'Interrupt business as usual': UNM students and others protest war between Israel and Hamas and treatment of Palestinians

Apr. 23—Dozens of people camped outside the University of New Mexico's Duck Pond for the second day in a row Tuesday as they continued protesting the war between Hamas and Israel as well as Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

Tents and signs in front of the protesters read "Cops Go Home. We're Staying." The walk paths had other messages, such as "Use Your Humanity, free Palestine & U.S. Imperialism."

One of the event organizers, UNM graduate student Daniela del Mar, said the idea for the peaceful protest stemmed from the nationwide college and university protests that took place recently.

One of the schools was New York University, where The Associated Press reported 133 students were arrested and have since been released with summonses.

Unlike what happened at NYU, UNM spokeswoman Cinnamon Blair said no arrests were made or citations issued since the protest began at noon Monday.

The goal of the protest is to "interrupt business as usual" an d demand the university divest from companies that support Israel, del Mar said.

Blair said most of the protesters are members of the "UNM community, faculty, staff and students."

"The University of New Mexico supports the free expression of ideas and of assembly as it is the fundamental premise of a democratic society," Blair said. "Of course, all visitors, students, staff, and faculty are expected to abide by all university policies."

On Monday afternoon, del Mar said, protestors were told by UNM Police to take down their tents or they would get cited.

At about 6 p.m., Blair said UNM police read a letter from UNM Provost James Holloway telling protesters they had a right to peacefully assemble, but if the encampment was not dissolved by 6:30 p.m., he would direct police to "oversee" its removal.

Blair said some people had tents after 10 p.m., which is in violation of university policy.

"UNM PD advised them of the policy and gave them notice that an encampment of any kind is not permissible on the UNM campus, and that citations would be issued or arrests made for non-compliance and that tents or camping equipment would be removed," Blair said.

Del Mar said the protesters were "harassed" by police, but Blair said "police monitored the situation throughout the evening, without incident, and around midnight advised those who were remaining that their tents needed to be taken down or they would be cited."

"The tents were eventually taken down, with some people remaining at the duck pond," Blair said.

'Apartheid'

For the past several months, people have protested the war in the Middle East on one side or another.

According to news reports, the war was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack of southern Israel in which Hamas and other militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians and kidnapped around 250. Israel says militants are still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed.

It has been about 200 days of genocide, del Mar said.

Aside from a cease-fire, del Mar said she and other protesters are advocating for the end of Israeli "apartheid" against the Palestinians.

She also said, instead of the United States supporting Israel, it should use some of the money it sends to focus on "social issues we face here."

It is unknown how long the protest will continue, but Blair said the university will continue to support people's First Amendment rights.

"We want to strike that balance between peoples' rights to protest peacefully," Blair said, "and also make sure it is safe for everyone."