While anti-Israel protests are on surge, in an act of provocative display, on Saturday, 3 students from Harvard hoisted the Palestinian flag in a sacred spot reserved for the American flag. Along with this, the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard university was seen draped in Palestinian flag as well.
A Harvard spokesperson denounced the act saying, “The flags raised by protestors over University hall were removed by Harvard facilities staff. The actions are a violation of University policy and the individuals involved will be subject to disciplinary actions.”
In a tweet by Dr Eli David, a video of the flag hoisting ceremony at the university went viral. The video displayed 3 students raising the palestinian flag with a student-crowd in the background chanting in protest, “up up with liberation….free, free, free Palestine.” The post with the video attached, read “This has nothing to do with Israel, and everything to do with toppling US and the Western civilization.” The tweet has sparked an intense debate, on the ongoing protests, online.
US 🇺🇲 flag at @Harvard removed and replaced by Palestine 🇵🇸 flag.
This has nothing to do with Israel, and everything to do with toppling US and the Western civilization.
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) April 28, 2024
A user commented, “These pro-Hamas protestors’ sole agenda is to eradicate every western value and every basic human right while establishing an Islamic Sharia law regime. They are starting with the Jews in Israel as their main objective, and will continue with the entire west. It is not a fight of Israel against Hamas – the fight is between a culture of life and a culture of death,” giving a wake up call.
The series of anti-Israel protests broke out from New York’s Columbia university, more than a week ago. The protestors have demanded schools to cut ties with Israel backed academic institutions and disinvest from Israeli linked entities. Since then, it has spread like wildfire reaching UCLA, Tufts, George- Washington university, MIT and many more resulting in hundreds getting arrested.
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Attempts to curb rising protests
While most protests have been peaceful and permitted by Universities, a few violent uproar has resulted in more than 200 arrests at schools including Washington University in St. Louis, Northeastern University in Boston and Arizona State University in Tempe.
Most arrests have occurred without much resistance. But some clashes between police and protesters have grown more intense, and there were some reports of injuries. At Emory University, for instance, police used a “chemical irritant” to disperse the crowd, arresting 28 people.
Meanwhile Harvard and Cornell have opted for less violative means of suppression. At Harvard, access to Harvard Yard was restricted to those with a university ID. It also suspended a pro-Palestinian group on account of holding an unauthorized demonstration. Similarly, Cornell suspended a group of students associated with pro-Palestinian encampment.
The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony, citing security risks. The school had arrested more than 93 protesters and canceled its plans for a graduation speech by this year’s valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a Muslim.
Situation at Gaza Strip
“Catastrophe” in Gaza, as described by the Saudi Foreign minister, hasn’t improved. Early this morning Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building on al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City, in a video captured by Al Jazeera.
The brutal offensive attack on Gaza strip since October 7, has killed more than 34,400 Palestinians and thousands have been injured. According to the UN, 85% of the enclave’s population has been pushed into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine. The Zionist regime stands accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice.
