I Went to New York University’s Anti-Israel Protests. Here’s What I Saw.
Jarrett Stepman /
NEW YORK CITY—“There is only one solution: Intifada revolution!”
That was one of many chants and slogans yelled into a bullhorn at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington Square Park in New York City on Tuesday. It’s one of many pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests that have taken place on or near college campuses since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The protests formed after a pro-Palestinian encampment at New York University that included faculty and students was cleared out by the New York Police Department on Monday night.
Here are pictures from the event, which I observed for several hours.
The protesters yelled at anyone standing in the crowd with a camera and told people they identified as media to “get to the back.” They also yelled chants making clear that “Zionists” were not welcome.
Other chants included “U.S. imperialist, No. 1 terrorist.”
The protesters frequently shouted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Typically, the river that refers to is the Jordan River and the sea is the Mediterranean, though the protesters did not name them specifically.
Another common refrain was that “resistance is justified,” and several signs, which appeared to be all printed together and distributed to the crowd, read “Resist colonial power by any means necessary.”
Several other signs read “Zionist donors and trustees, hands off our universities.”
Many printed and handmade signs demanded that NYU “divest” from Israel. That’s a movement on college campuses and elsewhere that demands institutions and companies divest their financial support from anything attached to Israel.
One sign said that all walls, “from Gaza to Mexico,” need to be taken down.
