Tulane and Loyola students took to the street to launch the first of what is to become a weekly pro-Palestinian protest. They were met with opposition, as pro-Israeli counter protesters formed on the opposite side of the street, emulating a physical and symbolic divide.
Tulane 4 Palestine, along with Jewish Voice for Peace NOLA, Tulane LAGO, Abolish TUPD, Students Organizing Against Racism, Tulane Arabic Language Club, and the Muslim Student Association organized protest that took place on Freret Street and McAlister Dr. in Uptown New Orleans at 12:30 p.m., on Thursday October 26.
Pro-Palestinian protestors began with chants of “free Palestine”, “never again for anyone” and “cease fire now”.
Counter protesters held up images of those who had been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, while chanting “bring them home.”
“I am fighting for my people who have been facing 75 years of genocide, 75 years of ethnic cleansing, and 75 years of killing innocent people for literally living on land.” Said Lana Alsghai, a Palestinian Tulane undergrad.
This protest was a response to the current escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented attack against Israel in which they killed more than 1400 people and took almost 230 hostages on Oct. 7. In response, Israeli military officials have promised to level Gaza and have killed over 7,000 people – many of whom Israel vows are terrorists. But left in between this conflict and vulnerable to the onslaught of heavy artillery fire and missile strikes are more than 2 million civilians. A report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs assesses that one third of all fatalities in Gaza are children. This has sparked global protests for a cease fire – which Israel has said it will not agree to – and humanitarian aid for those in Gaza. The protest outside Loyola and Tulane was also part of a greater long going issue against Israel encroaching on Palestinian land since World War II.
“Just because we’re Muslim does not mean it’s okay for us to die.” Said Dima Ahmad, a first generation Palestinian and student at Loyola.
Cecilia, a Tulane student and member of Tulane 4 Palestine, highlighted the importance of differentiating anti-Zionism from antisemitism, and denied the accusations of being the latter.
Alyse, a Tulane counter-protestor said that the “Palestinians should be free from Hamas.”
Yael Acker-Krzywicki, a Jewish descendant of holocaust survivors said, “I find it absolutely abhorrent that the settler colonial state of Israel has the audacity to manipulate and use the grief and trauma that Jewish people have in order to continue this violent occupation.”
The peaceful protest turned hostile as violence erupted down the middle of Freret street.
Pro-Palestinian protesters drove down the street in a pickup truck waving the Palestinian flag, when stopped at a red light began trying to burn the Israeli flag.
After the flag was removed from his hand by a pro-Israeli counter protestor, a punch was thrown by a counter-protestor.
The pro-Palestine protestor who punched back was promptly arrested, and the street was closed off. One other individual was arrested with more expected to come in the next few days.
Amidst the heightened tensions following the outburst, both sides became angry, police presence increased, and counter protesters began to threaten pro-Palestine protesters with statements such as “I’ll kill you all.”
Tulane 4 Palestine will host more protests to ensure their Muslim, Jewish, and anti-Israel students continue to feel safe on campus, and to further the fight for the Palestinian people, according to Cecilia.
BB • Mar 18, 2024 at 1:05 pm
Disclosure- the reporter is a relative and I am proud of her. The piece shows great effort to avoid bias and to report what happened factually. In response to other comments on here, the events of October 7 were horrifying and Israel is right to seek justice from the perpetrators (how far that goes is debatable). That said, as we are in the US, the most important thing is that our public spaces and our university campuses be places for open and safe debate. The line is violence. I saw the video of this incident and the pro Israel protester had no business trying to stop the pro Palestinian protestor from burning the Israli flag. Folks, there is no right to not be offended in a society that values open and free discoure. There is only a right to respect others’ right to say whatever they want, and then use our own constitutionally protected right to free speech to counter whatever we disagree with. Great work Eloise!
V • Oct 30, 2023 at 10:14 pm
Much has been said in the Loyola maroon on cultural sensitivity and feeling safe on campus in the 15 years since I graduated.
How safe do Jewish students and faculty feel on our campus now? How safe do our literal neighbors at Temple Sinai synagogue feel with radicalized pro-Hamas students next door? This is absolutely disgusting.
And yes a “Pro-Palestine rally” that doesn’t have a single sign denouncing hamas and several signs calling for antifada and “river to the sea” is a pro-Hamas rally.
TJB • Oct 31, 2023 at 5:54 pm
I agree with the above writer. I am an alumnus, class of 1988, I was a Religious Studies and Communications double major. I am hoping for the administration to quickly and vociferously divorce itself from students and, perhaps, faculty that stoke anti-semitism. There should be common ground among all good people of every religion with a clear, unambiguous, voice in denouncing Hamas and Hezbollah.
David J. Cortes • Nov 3, 2023 at 7:16 am
Absolutely correct. I attended a pro-Palestine rally in Roanoke, Va., a few says ago. The usual suspects. I asked one of the Palestinian supporters why there was no hint of outrage at the October 7 massacre. “We’re not here to discuss that,” she said. Well, obviously they don’t want to discuss that. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a Jew right now. There must be something like the fear that gripped German Jews in the years leading up to WWII. And it’s here in the U.S.! Wake up people; these Hamas supporters are just itching for another holocaust. What kind of idiotic policy-makers allowed them here in the first place?
PR • Nov 13, 2023 at 12:02 pm
V, agreed. I think these are less “pro-Palestine, and more “I hate Jews/pro-Hamas.”
Loyola has lost its way.