Faruk Hanedar
21 May 2024•Update: 21 May 2024
ISTANBUL
Activists involved in setting up pro-Palestine camps at US universities say there is growing support for Palestinians across the country.
American activists Isra Chaker and Bushra Amiwala shared their insights with Anadolu on the university protests in the US and the country's support for Israel at the NEXT event organized by the TRT World Forum in Istanbul over the weekend.
'We'll make sure our voices are heard at the polls come November'
Chaker, a Syrian-American activist, highlighted that the social movement led by young people and students in the US advocating for Palestine’s "liberation" and ending Israel’s "illegal occupation" of Gaza and the West Bank is much braver than the actions of American politicians.
"Anybody who's complicit in this genocide needs to be disrupted in stopping that system. The only way to do that is by taking people power and mobilizing and organizing and doing the incredible work that they're doing at these encampments," she said.
Chaker also noted the growing social and cultural impact of protests urging universities to respond to students' demands.
She highlighted that they do not believe they can change US President Joe Biden's stance on supporting Israel.
"The US is being complicit right now as we're witnessing what's happening in Gaza. But we know that we can't influence him in this moment with his decision-making."
"We'll make sure our voices are heard at the polls come November," she added, noting that support for Palestine in the US is increasing daily with demonstrations for its freedom attended not only by Arabs or Muslims, but also collectively from every part of the society.
"They understand how important it is right now when we call for a free Palestine. We're calling for freedom for all," Chaker said regarding the US public's view on the Palestine issue.
She added that if you do not have this moral and human obligation, then it is difficult to say that you are a person with a clear moral compass.
"Because if you had that, you would be calling for a pro-Palestinian movement and be calling for a cease-fire, ending the siege on Gaza and ending the illegal occupation."
Chaker said she participated in numerous protests against Gaza's "genocide," experiencing increased participation and diversity and a unique sense of unity she had never seen before.
"We're seeing that the system, when it is being challenged, will fight back. But the problem is that you can't fight back against a movement that is so big, so powerful, and that knows the truth now, and will continue to fight for that truth and speak truth to power until liberation comes."
'Young people have always been at forefront of every social cause in history'
Amiwala, a student at Northwestern University, said that even though she participated in extremely peaceful and well-organized pro-Palestine camps at her university and DePaul University, still the DePaul University camp was recently dispersed by police.
"I think the US is complicit in Israel's massacre in Gaza. They are responsible. They are the ones issuing weapons, and our tax dollars are being used to fund what's happening there, which is so unfortunate" she said.
Amiwala also underscored that the number of Palestine supporters in the US is increasing.
"We are no longer relying on second account information. We are seeing on the ground the massacre and the genocide that is taking place in Gaza. There is no writing between the lines. There is no one side of the story or not. There is simply the truth.
“Education of the history of what's been going on in Palestine is being shown by students, by these demonstrations, by these organized boycotts and causes, and everything that is being shown on social media. There is no erasing of what's happening or tiptoeing or cherry picking behind the truth. Young people have always been at the forefront of every social cause in history, and very rarely have young people been on the wrong side of history,” she added.
*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul
