Students for Justice in Palestine held a demonstration at the Rock on Wednesday to protest and spread awareness about recent escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the event's Facebook page, organizers called this a "critical moment [with] over 30 reported Palestinian deaths, thousands of Palestinian injuries and dozens of videos revealing the extrajudicial murders of Palestinian youth by Israeli security forces."
The students acted out a video that surfaced yesterday of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Saleh Manasra. In the video, the 13-year-old boy was bleeding and struggling for help. This incident follows many weeks of conflict.
"This 14-year-old was shot and is now in critical condition, and his brother died, so he's now struggling to stay alive [sic]," said Weinberg freshman Maryam Salem. "Israeli soldiers stood around doing nothing, and Israeli illegal settlers yelled, 'Die, son of a bitch, die' in Arabic."Salem joined SJP as soon as she got to campus, and said she took part in the demonstration to spread awareness.
"Palestinian citizens have been tortured by the Israeli Defense Fund in the last two weeks, and 30 were killed this month," Salem said. "We recognize Israeli deaths too, but this is to commemorate that the lives of Palestinians lost are under an oppresive regime."
Weinberg sophomore Inbal Hirschmann observed the demonstration and voiced her frustration at the "lack of peaceful voices in the conversation."
"This is the opposite of open dialogue, and it's certainly not productive," said Hirschmann, who is organizing a event tomorrow called "Northwestern Stands with Israel."
Wildcats for Israel co-president Ross Krasner agreed, saying that he and many members of the organization found today's events "disappointing." In Wildcats for Israel's press release to NBN about the event, the organization noted recent deaths and injuries of Israelis due to the conflict.
“Wildcats for Israel has always maintains that we fight for a two-state solution, and we did not think that today’s events supported that at all," Krasner said in an interview with NBN.Marcel Hanna, co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine, was dressed as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces on the scene, while another member acted as Ahmad. "In light of escalations in the West Bank," Hanna said, "I would like to shed light on the Palestinian lives lost."
