Students hold anti-Israel protests on campuses across the country

Students at dozens of universities across the U.S. held anti-Israel protests this week as the Israeli military pursued operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip.

More than ten students, for example, held a spirited demonstration on Columbia University’s campus on Tuesday, brandishing signs reading “stop Israeli terrorism” and “Gaza has a right to self-defense.”

At Columbia University students protested Israel, accusing the nation of “terrorism.”

There appeared to be no signs condemning the targeting of civilians by Gaza’s ruling party of Hamas, which is defined by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.

The event was organized by the school’s local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and endorsed by a plethora of groups, including Al-Awda and the Arab Muslim American Federation, among others.

On their Facebook page, the group accused Israel of “killing innocent people” and supporters accompanied such rhetoric with photos of deceased or severely injured Palestinian children in the comment section.

There was no mention of the hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas’ militant Al-Aqsam brigade at civilian population centers in Israel over the last week.

At University of Minnesota, local media reported that one-hundred protesters rallied against Israel on Friday, demanding the United States “end aid to Israel” and “free Palestine.”

Organizers of this event have now scheduled an additional rally and “die-in for Gaza” to take place next Wednesday.

Students at the University of Texas Austin organized a demonstration, with participating individuals holding signs condemning Israel.  

One accuses Israelis of being “war criminals” while another contended they are using American tax dollars for the “massacre of innocent Palestinian civilians.”

At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, a reported 100 students held a demonstration. One protester called for the “imposter Jews to go back to Asia,” while another individual was caught on video claiming all of Israel is on occupied land.

A similar protest was also held earlier this week at the University of Southern California where about a dozen students displayed signs urging Israel to “stop the killing.”

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