Demand ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza
Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Pittsburgh recently hosted a “die-in” protest in demand of a ceasefire in Israel, the fifth demonstration this month.
The Oct. 25 protest took place at the Cathedral of Learning, a high traffic area on campus, with a few dozen students and community members in attendance.
SJP leaders blamed President Joe Biden for allowing the conflict to continue.
“Biden, Biden you can’t hide, you signed off on genocide,” the crowd is heard chanting in a video taken by The College Fix.
The purpose of the protest was to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.
The widely used “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” chant was one of many chants used throughout the beginning of the protest.
Homemade signs were also seen at the event. One sign reads, “Gaza, ceasefire now.”
One of the event speakers also held up what appeared to be a homemade bloodied baby doll in reference to the hospital bombing.
Kyra Kishore, a Pitt student who was present at the protest, referred to it as “upsetting” and “disappointing.”
“It was quite disturbing seeing the representation of the bloody baby,” Kishore told The Fix. He said it was “honestly gross” that the pro-Hamas students were “using children to attempt to make their point.”
Sofia Rubin, a Jewish Pitt student who witnessed the protest, referred to it as “humorous” and “laughable.”
“There were only about 30 people there, and the attendees mostly sheepishly repeated after the person with the megaphone chanting ‘from the river to the sea Palestine will be free,’” Rubin told The Fix via social media messaging.
Rubin continued by calling out the group’s chant selection.
“This is literally a HAMAS SLOGAN. It calls for the destruction of the Jewish people and Israel,” she said.
After all speeches and chants were completed, all of the attendees participated in the “die-in” portion of the protest, which consisted of playing dead by laying on the floor to symbolize the death happening in the Gaza Strip.
The activists have had plenty of practice in the past three and a half weeks.
On October 9, a rally was held on campus following the convening of Jewish students in support of Israel.
“Holding up the Palestinian flag, the group chanted, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ and ‘Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation’s got to go,’” The Pitt News reported.
Four days later on Oct. 13, another rally of nearly 300 people was held on the Pittsburgh campus. Here, red and green smoke grenades filled the air as protestors chanted similar chants.
Then, pro-Palestinian students reconvened on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 for two more protests.
An estimated 300 protests showed up on Oct. 19, calling for “a ceasefire, return of hostages and an end to U.S. aid to the Israeli military,” The Pitt News reported.
About 200 protestors attended the Oct. 20 protest, calling for the same things.
MORE: UMich students say ‘only one solution’ for Israel
IMAGE: The College Fix
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