Groups of students interrupted the graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this Saturday, as a protest against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestine, reports Associated Press.
Videos posted on social media show a group of about 75 students dressed in graduation caps and gowns chanting pro-Palestinian slogans as they make their way to the event’s main stage. The youth demanded an end to the war in Gaza and an end to US funding of Israel’s military operations. “They can’t hide! They are funding a genocide!” and “Israel bombs, the US pays! How many children have you killed today?” the protesters shouted.
The graduation ceremony was not interrupted for a long time, and the Police intervened and took the group to the back of the stadium where the event was being held, where they remained until the conclusion of the events, reported the university spokesperson, Colleen Mastony. No students were arrested. “Peaceful protests of this type have taken place at University of Michigan graduation ceremonies for decades,” Mastony said.
In addition to the action of the students, the ceremony was interrupted by two planes that flew over the stadium with contradictory banners. One read “Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine!”, while the other read “We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter.”
The protest interrupted the speech of the US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, who had to take several pauses and even asked that the students “return their attention to the podium.”
In recent weeks, a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests has taken place in the United States that have increasingly ended in clashes with the Police. But as agents intervene in various university centers to disperse protesters, the map of demonstrations expands.
In this context, on Saturday there were clashes between the Police and students at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where a peaceful protest was dispersed by law enforcement. Armed agents destroyed the pro-Palestinian camp set up in front of the university campus and arrested more than twenty students.
