Following a trend around the country, about 40 pro-Palestinian student protesters set up an encampment on the Diag Monday on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
The Michigan Daily, the student newspaper, reports that a passerby could see Palestinian flags and signs asking the school to divest its financial interests with companies linked to Israel.
The protest was organized by the TAHRIR Coalition, a multicultural coalition of more than 80 pro-Palestine student organizations, including Students Allied For Freedom and Equality and the U-M chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
The encampment is but one of many around the country at universities, some which have resulted in mass arrests. The protests began surfacing around the country after Hamas on Oct. 7 attacked Israel and killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200.
Since then, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities. That number does not distinguish between ciitzens and Hamas fighters.
Some Jewish students around the country have complained that they've been harassed by protestors and don't feel safe on their campuses. Columbia University went as far as to order hybrid classes for the remainder of the semester. That came after a rabbi told students to avoid classes out of safety concerns.
UM student Shreya Chowdhary told the publication:
“This encampment is a statement to the University that we will not move until they divest, that we will not allow our endowment to fund the genocide … and it is also an act of solidarity with other student organizers across the country."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement.
“We are dismayed to see anti-Israel protests at colleges and universities like this one at the University of Michigan, using terms like Intifada, which refers to two periods of indiscriminate violence directed at Jews in Israel. All students deserve to prepare and take finals without being subjected hateful rhetoric. We call on U-M officials to enforce policies and ensure that inflammatory protests do not interfere with students’ academic experience.”
