New York University students: The tide has turned against the Zionists

According to Webangah News quoted by Mehr News, students of universities across America are now in the second week of protests against the Zionist regime and are demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and sanctions against the Zionist organizations that support the actions of this regime in the Gaza Strip. Reports indicate that so far, a large number of American students have been arrested during the conflict with the police of this country, who used chemical irritants and stun guns against them.

Among dozens of higher education institutions, the City University of New York, followed by Columbia University, has become the center of student activists supporting peace in Gaza. The students of the City College of New York University, after preventing the violent arrest of one of the protesting students during the sit-in as a sign of solidarity with Gaza, attracted the attention of the cyberspace users.

In this regard, the English-language newspaperTehran Times with two of the main organizers of these protests named “Hadiqeh” And “Sara”, who asked to be known by his first name due to the fear of reprisals, gave an interview that we read together.

Firstly, about student protests in support of Palestinian rights, including their age range, religion and racial diversity. Give explanations and information.

Protesting students at the City College of New York, with different backgrounds, origins and affiliations, have participated in these protests. They come from different faculties of the City University of New York; A university with more than 500,000 students from 25 faculties is considered the largest urban public university in America. City College is one of these colleges. In addition, students from Columbia University and other higher education institutions are participating in strikes in solidarity with Gaza. Faculty members joined the protests and with their support and guidance, they allowed undergraduate students to lead the movement.

Protesters aged 18 to 80 are participating in these protests. The student body of the City University of New York is extremely diverse and multinational; So that students from countries deeply influenced by American imperialism in the global south, especially the Islamic world, are members. However, students from Asia, Latin America, South Asia and Arab countries are also present in these protests. Religious beliefs (Islam, Judaism and Christianity) are also the motivation for many students to participate in protests. But a large number of secular students also consider themselves obliged to protest against the violence and imperialism of the settlers. Palestine has united us with all kinds of religious, political, racial and ethnic policies from all over the world (Arab, Jewish, white, black, Latino, South Asian, etc.) or each other.

How have university officials reacted to the protests so far?

The university has sent security guards who behave aggressively with students. On the evening of the first day of the protests, one of the agents got into a fight with a student, and then a group of students pushed that agent out of the university yard. The video images of this incident were recorded and made their way to the cyberspace and showed that the university does not consider students’ health as a priority. To provide security, we only rely on ourselves!

The university has also closed buildings in response to the strikes. This action aggravates the health problems and violates the rights of the students because the expenses of the university campus are covered by their tuition fees.

All this shows how much the Zionist project is intertwined with our university; It is a public university that is expected to be accountable to the people and be with the people. The administration of our university is fighting tooth and nail to defend its investment of more than 8.5 million dollars in companies that support the Zionist regime’s genocide, as well as to satisfy donors, politicians and Zionist trustees. This (blind defense) shows how important the protests against Zionist aggression and the suppression of these protests are to the trustees and management of our college.

Did the police also intervene?

The police built a fence around the protesters and drones and helicopters fly over them. The police and the Zionist regime are connected and their power is two sides of the same coin, but as long as the brave and brave Palestinian people continue to resist the Zionist violence, we have nothing to fear. Palestinians have the right to resist colonization and occupation, and we also have the sacred right to stand by them in America for this occupied land and resist.

What do you want from the university?

Students have 5 demands:

1- Sanctioning and not investing in companies that are in any way complicit in the Zionist imperialist genocide; including companies involved in the production of weapons, technology, espionage and construction. Full financial transparency about CUNY investments is required.

2- Banning all academic trips to Israel, including Birthright, Fulbright and “Perspective” trips; Cancellation of any cooperation with Israeli academic institutions, including events, joint activities, agreements and research cooperation.

3- Solidarity with the Palestinian people, including confirming and emphasizing their achievement for national freedom and the right to return to Palestine; Protection of the students and employees of the City University of New York who are protesting against the genocide in the Gaza Strip and in support of the freedom of Palestine. The retention of professors who were fired for expressing solidarity with Palestine.

4- Withdrawal of military forces from the City University of New York and Harlem, including the withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces and also the deputy of the New York Police from all campuses of the City University. Stopping cooperation, training and employment in imperialist institutions such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Deputy Homeland Security and the Tactical Operations Training Center (TOTC). Removing all American imperial symbols from university campuses and changing the name of the Colin Powell building to Shakur Morales.

5- The establishment of an urban faculty in New York University whose costs are fully funded, free of tuition and independent of Zionist and imperialist donors. Reestablishing the status of exemption from tuition fees, protection from the union of university employees and the conclusion of fair contracts.

Has the university ever tried to address your concerns and requests through negotiation?

Negotiations have started with the university administration, but there is no goodwill in it. Despite expressing our concerns, we have not yet received the permission to meet and attend the meeting with Felix Matos Rodríguez, the president of the university. Our request to use the tent as a shelter in bad weather conditions has also been rejected.

Furthermore, a young Muslim student was arrested without any justification and accused of painting graffiti on the wall on the first day of the strike. This accusation can result in four years of imprisonment for him! We have demanded that he be acquitted of all these charges. As long as the university administration treats us with such disrespect, we cannot participate in the negotiations.

Do you think that students will eventually be able to influence White House policies? >

Definitely. Students are the future of this country, and most of the important social changes in the history of America have been sparked from the courtyards of universities. The page has turned against the Zionist regime and our refusal to participate in this genocide is proof of this. If student protests are answered with violence and force, it is because they are well aware of this issue and fear us. What scares them the most is that we have no fear. We know that we are on the right side and the Palestinian issue is more important to us than anything else. We will not fail.