Pro-Palestine Harvard University students ended a 24-hour campus occupation Friday, listing their demands which included the administration to “call for an immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war.
Student group, Harvard Jews for Palestine (HJP), organized an occupation of the school’s University Hall on Nov. 16, posting a statement to Instagram regarding their reasons for the sit-in. About a dozen students initially occupied the hall, according to The Harvard Crimson, which led the Harvard University Police Department to block access to the building and tighten security nearby. (RELATED: Billionaire Harvard Grad Blasts School’s DEI Efforts, Says Conservative Students Are ‘Most Marginalized’)
“We are a collective of anti-Zionist, non-Zionist, and Zionist questioning Jewish students at Harvard who call for an immediate ceasefire, Palestinian liberation, and the protection of pro-Palestinian voices on this campus and across the world,” the post stated.
Standing in unwavering solidarity with our Jewish community members and allies from @HarvardJ4P currently occupying a heavily-policed University Hall for the last 8 hours.
They demand for Harvard to call for an immediate ceasefire, divest from Israel, and establish a committee… pic.twitter.com/TknSnD9FJ3
— Harvard PSC (@HarvardPSC) November 17, 2023
Ivy League universities across the United States have seen a divide among students and faculty since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. More than 30 student groups at Harvard posted an open letter on the night of the Hamas attack blaming the “Israeli colonial occupation” for the war. (RELATED: Ivy League Schools Create Antisemitism Task Forces To Combat ‘Unacceptable’ Behavior By Pro-Palestinian Students)
Since the open letter, donors and alumni have fled the school due to its failure to not take a stance against the rising anti-Israel rhetoric on campus. Billionaire Lex Wesner called out the school in a letter condemning them for not taking a “clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists.”
Harvard students who had backed the anti-Israel letter were later doxxed by a truck driving around campus revealing the names and photos of students who allegedly had signed it.
Harvard President Claudia Gay officially released a statement on Nov. 9 calling out the antisemitism on campus stating that the school was committed to “doing the hard work to address this scourge.” The HJP, however, stated that they stood in “complete solidarity” with the pro-Palestine student groups that had backed the open letter.
“We do not feel at all unsafe, but rather deeply empowered by their presence on this campus, and we aim to amplify their fight through our uniquely Jewish perspective,” the HJP post continued.
A student in the University hall was filmed during the sit-in calling to protestors outside who could be heard cheering them on as demands were yelled from inside of the building.
“Our demands are for the university to call for an immediate f*cking ceasefire…Our demands are for the university to support and protect students who are vulnerable. Like you guys who have been f*cking doxxed,” the student yelled. “And for them to stop conflating anti-Zionism and antisemitism, because babe it’s not the same thing. We go to Harvard and we have some big f*cking brains.”
Nine students are occupying University Hall at Harvard.
They have been there since yesterday, and they say they will stay until their demands are met.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 18, 2023
Along with the ceasefire request, the HJP noted that they wanted the school to establish an investigation committee that would look into “anti-Palestinian racism” and the “suppression of pro-Palestine advocacy,” according to a supporting student group.
The HJP protestors eventually left the hall without their demands being met, and it is unclear if any of the students will face disciplinary actions.
The Daily Caller has reached out to the university for comment.