ASU Protesters Demand BDS Resolution against Israel, Resort to Throwing Rocks at Windows
A student government meeting at Arizona State University (ASU) came to an abrupt halt as pro-Palestinian demonstrators resorted to violence, throwing rocks at the building where the proceedings were being held.
The Tuesday night gathering turned hostile after the ASU group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) attended the meeting to advocate for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, aimed at ending international support for Israel. Over the past few weeks, the group has been calling on ASU to boycott Israel and divest from companies that support the country, as well as end all ASU study abroad programs in Israel. Their attendance at the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) meeting was in hope that the USG Senate would pass legislation endorsing this movement.
Despite their efforts, the student body denied a decision on the matter during the meeting. The meeting came to an abrupt end when Pro-Palestinian protestors began throwing rocks at the windows of the building where the meeting was held. As threats of violence began to rise, Jewish students were forced to exit through the back under police escort.
Videos posted on social media captured the distressing scenes, with over a dozen Jewish students forced to leave the meeting amid a barrage of threats and intimidation. Witnesses claimed that as rocks were hurled at the building, protestors were shouting death threats.
ASU’s Dean, Michael Crow, released a statement condemning the incident. Crow stated, “ASU Police is investigating last night’s disruption of a USG meeting on the Tempe campus. Let it be clear that ASU will not tolerate acts of intimidation or violence. We are committed to inclusion and respect, and to providing a safe environment for civil dialogue and learning.”
The SJP, in an Instagram post, denied any allegations of anti-Semitism or hateful comments during the demonstration. Instead, they accused ASU of funding “genocide,” asserting that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
“This University is complicit in genocide,” proclaimed SJP President Finn Howe at the Tuesday meeting. “We are all deeply, deeply upset about what is going on right now. That’s why we’re here today because we are calling on ASU, as we have been for over ten years now, to boycott and divest from Israel.”
The incident sheds light on the controversial BDS movement, criticized for its alleged anti-Semitic undertones. Questions have been raised about the consistency of certain U.S. politicians like Ilhan Omar who routinely advocate for BDS against Israel, the one Jewish state in the world, while remaining silent on countries such as Iran and Venezuela, who are confirmed to have committed numerous human rights atrocities.
The pro-Palestine protestors’ inability to stay peaceful at this event is indicative of an unwillingness to compromise and a lack of understanding regarding the Hamas-Israel conflict.
