EVANSTON, Il. — Pro-Palestinian activists gathered around 1 p.m. Monday to rally in support of a “free Palestine” on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Around 100 students gathered near The Rock, a popular place on campus to display political views.
Activists called the event and walkout from classes “1 Year of Genocide: For Gaza We Rise,” according to a poster seen by The College Fix. It appears to have been organized, or is at least affiliated with, the Northwestern University Divestment Coalition.
There were security guards and university staff stationed at the Rock prior to its start. None of the attendees approached by The Fix would provide comment, and organizers appeared to push other journalists present to the side.
The event started with the event leaders handing out surgical masks to the pro-Palestinian attendee. One protester stood at the Rock’s edge with a megaphone and announced to the crowd that it has now been one year of “genocidal escalation by the Zionist occupation.”
“Palestinians are still being murdered… Lebanese, Syrians, and Yemenis are being targeted in murder,” she said.
Pro-Israel students held up flags at the protest. Other activists opposed not just the “occupation” of Palestine, but also Hawaii.
The rally attendees also demanded Northwestern and the federal government “stop funding genocide.” They brought up the encampment last year that fought for “Palestinian liberation,” and they are trying to mobilize an even larger movement on this anniversary of October 7 to “free Palestine.”
Last year, students set up a tent city for weeks. They cleared out after Northwestern agreed to offer special scholarships and hiring opportunities to Palestinians. However, when questioned by Congress, President Michael Schill said the agreement was nothing new and was an extension of pre-existing programs, as previously reported by The Fix.
The group also planned to rally for “complete disclosure and divestment and the end of all genocidal partnership.”
Northwestern University announced soon after the event that students could face punishments for violating new demonstration policies, according to the campus newspaper.
“Northwestern has already begun an investigation to determine the identities of those who violated policies,” spokesman Jon Yates told The Daily Northwestern. “As the individuals are identified, they will receive disciplinary notification from the University.”
Some students gathered at the side of the rally holding Israel flags and countering the pro-Palestinian rhetoric.
One student told The Fix “it is disrespectful for people to be protesting on October 7, when a year ago, massacres had taken place.”
Another pro-Israel student commented that he hopes the University steps up and shuts down the demonstration again, as they tried to last year.
The pro-Israel student, speaking for his group, said that regardless of how the university responds, his peers will be there to support their cause.
The rally coincided with other pro-Palestinian events at Chicagoland universities on the anniversary of the terrorist attack against Israel. Students for Justice in Palestine chapters planned to celebrate the “martyrs” of the war in the Middle East, as The Fix reported.
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IMAGE: Jeanine Yuen for The College Fix
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