At the University of Florida last week, Students for Justice in Palestine and other leftist student organizations gathered in the heart of campus to host an “Emergency Protest for Gaza” and to call on “UF to divest from apartheid.”
It comes as no surprise that these groups decided to host this protest during one of the most holy weeks on the Jewish calendar, Passover.
Students, faculty, and members of the community gathered shouting phrases like “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “all hail Palestine.”
They went so far as to block Jewish students with Israeli flags on walkways, blocking their cameras, and shouting “shame on you” as Jewish students walked by.
This is not long after H.Res.883 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the slogan, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic and its use must be condemned- was agreed to in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This is unacceptable behavior from our fellow gators and supposedly the next generation of leaders in America. If these are the people expected to run our country, I am terrified for its future.
Eventually, the University of Florida Police Department created a separation zone between the protestors and the Jewish students that they were harassing.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Sarner
Aaron Sarner, pictured above, is a Jewish student at the University of Florida who attended the protest proudly holding the Israeli flag. He stated, “At UF, we are proud to be part of one of the nation’s largest pro-Israwl communities with unwavering support from our President, Ben Sasse.”
Sarner continued, “We stand Israel on its mission to eradicate Hamas and bring the over 120 hostages back home to their families.”
This is not the first Anti-Israel protest to happen at UF, and there are no signs of them stopping any time soon. Students have camped out for days. Even after the University of Florida Police Department served protestors with a list of allowed and prohibited actions.
Unfortunately, stories like this are becoming far too common. After the past few weeks, I have seen growing protests across the nation rise and the treatment of our Jewish brothers and sisters become worse.
More and more college students are openly supporting a terrorist organization and spending more time whining with megaphones than in the classroom.
Former Senator and current University of Florida President Ben Sasse has stated “This shouldn’t be hard…We will protect our Jewish students from violence.”
Let me make one thing clear, Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Florida will always stand with Israel.
