University of Chicago students protest trustees' ties to Israel as war in Gaza continues
CHICAGO — The morning after the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington on Wednesday night, university protests in Chicago against the Israel-Hamas war continued.
Wednesday's attack was a marked display of antisemitism as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Federal authorities told police that the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, shouted 'Free, free Palestine' when he was taken into custody.
Demonstrations have bubbled up locally in Chicago since Oct. 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas came out of Gaza to kill 1,200 people and take 250 hostages. Last spring, University of Chicago students set up an encampment to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza and call on the university to end its partnerships with Israel.
Thursday morning, the familiar chants of 'Free, free Palestine' could be heard from a group of student protesters gathered at a protest outside the Rubenstein Forum at the U. of C.
The board of trustees met in the building that morning and protesters, wearing keffiyehs and all black, swarmed the administrators as they entered the building in order to symbolically push members of the board to fully disclose any ties to Israel. University police kept the protesters away from the front and back entrances.
'Shame on you!' the protesters shouted back.
Nearly 600 days into the war in Gaza, Eman Abdelhadi, assistant professor in the department of comparative human development, claimed the majority of the university's board of trustees have some kind of personal investment in Israel.
'This is not a neutral stance,' Abdelhadi said. 'This university claims institutional neutrality, but it is actively on one side of the conflict.'
Abdelhadi referenced the encampments that popped up at universities across the country, including in Chicago, this time last year.
'This movement is not going away,' Abdelhadi said. 'People are going to persist in their protests.'
Students declined to comment about the Washington shooting. The protest slowly died down over the course of the morning.
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