Chicago IL – On October 25, over 400 students at the University of Illinois Chicago walked out of their classes and rallied to demand that Israel end its genocidal siege of Gaza. The protest was coordinated with dozens of campuses across the country holding actions simultaneously.

UIC’s protest was called by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Students for a Democratic Society, Anakbayan, and Dissenters.

Activists led the crowd in chants of “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!”

The rally kicked off with speeches from faculty members Nesreen Hassan and Andy Clarno. Hassan emphasized the importance of faculty supporting students organizing to support Palestinian liberation in the face of repression, stating, “Students who speak for Palestinian rights are facing a lot, you’re being vilified by the media, you’re being attacked. But everyone is standing by you, the public is standing with you.”

SJP UIC President Jenin Zayed condemned the discrimination Palestinian students face from UIC administrators. During an informational Zoom call on the university’s study abroad program in Israel Palestinian students were denied access to the call until they changed their display names to white-sounding names like Hayley and Rebecca. On another occasion members of SJP had the police called on them for flyering against a Zionist speaker, this led to police grabbing one student by her hijab. Zayed denounced the racist actions of the administration and called on the university to cut its ties with Israel.

SDSer Angel Naranjo denounced the U.S. government's support for Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestine, stating, “The mass murder of Palestinians is not an issue for Palestinians only. It’s not an issue for politicians only – and it can’t be – because many of them are also supporting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. It’s an issue for everybody.”

Naranjo continued, “We must understand that we have way more in common with the Palestinian people than we do with many of our so-called ‘elected officials.’ In fact, we share a common enemy: the corporate Democrats and the reactionary Republicans of these United States. So my message to our ‘elected’ officials is stop calling the weapons that you are supplying these racists ‘aid.’ Stand with the Palestinian people if you are truly about justice!”

Naranjo ended in a message of support for the Palestinian resistance, stating, “In SDS we say dare to struggle, dare to win! But, we don’t gotta tell the Palestinians that, because they’ve been struggling their whole lives. And they will win!”

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #SJP #Anakbayan #Dissenters