Arlington TX: Students protest Israeli bombing of Jabalia refugee camp
Arlington, TX – On November 8, almost a dozen University of Texas at Arlington students gathered in the mall in front of the University Center to protest the Israeli bombing of Jabalia Camp, one of the largest refugee camps in Gaza.
Organizers of the action were denied a request for amplified sound, a request that was sent in accordance with university norms, five days in advance. The university likewise deployed six university police officers and administrators, who surrounding the group. Participants were warned beforehand that they would be watched, and that they would have to change locations if asked.
Protesters persisted, raising their voices to give speeches condemning the U.S. government’s provision of arms and funding to the Israeli regime. Participants’ chants included “From Palestine to México, border walls have got to go!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
One participant highlighted the readiness with which university President Jennifer Evans Cowley had publicly extended her support for Ukraine and its people following the outbreak of its war with Russia last year. On the scene, when asked by a student organizer if she stands in support of Palestinians in their ongoing resistance to occupation and genocide, she said that it was not in her capacity as a “public official” to offer her opinion.