In one of the first major showings of student protest this semester, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) gathered underneath Pembroke Arch on Friday to protest Bryn Mawr’s financial investment in Israeli companies as well as the college’s refusal to comment on Israel’s ongoing assault of the Gaza strip.
Earlier in the semester, a group of students protested outside of Bryn Mawr’s Board of Trustees meeting.
The protest, which took place last Friday, was just one part of SJP’s organized “week of rage.” Around 30 students met at Pembroke Arch and marched to Park Science center, chanting slogans including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Intifada, intifada, long live the intifada.” The intention of the protest, as stated on flyers distributed around campus, was to pressure Bryn Mawr to divest the $5 million it has invested in Israeli tech start ups.
Last year, during the height of tensions regarding Israel-Palestine on college campuses across the nation, such chants were condemned by Bryn Mawr College. Last spring, students faced deans panels for campus protests and an encampment set up on Merion Green, many of which strayed from Bryn Mawr’s established procedures regarding honor code violations. The slogans “from the river to the sea” and “long live the intifada” have a complicated history. Some students say they are meant as a uniting front against Israel’s alleged war crimes and in defense of human rights, while others claim the mottos are antisemitic.
Members of the bi-co organization Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, or FSJP, were also present at the rally. Bryn Mawr’s administration has not yet issued a statement regarding this semesters activity by SJP.
Bryn Mawr’s SJP did not respond to a request for comment.
