Fresno State students host ‘sit-in’ protest for Palestine
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Fresno State became the latest US college campus to have a protest regarding the Israel-Hamas war on its grounds.
Dozens of students gathered together to call for an end to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.
“We are here today to stand in solidarity with our fellow students on different campuses across the nation, across the globe that are standing in solidarity with Palestine,” said Haneen, a Fresno State student. “I do not want our eyes to be taken off the bigger picture which is the ongoing genocide that is happening in Palestine right now against fellows in Gaza, in the West Bank.”
Protests on campuses like Columbia and UCLA have led to dozens of arrests. Meanwhile, on Fresno’s campus, a peaceful sit-in was organized by local Palestine advocates.
“It was just our choice as organizers, student organizers to do a peaceful sit-in because we believe that it still holds the power of encampments,” Haneen said.
The wave of protests has a local rabbi concerned about what comes next.
“This has been the scariest it’s been for the Jewish community since the Holocaust. People just do not want to come out no matter what precautions we take. They’re afraid to appear Jewish in public,” Rabbi Rick Weiner said.
Rabbi Weiner says anti-Jewish sentiment has been on the increase for years. The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed over 1,200 Israelis has proven to be a tipping point – triggering a frightening new wave of antisemitism.
“The Jewish community hate crimes were already ratcheting up significantly in the last few years and this has increased it even more. There’s a lot that we’ve had to do to increase protocols in order to help people feel safe,” Rabbi Weiner said.
But Rabbi Weiner is hopeful that people will be respectful when voicing their opinions.
“We’ve long been proponents of free speech. There’s a fine line though between that and when it turns into hate speech and incendiary speech. Speech that is inciting violence. And while we want peace and calm for everyone, there are certainly people on campuses today who are not feeling safe,” Rabbi Weiner said.
