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A small group of protesters called “Free, free Palestine” and “Death to Israel” as they trampled an Oct. 7 memorial on Wednesday at the University of New Mexico, according to videos of the incident.
Students with the university’s Turning Point USA chapter organized the display of Israeli flags “to commemorate the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks, when Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and took roughly 250 hostages,” according to TPUSA’s Frontlines.
The university confirmed that it is investigating in a statement Friday to The College Fix.
“The University of New Mexico has received the complaint regarding reported damage to a temporary memorial and is investigating,” the university stated. “If the investigation establishes violations of university policy, UNM will take appropriate action consistent with applicable policies and procedures.
“UNM remains committed to providing a safe, healthy, and inclusive environment for all who learn, work and live on our campuses, and will provide support to those adversely impacted. UNM affirms freedom of expression and will not tolerate behavior that violates the law or University policies,” the university stated.
Lawrence Puccini, a junior who helped create the display, told Cleveland Jewish News that protesters destroyed it about two hours after the club set it up.
On X, Frontlines posted a video showing a small group trampling on and kicking the flags. Shouts of “Free, free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea” also can be heard.
In a second video published by Campus Reform, another protester could be heard saying “Death to Israel.”
Protesters also allegedly burned a shirt and hat that they took from the conservative group’s table, Campus Reform reports:
Staff from Leadership Institute (LI), the parent organization of Campus Reform, supported UNM students organize and display the vigil. Students then reportedly swiped LI merchandise and destroyed it.
“Last night at New Mexico during the October 7th event, a student stole [redacted]’s LI Polo and hat from her bag and later she found students burning the hat and shirt on social media,” a source told Campus Reform after providing an image of engulfed clothing items.
Puccini told Cleveland Jewish News that students also stole and tore up one of their signs.
“Before I started recording, they literally spit on our memorial. Multiple people, not just one, spit at the memorial,” he said.
He reported the incident to campus police, according to the report.
The past week brought another bout of hostility toward Jewish and pro-Israel students on campuses across the country.
At the University of Oregon, pro-Palestinian protesters praised the Oct. 7 terrorists and demanded that the Jewish student group Hillel be removed from campus, The Fix reported.
And at Northwestern University, alarms disrupted a play recounting first-hand testimonies of the 2023 attack. The audience included two relatives of a hostage whom Hamas kidnapped and later murdered, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Editor’s note: The article was updated to include a statement from the university.
MORE: Swarthmore Students for Justice in Palestine posts video of Israeli soldier effigy being set on fire
