I’m writing to you from DePaul University’s encampment for Gaza, energized by the resilience I’ve witnessed from the students here and across the US. University students are showing us what it means to escalate by setting up camps on their campuses and refusing to leave until their institutions divest from Israel.
The universities are responding to this demand to stop funding violence with…more violence. Columbia, Emory, USF, UCLA, and many other universities are cowardly calling the police to brutalize, tear gas, and mass-arrest people at the encampment while doing nothing to stop violent attacks by zionist agitators. The most effective way university administrators can protect their students is by divesting from Israel.
I and other CODEPINKers around the country have answered the call to support university students in solidarity with Gaza, and you can too. I’m joined by the rest of our Chicago team at DePaul’s encampment in Chicago, our alma mater, and we can’t help but beam with pride at the students that succeeded us. The camp is practically a village, complete with a medical tent, art tent, free supplies, food, and water, entirely provided by the community and fully staffed by volunteer students. Here, community is what keeps us safe, we’re proving we have everything we need without having to invest in weapons and war.
 👉 Support Encampments Against Genocide By Telling Universities to Divest From Israel!
These camps are the necessary escalation we need. Bisan, one of the beloved journalists still in Gaza, said the encampments made her feel hope for the first time in her 25 years of life. Student resistance in the US was a crucial force in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. In 1984, UC Berkeley students camped outside their campus until their university divested $3.1 billion from companies doing business with the apartheid government. Today, CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans joins them as they do the same for Gaza.
Camping outside my alma mater sparked so much reflection about activism, oppression, and, most importantly, my people back home in Palestine. I think of Gaza and our little CODEPINK tent feels like a luxury suite. I think of the counter protestors and the police and I know their violent response means we’re doing something impactful. We can’t back down now. There are over 120 campus encampments across the US and a million ways to support them! Amplify their call for divestment by sending a letter to universities with encampments!Â
From the river to the sea, Palestine is almost free!
👉 Take action today, and every day:
- Sign our Mother's Day petition to tell Congress: Protect the mothers and children in Gaza!
- Listen to our reflections from encampments across the US!
- Join us on 5/6 for a Know Your Rights training!
- Support our work!Â
Towards Peace,
Nour and the entire CODEPINK team
