Salt Lake City, UT- On September 10, dozens of students gathered at the University of Utah to protest the university’s study abroad program with Israel and demand divestment. Utah Students for a Democratic Society called the demonstration, which took place outside the university’s Fall Learning Abroad Fair. Protesters chanted, held signs and banners, and displayed a Palestinian flag.

The University of Utah remains tied to the University of Haifa, which houses three Israeli military colleges and has reportedly barred Palestinian and Arab students from participating in the student council. Speakers criticized the University of Utah’s relationship with an institution responsible for training a genocidal army and actively practicing apartheid.

“As fall semester commences on higher education campuses around the world, Israel has destroyed every single university in Gaza, leaving 600,000 Palestinian students unable to return to school this fall,” said Polly Redd of Utah SDS. “As American students, we must stand in solidarity with Palestine and demand that our universities cut ties with Israel.”

Speakers also called attention to the repression faced by the Palestinian and student movements in Utah and called for solidarity. Demonstrators chanted “From Salt Lake to Tampa Bay, student speech is here to stay!” in reference to the successful Tampa 5 defense campaign led by National SDS in defense of the right to organize on campus.

The demonstration concluded with a call-in to the Utah Learning Abroad Office and demanded an end to the affiliation with Israel. You can participate in the call-in campaign by calling the University of Utah’s Learning Abroad Office at 801-581-5849.

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