BUZZ
Activists have ‘right and moral duty’ to protest; cops ‘always responsible for any escalation and violence’
A Wednesday anti-Israel demonstration at the University of Michigan drew approximately 150 students and activists … and resulted in the arrest of three.
The rally, sponsored by the 90-group-strong “pro-Palestinian” TAHRIR Coalition, assembled outside the Rackham Graduate School to protest the appearance of two former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) members at a Students Supporting Israel event, The Michigan Daily reports.
The Daily’s Glenn Hedin and Barrett Dolata make sure to point out Israel (allegedly) has killed more than 67,000 people since the war with Hamas started two years ago, and that the United Nations classifies its actions as a “genocide.”
They do not, however, mention how the conflict began in the first place.
UM senior Fiona Dunlop (pictured), a keffiyeh-garbed sociology major “with a focus in Law, Justice, and Social Change” according to her Linkedin profile, told The Daily the IDF should really be called the “IOF” — for “Israeli Occupation Forces” — because “they’re occupying Palestine [and] creating a genocide in Palestine.”
An anonymous rally participant referred to as “John” claimed activists “faced incidents of police force at the scene.” Cops “started grabbing unarmed, non-violent protesters […] started pushing them to the ground [and] threatened to use pepper spray,” he said.
John further accused police of being “incredibly vague” about the status of those arrested, saying they “really withheld a lot of the important information that we need to ensure that our friends and community members are safe.”
According to UM Division of Public Safety and Security’s Melissa Overton, police responded after activists “blocked a parking garage and refused police orders to move.”
Overton said three non-student demonstrators “were arrested on charges including resisting and obstructing police, attempting to disarm an officer, disorderly conduct, and outstanding warrants.” One of the three had a previous felony charge.
John accused UM of having a double standard: “Student groups like SSI can invite IOF soldiers who have committed war crimes in a genocide against Palestinians without any sort of repercussions; meanwhile, campus community members and people of conscience in general are being arrested and brutalized by DPSS, by UMPD, for protesting a genocide.”
The UM group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality made it even plainer, saying in a statement pro-Palestinian activists’ actions are a “right and moral duty,” while law enforcement is “always responsible for any escalation and violence.”
TAHRIR initially posted a “call to action” on its Instagram regarding the detainees, which included a call script to use when contacting police to demand they be released (they eventually were). “These protesters had the moral strength to protest against Israeli soldiers who have taken part in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians,” the script reads.
MORE: AAUP blog says Oct. 7 attack was ‘revolt,’ antisemitism on campus a ‘lie’
MORE: Pro-Palestinian protesters rip off hundreds of flower heads at U. Michigan garden
