Police before the protest. PixabayIn mid-April pro-Palestinian protests and student demonstrations in the US began. Many arrests took place during these events. In fresh weeks, citizens in many countries have begun to protest Israel's aggression in the Gaza Strip.
Protests began in mid-April at Columbia University and fresh York University. At first, they were individual demonstrations. In time, they became campgrounds – tents were pitched on campuses, and students were joined by technological staff. Protesters demanded that the university authorities talk out against Israel's aggression in the Gaza Strip. They wanted to break relations with Israeli actors and to retreat from cooperation with companies that support genocide.
Students met with an adverse reaction from university authorities. At Columbia University, it was announced that unless the tents were removed, protesters would be suspended in their rights and would not be able to pass the semester. Then the police were called to solve the problem and get free of the camp. Despite many arrests, this did not work. The university authorities argued that the camps make a hostile environment for judaic students and lecturers, as well as disrupting teaching and security. another opponents accused protesters of anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred. There were besides clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and pro-Israeli counter-demonstrats. However, there are cases of colleges where students were negotiated and agreed to any demands, as at Brown University.
Protests and occupations against Israel's aggression are held worldwide – in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England and even Poland. In Warsaw, the streets of the city passed a march of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Its participants went from Castle Square to the US embassy. The subject of the event was "76 years of disaster, halt genocide in Gaza". It referred to “Nakby” – cultural cleansing performed in 1948. They active displacement of the population and expropriation of land and property. Palestinians celebrate the anniversary of this disaster on May 15. The words of the protest besides sounded at the Jagiellonian University. Students presented the rector with an appeal signed by nearly 3,000 students and university staff. They request that the Jagiellonian University's cooperation with Israeli actors be discontinued immediately.
Recently, controversy has sparked the Eurovision Song competition and Israel's participation in it. Many people criticised the fact that in the face of the mediate East war, the country was not excluded, even though in 2022 this was done to Russia after the attack on Ukraine. In this case, the organisers were accused of double standards. The “Stop Israel” march was organised in Malmo, where Eurovision was held. Among others, activist Greta Thunberg took part. The demonstration was suppressed by the police. They were intervened utilizing teardrop gas in front of the Arena Malmoe performance hall. Activist Greta Thunberg was forcibly removed by Swedish police and arrested.
The attack on Israel last October 7, by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, ignited the situation in the Gaza Strip, which continues until now. More than a 1000 people of Israel died there. The war led to a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip and harm to infrastructure in the region. The UN and another global organizations accuse Israel of the violent nature of conducting war. As of 7 October, more than 35,000 Palestinians have died as a consequence of the Israeli army's actions, with an overwhelming number of civilians. The UN estimates that nearly 1.7 million people had to leave their permanent residences since the start of the war.
Marcelina Górska
