University students across the nation are up in arms to protest the Gaza Conflict that has so heavily influenced current news cycles. Students are organizing and leading pro-Palestine protests on college campuses everywhere. Some leading to expulsions and armed military presence on campus. Some protests are completely peaceful under the watchful eye of their headmasters. Not only have the protests increased in numbers, but they have also spread to high school campuses. Let’s get into it.
What is the Gaza Conflict?
The core of this conflict started nearly 80 years ago, right after WWII. Though arguments could be made for an even earlier start, in 1948 the UN founded and gave the Jewish people a refuge in response to the horrific events of WWII in relation to the People. In layman’s terms, World Powerhouses came together and decided, without actively living in the region, where Israel would be founded, regardless of the countries and people already established. I.e, the Palestinians despite the same World Powerhouse Countries already signing and ratifying the Balfour Declaration which favored the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, not the nonexistent Israel. This was done in 1917 because Britain didn’t want to strain economic relations with the Arabic people of the region. Naturally in 1948, this led to what’s known as the “Nakba”. The Nakba was the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine during the 1948 Palestine war through violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their society, culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations. (Office of the Historian). This completely disrupted the people and led to war after war. The now established Israel pushed the native Palestinians into what’s known as the “Gaza Strip”. The Gaza Strip is reported to be one of the most densely populated regions in the world. (About 14,000 people per square mile).
That roughly brings us to the present. War after war has taken place between the two people, leading to many terrorist groups to begin. Words like Hamas, Palestine, and Israel are heavily used in the current news cycles due to the shocking and abhorrent attack the Hamas fired on Israel from Gaza on October 7th, 2023. The attack was a ground invasion force consisting of waves of Hamas gunmen storming across Gaza’s border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, including children, elderly and 364 people at a music festival. Hamas fired many rockets against the unsuspecting Israeli’s along with taking more than 250 civilians as hostages. The BBC news agency has also seen evidence of rape and sexual violence during the Hamas attacks.
What is Hamas?
With the violent displacement of its people, Palestine lost much of its control and political power. In response to the perceived “weakness” of their government, many angry Palestinians formed terrorist groups under many different names and political ideations. Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement) or more commonly known as Hamas, is the biggest and most successful such group. It operates under “Political Immunity” since it is one of the territory’s two political parties. Hamas emerged and gained popularity in 1987 during the first Palestinian intifada as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch. The group’s main purpose is that of armed resistance against Israel and the start of an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. In 2007, Hamas successfully ousted the Palestinian Authority and took over the government, effectively making Hamas the de facto governing power of the Palestinian people. The group is reported to have between 25,000 – 30,000 members as of today. (BBC). Through many articles and alleged “whistleblowers’ ‘, it is believed that Hamas is funded by Iran and supplied with weapons through the Iranian government. As stated by The Washington Institute, “Iran, for its part, denied playing any role in the attack, and US intelligence suggests that the Hamas attack surprised Iran, undermining the theory it played a direct role in planning or training operatives for the plot. Ultimately, the details of Iran’s role in the plot itself will emerge. But this much is already clear: Iran has funded, armed, trained, and provided intelligence to Hamas for decades. Though Hamas has multiple income streams, funding from Iran has been especially important for the group’s military and terrorist structures…”
Why are American Students Protesting?
Why do Americans care? Why does this affect the American youth the way it does? Well, in response to the attack, Israel immediately retaliated by an “any means necessary” battle tactic. They began a massive air strike against Hamas along with a ground invasion three weeks later with a bombardment from the sealine on top of it. Initially the attacks were focused on northern Gaza, the tunnel systems and Gaza City as they were the primary military centers for Hamas. 1.1 million Palestinians were evacuated to southern Gaza in response. The Israeli Defence Force troops (IDF) reached the heart of the militarized Hamas operations, Khan Younis and overtook the city. The IDF also pushed into Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza. Throughout Israel’s efforts to retaliate and eliminate the Hamas threat, more than 33,000 Palestinans were killed and tens-of-thousands have been injured during the battles. As stated by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, most of the deaths were of women and children. This is why American young adults are upset. Innocents are being murdered relentlessly.
Like everything in America, this conflict has become a political issue. The Right is in support of Israel and the Left is in support of Palestine. So, naturally, the nation’s youth are on opposite sides. The university students are overwhelmingly Left-leaning, so they are in favor of the Palestinian crisis. That is why there are protests on campuses in an effort to “Free Palestine” and not “Free Israel”.
How Are Universities Handling the Protests?
Not well, many would argue. As stated in an earlier article written by Editor Nikolai Burchell, the protests led to Columbia University losing their Commencement Address due to violent and highly disruptive protests resulting in multiple arrests. This is sweeping across the nation all the way to the highschool level, and potentially the elementary school level. The response to the Pro-Palestine protest, expulsions, suspensions, and disciplinary action unseen since the Vietnam protests of the 60’s, has raised concerns in the education system. Congress questioned leaders of large public school institutions of allegations that anti-semitism is running rampant through the system. “In an opening statement, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said antisemitism has become a “dominant force” in America’s schools, with students as young as second-graders “spewing Nazi propaganda.” (APNews). This is such a major issue that is quickly spiraling further and further out of control.
With all that in mind, I urge you, Reader, to educate yourself more on the subject. There is so much to this topic and its related content that could last for weeks. I had to consolidate a lot of information into an easily digestible article. Hopefully, easily digestible. This conflict goes back even further than 1917, but in an effort to pinpoint a “main cause” I started in 1917. The protests are increasing across the nation in response to Columbia and has now spread down to the Elementary schools of America. Stay safe out there, Folks. Until next time.
