While pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University have drawn national headlines, many students are making their voices heard on college campuses across the country. One of those institutions is Syracuse University, where students are getting their points across in a different way.
An encampment set up on the SU campus was occupied by protesters who say they want results, but also want to be respectful.
“We’re not interested in disrupting people, or causing violence, or causing disruption,” said Adeline Spallina-Jones, one of the Pro-Palestinian protesters. “We’re really only interested in advocating for people who are dying.”
It’s the opposite of what’s happened at Columbia University and UCLA. Their demands, however, are similar. They are asking Syracuse University to support a ceasefire in Gaza and divest from any relationships it has with companies that support Israel.
“We are in community,” Spallina-Jones said. “We’re all here for the same thing. We’re all here to support peace and to bring about change. And that means that we all have common goals and common ideas in mind. And so we’re just here trying to make that happen.”
But while they were making their voices heard, Israel supporters gathered a couple hundred feet away, hoping to have their perspective acknowledged.
“People can protest, but they are spreading hatred and it really hurts deep,” said Katya Bratslavsky, an Israeli supporter.
A mother of three with two in college, she hopes the protests come to an end because she’s worried about her children’s safety.
“I feel threatened for my life, for the life of my children,” she said. “And this is just not right.”
Neither group chanted at one another, or got physical with each other. Instead, Israeli supporters danced and sang as their music echoed across the campus, making it known that they’re here, too.
“As long as the protests are peaceful and don’t increase risk to Jewish students and don’t spread the messages of hate, I’m fully in support,” said Anna Shapiro, an Israeli supporter. “But what we’ve been seeing is increased violence in various colleges, college campuses across country. And that’s very worrisome.”
“We’re all here for the same reason, right? And that is peace,” Spallina-Jones said.
