lives lost. Another statement on Dec. 5 regarding “ongoing campus tensions” disallowed voting on two “controversial and divisive” Central Student Government resolutions related to the conflict.
On Sunday, U-M’s Honors Convocation was disrupted by student activists calling for the university to divest funds in Israel. Many were angered at the protest, although it didn’t begin until the end of the ceremony after all student awards were given out.
Following the recent event, the university proposed a policy on Wednesday that states “no one has the right to infringe on the exercise of others’ speech and activities by disrupting the normal celebrations, activities, and operations of the University.” Feedback on the proposal is currently being accepted from Ann Arbor campus students, faculty, and staff members until April 3.
Also on Wednesday, U-M faculty members released a report, the 2024 Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim U-M Communities’ Survey, which highlights key concerns about the university’s response to the conflict including one-sided communications, discrimination, and a demand for action.
“Institutional behavior has been one-sided and unequal, fostering an environment where anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab sentiments are normalized, while structural Islamophobia is allowed to proliferate unchecked,” the report states. “Among the thousands of U-M’s Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian community members, there exists a pervasive sentiment of being neglected and endangered by an institution that appears indifferent to their fundamental rights to a secure and dignified working and learning environment.”
In the survey, 90% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the university’s communications regarding Gaza, and 89% deemed the university’s efforts to combat Islamophobia as inadequate.
Of the 308 respondents who represent faculty and staff, 50% have contemplated leaving the university due to its treatment or messaging regarding Palestinians.
The survey was conducted online from March 17-21 and represents U-M students, alumni, faculty and staff, and parents and community members among the university’s anti-Islamophobia and pro-Palestinian communities.
Overall, 78% of respondents desire a structured U-M Strategy to combat Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.
The faculty coalition is calling on the university administration to conduct formal assessments that engage with the needs and priorities of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim constituents. Emphasizing the importance of fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of the university community, they urge the administration to take tangible steps toward addressing these pressing issues.
Many of the surveyed faculty and staff left additional written feedback on the survey. Here are some of their responses:
“Ono’s first statement about Oct 7 highlighted the UM connections to Israeli universities. Now that Israel has destroyed all universities in Gaza and murdered dozens of academics and hundreds of students, not a peep and a clear example of bias.”
“I was told by my department that I could not wear a bracelet that is simply the colors and shapes of the Palestinian flag at work in late October or early November because ‘I had to stay neutral’ as I have been watching a genocide unfold live/nearly live on my phone each evening. I complied but was hurt and frustrated that I was hired partly for my human rights background but I could not show my solidarity with an oppressed people under attack.”
“They feel disillusioned by the University, feel ashamed of the University, and distrustful of authority. They feel that what they are being taught about social justice is a lie. As a Jew, I feel the University’s attempts to combat antisemitism are disingenuous and racist. They send a clear message that the University prioritizes feelings of comfort among predominantly white Jewish students over the safety of Palestinian and Muslim students. Antisemitism is very real and dangerous — but it is separate from Zionism and the University makes no attempt to separate them. False claims of antisemitism when students make legitimate critiques of Israel policy make all Jews less safe.”
“At work I am afraid to mention Palestine, due to fear of backlash. I’m considering a PhD, but cannot justify pursuing a degree here again, despite being an alum. If UM does not divest I truly believe they will be remembered as being on the wrong side of history and complicit in genocide.”
“I am no longer proud to work for UMich, having seen the aggressive and militant response of university admin/police to students advocating for transparency/divestment of funds given to Israel. I have applied and been admitted to a PhD program at UMich, but morally I am having a hard time with signing on to represent and affiliate myself with the university. I love my job and I love the field I work in, and I used to love UMich, but I feel sick knowing that my work supports a university that funds the horror in Gaza. If I do not attend UMich next fall, it will be because of this.”
More than 30 southeast Michigan officials including Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud have pledged to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary election on Feb. 27.
The officials signed a letter on Feb. 6 following the campaign announcement by Listen to Michigan urging Michiganders to “Vote Uncommitted” in order to send a message to President Joe Biden on his handling of the war in Gaza.
“We must hold our president accountable and ensure that we, the American taxpayers, are no longer forced to be accomplices in a genocide that is backed and funded by the United States government,” Listen to Michigan said in a statement.
The action is a result of Biden and his administration failing to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire more than four months after Israel launched its military campaign in response to the Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The conflict has resulted in the loss of more than 30,000 lives and the displacement of over 2 million people in Gaza.
