NEW YORK—Another pro-Palestinian protest erupted at the Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus on May 1.
Students set up tents inside the campus in the morning and then got expelled by police who were attempting to block windows with protestors’ posters.
The protesters then gathered outside the campus, reciting pro-Palestinian chants and demanding the institution “divest all finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.”
A group coming from another area in New York then came to join them.
On the other side of the street, a much smaller group of people stood with Israeli flags.
Dylan, a Fordham student in the protest, explained why she was there: “I’m here because I believe that Israel can defend itself in a way that is not killing thousands and thousands of innocent civilians and children. And I think that as a university, we should, and the students who pay for this university, we should be able to control where our funds go.”
The students were given warnings of suspension if they didn’t leave in the afternoon. Some students left around that hour, but most stayed.
“I’ve attended Catholic school for the last seven years of my life and one thing I know is that Catholic social teaching definitely defends protesting and teaches that we have a right to protest and I think that is very unfortunate if they start suspending people as we are a Jesuit Catholic institution, but if that happens then so be it, I’m fine with that,” Dylan told The Epoch Times.
About five members of Neturei Karta, a Jewish Orthodox group that opposes the state of Israel, were present at the protest.
Rabbi Dovid Feldman, situated outside Fordham University, voiced support for Palestinian students and condemned Israel’s actions as genocidal and oppressive.
He argues that criticizing Israel doesn’t equate to anti-Semitism and underscores that Zionism doesn’t represent all Jews.
“We say that these accusations these false accusations, to silence them with the accusation of anti-Semitism is ridiculous because opposing the kinds of Israel has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” Rabbi Feldman told The Epoch Times.
Regarding recent violent incidents, while he condemns bloodshed, he views it as a reaction to the ongoing occupation and stresses the importance of addressing its “root cause” to prevent further violence.
Intifada Means Violence
David Wyle, a Jewish student studying economics, questioned the motivations and knowledge of protesters who he alleges prioritize aesthetics over actual knowledge of the issues. He argued that many protesters are unaware of the specific events and violence associated with the term intifada, he suggested it raises questions about their goals and motivations.
“Know what you’re chanting,” Mr. Wyle told The Epoch Times, referring to the protesters, “When you’re saying globalized intifada ... do they know what the intifada is? Do they think it’s like some kind of peaceful protest? They do not know that intifada is referring to specific events in the 2000s, suicide bombings, stabbings, bus bombings, kidnappings, and lynchings [that] happened commonly and not on any valid targets—on civilians.
“This is what they’re calling for. They don’t even know it. And if they do, that’s worse,” he added.
According to Mr. Wyle, Israeli–Palestinian peace requires mutual compromise. He said that since Hamas has shown no willingness to create peace, it warrants war and that the casualties are part of the outcome.
“If both sides are not willing to make some sort of peace or compromise, then there will be no peace. And Hamas, as they have said themselves, has no intention of creating peace. That means that Hamas needs to leave one way or the other.”
“If by ceasefire, you mean, Israel must cease so that Hamas may fire then that’s no good,” the Fordham student said.
The Israel–Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 Israelis and taking about 240 hostage, about half of whom remain hostage in Gaza.
When asked about the allegations of excessive force used on Gaza, Mr. Wyle said: “When you’re fighting a war, such as this, a war where the civilians and the combatants do not wear any sort of distinctive clothing, where the combatants hide amongst the civilians intentionally use them as shields for their warfare. It’s very, very difficult to not avoid civilian casualties in this type of war. It’s a tragedy. But Israel needs to destroy Hamas. If Hamas fought legitimately, then there would be much less civilian casualties.”
