EAST LANSING—Michigan State University students and Lansing community members came together on Thursday, Oct. 12 outside of the Michigan State Capitol to protest American involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict and to show support for Palestinian liberation. This follows a deadly week of attacks and war waged in the middle east between Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces.
The crowd echoed phrases such as “Israel is a racist state,” and “Free, free Palestine,” as protesters carried signs baring messages including “Defund Israel, Defend Palestine,” and “This isn’t war, this is genocide.”
MSU’s Students United for Palestinian Rights and the Arab Cultural Society organized the event with members from both groups speaking to the crowd of over 100 people.
“This year has been the deadliest ever for Palestinians in Israel as Israel has routinely assaulted and bombed civilian centers, including refugee camps, schools, hospitals and religious institutions,” said Samir Levitt, President of SUPR. “This, unfortunately, represents an uptick in Israeli violence against civilians that has always been characteristic of Israel and of other colonial states like it.”
The protest also featured speeches from MSU professor Waseem El-Rayes as well as members of the MSU student body and a representative for the Greater Lansing Democratic Socialists of America.
“Israeli officials have made clear for all to see, by their words and actions, that the international law and the Geneva Convention do not apply to them,” El-Rayes said. “Meanwhile, unconditional moral and material support for Israel dominates the narrative in mainstream media and among our elected representatives.”
ACS Vice President Saba Saed centered her speech around the retaliation faced by members of her organization following their painting of the MSU rock in support of Palestinian liberation.
“Whether it’s hate speech, whether it is being labeled horrendous phrases, being called anti-Semitic for writing on the rock,” Saed said. “Their tactics will not work on us. We will continue to be here, day after day.”
“Yesterday alone, we received a lot of threats… but we won’t be scared,” she said. “They will not silence us at all. I know that us and the future generation will continue to fight until we can free Palestine.”