Today, I’m joining 30+ of my elected colleagues from across SE Michigan in pledging to cast an “Uncommitted” vote in the upcoming presidential primary election. pic.twitter.com/ltmhihOF2A
“Our government has failed to act in the best interests of the lives of innocent men, women, and children, and worse yet, have suggested that there is an exception to the rule when it comes to Palestinian lives,” Mayor Hammoud stated. “This matter has a direct impact on our Dearborn community, and more importantly, on each of us as human beings. We intend to make our voices heard in the presidential primary.”
This week, President Biden’s senior officials plan to meet with Arab and Muslim American communities in Michigan to discuss policy surrounding the conflict, reported The Detroit News. This was supposed to happen weeks ago, but many leaders, including Mayor Hammoud, refused to attend out of protest.
Many Muslim activists in metro Detroit have been pledging to “Abandon Biden” for months, but Listen to Michigan hopes the campaign pushes the president to shift policy. The coalition believes that Biden is not listening to what his voters want, and must earn the vote of Democrats through a dramatic change. And, according to recent surveys, most Detroit-area voters support a permanent ceasefire.
In the Michigan Democratic primary, there are five options: Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, “Uncommitted,” and a blank line for write-ins. The Listen to Michigan campaign is urging voters to select “Uncommitted” in the election.
A Corona Del Mar Middle and High School student was suspended this week for remarks made to another student that included the words “Free Palestine,” according to school officials and social media posts.
Annette Franco, a spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, confirmed that the student was suspended but declined to provide any details. She emphasized in an email to the Times that students are not disciplined for exercising their right to free speech.
“While we cannot share specifics of the situation, due to student privacy, we assure you that appropriate action was taken based on the facts of what occurred,” she wrote in a statement. “We value students freedom of speech, but we will not tolerate hateful speech in our schools, especially not hate speech that incites others to engage in this negative behavior.”
The incident comes about a month after swastikas were tagged on the locker of a Jewish student, and after Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, sparking an ongoing war that has left 1,200 Israelis and 11,000 Palestinians dead. Authorities are investigating the swastika incident as a hate crime.
The family of the student in the recent incident could not be reached for comment Saturday. But a woman identifying herself as Zeina on Instagram claimed she was the student’s aunt. In her post, she provided details about the incident with a photo of the suspension letter written by Jacob Haley, the principal at Corona Del Mar Middle and High School.
In the suspension letter, the student is accused of violating two education codes that prohibits students from harassing and threatening other students. The letter read: “The incident that caused this suspension follows: [the student] said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said ‘Free Palestine’.”
The student, whom The Times is not naming because he is a minor, was suspended for three days.
In the Instagram post, the woman claimed her 13-year-old nephew had been called a “terrorist” by the female student and that her nephew responded by repeatedly saying, “Free Palestine”.
The woman claimed it wasn’t the first time her nephew had been harassed at school.
“Two weeks ago [he] was threatened with hate and racism comments by two Israeli students,” she wrote in her post. “The Israeli students told him go back to your country which is [Palestine] and started laughing, saying oh too bad you don’t have a country it’s getting bombed.”
The woman said her sister reported it to the principal who told her he would speak to the two boys and that neither of them got suspended. In the same social media post, the woman also took video and photos of a book on Israel that was sitting on the principal’s desk, accusing him of being biased.
Franco, the spokeswoman for the district, did not know if the two students in the most recent incident were suspended.
A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly attempting to break into a Studio City home and reportedly threatening the Jewish occupants — an incident authorities say is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The home invasion was reported around 5 a.m. in the 3000 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The suspect, identified only as a man in his 30s, is accused of entering the home’s backyard and trying to kick in a door; he was held at bay by an occupant who then contacted the police.
KTTV-TV Channel 11 reported that the person who called police said the suspect had “threatened to kill them because they were Israeli,” and that the home’s occupants were Jewish.
Footage captured by the television station showed the suspect yelling, “Free Palestine” several times after being placed into the back of an LAPD vehicle.
In additional footage taken by a neighbor, the man can be heard yelling incoherent responses to police and stating that he was not armed.
LAPD officials said the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it a “vile act of hate.”
“In the wake of the terror and violence inflicted over the previous weeks, this is one of the worst fears of Jewish families across our country — hatred spilling across the threshold, destroying the sense of safety and sanctuary in a home,” Bass said. “We remain steadfast in support of the Jewish people. The people of Los Angeles will not cower to hate.”
Bass said the LAPD would continue to conduct increased patrols and called on officials “to take action to ensure the person responsible for this heinous act is held fully accountable.”
