FAU Palestinian group marks remembrance of 1948 mass expulsion with 'vigil' on campus

BOCA RATON — Perhaps sensing the potential for another violent protest that has engulfed college campuses across the country, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies came to Florida Atlantic University's campus on Wednesday, May 15 ahead of a pro-Palestinian group's "vigil" in remembrance of a bloody and deadly conflict 76 years ago.

In the end, the event, which involved about 15 people in front of the university's Administration Building, was met with five counter-protesters in support of Israel and evolved into a little more than a brief stare-off that lasted about three hours.

Those supporting Palestine wore keffiyehs, a head covering worn by men in the Middle East, and other facial coverings. They held signs calling for an Israeli ceasefire and to "free Palestine." Meanwhile, students from FAU’s chapter of Students Supporting Israel wore Israeli flags.

Solidarity, the campus organization that organized the vigil, said the event marked the 76th anniversary of the Nakba where Israel displaced over 700,000 Palestinians and killed around 15,000 more.

Solidarity students called for FAU to divest from its relationship with Israeli universities and retract its October statements condemning terrorism and expressing staunch support for Israel. They also demanded the university take responsibility for the impact of its investments and publish investment records for transparency and accountability.

That message was delivered through a flyer handed out by Ximena Dipietro, a copywriter and librarian for Solidarity, who acted as a media liaison.

Officers from the Boca Raton Police Department, Florida Atlantic University Police Department and Florida State Troopers had a large presence on campus. About 12 State Trooper vehicles, an FAUPD K-9 vehicle, FAUPD mobile command unit, and an armored vehicle sat not far from the protesters.

However, no violence escalated thanks in part to the sparse number of students on campus. FAU’s Spring commencement ceremony has concluded and the majority of the student body is not on campus, except for those participating in summer classes.

Dipietro said the event was to remember the lives lost in Palestine during the ongoing war and throughout the history of the conflict.

“Today is May 15. It's the anniversary of the Nakba, the day that Israel declared its independence and displaced like several hundred thousands of Palestinians,” Dipietro said. “So it's a very important day for the Palestinian people. So we're here to commemorate that.”

During the Nakba (in Arabic it means "the catastrophe") in 1948, approximately half of Palestine's predominantly Arab population lost their homes or were forced to flee in the war at the birth of the state of Israel.

The Nakba has been one of the defining bonding links for Palestinians, helping to shape their national identity and further strengthen their cause during their ongoing conflicted relationship with Israel.

The recent seven-month battle with Israel has left the majority of the Gaza Strip in ruins and has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians with another 10,000 unaccounted for, displacing much of the population. The United Nations adjusted the number of Palestinian women and children who have been killed in Gaza to 4,959 women and 7,797 children in a May 8 report.

In Israel, about 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 and more than 270 soldiers have been killed since. More than 130 hostages remain in Gaza, including five Americans.

FAU Jewish group kept at a distance: 'Police told us to keep walking'

Dipietro wished the turnout at the vigil was larger, like the event in October when FAU students held a march in support of Palestine, drawing Jewish and Israeli counter-protesters — an event that led to three campus arrests.

In October, FAU administrators put out two statements of unwavering support for Israel, which Dipietro says has caused emotional harm to Palestinian students and those who support Palestine on campus. Dipietro wants FAU to take responsibility for its divestments and to call for a ceasefire with the release of prisoners in Israel and hostages in Gaza.

Wednesday, the protesters did not chant or speak to each other.

Ellie Raab, the president of Students Supporting Israel at FAU, said the police told her and her friends not to go near the Palestinian supporters.

“The police told us to stay away. We tried to walk by and the police said ‘keep walking.’ They really wanted to minimize conflict,” Raab said. “They didn't really say anything to us. We kind of just sat there with our flag. And we're proud of that.”

Raab, who was born in Jerusalem, found out about the vigil this morning and gathered some of her friends to go show their support for Israel with her.

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“I was shocked when I heard about the vigil and there weren't even many people to come counter protests with us but I live in the area so we thought to go show our support with some Israeli flags and make sure they know that this isn't going to be tolerated on our campus,” Raab said. “We won't allow this antisemitism and this anti-Zionism to bring us down.”

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Raab said FAU’s stance on Israel was extremely powerful and made her feel supported and safe. She said she doesn’t face the disruptions that her friends on other campuses have faced while trying to study for finals.

Dipietro said Palestinian students and students who support Palestine are disappointed in the university’s statements in October.

“We pay thousands of dollars to go here. And it's very disappointing and hurtful for our money to go to institutions that go against our beliefs and our principles as students here,” Dipietro said.

At other schools around the nation, including Columbia, Texas, UCLA and Harvard, the protests have been much larger.

At Columbia University, the New York Police Department arrested hundreds of protesters from the campus encampment and entered a building where students trespassed after making entry through a window above the first floor, with guns drawn.

Others have turned into around-the-clock encampments and have disrupted graduation ceremonies.

Jessica Abramsky is a multimedia journalism student at Florida Atlantic University.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU Palestinian group remembers 1948 Nakba mass expulsion of Israel