In the wake of the injustices Palestinians suffer and have suffered for the past decades, students of UCLA advocating for Palestine’s liberation arranged a series of walkouts recently, beginning on Thursday, October 12th, and led primarily by Students for Justice in Palestine. Students walked from Bruin Plaza up BruinWalk, Janss Steps, all the way to Dickson Court and beyond, chanting “Free, free, free Palestine!” Present at the walkout were those standing in solidarity with Palestinians, those wishing to show support for both sides, as well as students who carried Israeli flags, calling in protest of the walkout.
A few days earlier, on October 7th, Hamas executed attacks in Israel, killing over 1,400 Israelis, injuring thousands more, and capturing approximately 200 hostages. In response, Israel initiated an unending series of attacks on Gaza and, as of October 26th, over 8,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. About half of this figure consists of children. Gaza has also been placed under a blockade by Israel – inhibiting their access to food, water, fuel, electricity, medical supplies, and other necessities. In tandem with the increase in military raids, campaigns of mass arrest, and settler attacks, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has concurrently risen – by October 30th, 120 Palestinians were killed and over 1,000 were injured in the aftermath of the Hamas attack.
Contrary to what has been implied by the media, violence did not commence with Gaza’s attacks. This year, Palestine has seen more violence than has been characteristic of most of the past decade. Before September, around 247 Palestinians – including 47 children – were killed by Israelis and Israeli settlers launched over 800 attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property. Over 1,100 Palestinians were forcibly removed from their homes.
The blockade too is not a novel addition to the injustice. Citizens of Gaza have been subjected to an Israeli-imposed blockade that has grievously restricted trade, travel, and everyday life for over two million people for over 16 years. The condition of Gaza is a testament to the crippling effects of the blockade. Over half of the population is unemployed, hospitals lack up to 40% of the supplies and medicine they need, the survival of 80% of the population is dependent upon international assistance, almost 96% of Gaza’s water is not safe for consumption, and electricity is only available sporadically.
What’s alarming isn’t the Israeli supporters present at UCLA’s walkout for Palestine; it’s the deceptive tendency to antagonize or blatantly misrepresent what the movement stands for. A flurry of social media posts in response to the walkouts incorrectly claimed that protestors chanted “We want Jewish genocide” – in stark contrast to the actual chant: “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”
Hillel at UCLA, an on-campus organization supporting Jewish students, reported that they have been inundated with phone calls and emails claiming hateful rhetoric is being chanted at the walkouts. While the organization clarified that the protestors did not chant for Jewish genocide, Hillel still condemned the notion of Israel conducting genocide as “equally unacceptable” “anti-Jewish messages.” Hillel went on to proclaim SJP’s walkouts in a subsequent statement as promoting a “victimhood agenda” that “blames Israeli victims for their fate.”
Even in correcting the record, some advocates for the state of Israel cannot help but belittle the pro-Palestinian cause and what it stands for. To even stoop to that level of commentary is outright despicable. Holding the Israeli government accountable for its war crimes against humanity is not anti-Jewish. Being anti-Zionist is not antisemitic. And what’s more, the Students for Justice in Palestine are not pedaling a “victimhood agenda.” They are expressing solidarity with families whose livelihoods have been uprooted and forcibly evicted for the last 75 years. They are not blaming the hostages for the countless deaths of Palestinian children, and to claim otherwise is a disingenuous misrepresentation of the cause. And what’s worse, not even a bit of lip service is given to the lives lost in Gaza in those statements. No remorse or empathy whatsoever. Was that in their fate too?
That Palestinian allies are forced to remind each other to cover their faces during demonstrations, remain careful when walking alone at night, and steer clear of Israel’s supporters as they orchestrate a list of people they label as targets – consisting of people that lead walkouts such as this one – is a testament to the injustice Palestinians face not only in the violence they face every day, but the ignorance of people around the world in choosing to side with Israel while ignoring every rank violation of international law they have committed and continue to commit in Palestine. Such recurrent phenomena bring to light questions in need of answers.
Why do pro-Palestinians have to prove their innocence in expressing their disdain for reckless loss of life and genocidal tactics at the hands of an apartheid state? Why do the oppressed – the ones stripped of their homes, families, and humanity – have to earn the right to sympathy? Why should mere semantics pick apart a call for justice and freedom? And at what point is the death toll of innocent children and families in Palestine no longer considered “collateral damage?”
Support is not neutrality, and while Islam is not a proponent of violence, it does not advocate for injustice either. Amidst the war that occurs on the other side of the world, it is the responsibility of anyone with an ounce of humanity to stand unapologetically in solidarity with Palestine, and an obligation to support its people through any medium possible: to pray, to enlighten, to advocate, and to speak amidst the ignorance that permeates society and the silence so often left in its wake.