Protest is part of ‘take a building challenge’ to demand colleges divest from Israel, national group says
Masked pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside a Sarah Lawrence College building sometime over night, covering windows and doors with plywood and stationing a group outside the front door to prevent entry, according to videos on X.
It appears the protesters remained inside Thursday morning.
In a video by FreedomNews.TV, a group of masked individuals can be seen standing in front of the main door to the building. Five tents are pitched on the lawn outside, and security staff appear to be standing nearby monitoring the situation.
Inside, another video shows masked and hooded protesters sitting on the building floor with linked arms, chanting: “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose, divest.”
Behind them others can be seen putting up what appears to be plywood over the windows.
📍Sarah Lawrence College, NY
TAKE A BUILDING CHALLENGE UNDERWAY: An autonomous group of students have started a Gaza Solidarity Occupation in Westlands calling on the college to DISCLOSE their financial investments & DIVEST FROM DEATH. 🔥 Show out to South Lawn today to support! pic.twitter.com/9AQVe6Ih12
— National Students for Justice in Palestine (@NationalSJP) November 21, 2024
The protesters’ “occupation” is part of a wider “take a building challenge” that calls on universities to “divest” from groups with ties to Israel, according to an X post Thursday by the National Students for Justice in Palestine.
The national group also urged supporters to join a rally at the college Thursday and bring “Keffiyehs, Noise Makers, and Flags.”
“ALL OUT TO SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE! DEFEND THE STUDENT INTIFADA! For over 400 days our institutions have ignored the genocide of our people in Gaza, we DEMAND that they disclose their financial investments and they DIVEST FROM DEATH,” the group wrote on X.
Another, earlier video on X shows protesters entering the building sometime in the night, carrying boxes of what appear to be plywood.
BREAKING: Hamas supporters at Sarah Lawrence College broke into and took over a building last night.
They are still occupying the building and are barricading the doors and windows with plywood, zip ties, and barbed wire. Demand that they are arrested and expelled. pic.twitter.com/4lmKUmXFm1
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) November 21, 2024
Eyal Yakoby, a Jewish student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote on X that the protesters also were setting up an encampment outside the building Thursday morning.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been active at Sarah Lawrence. Earlier this fall, they organized a “boycott” of Jewish Professor Samuel Abrams’ classes due to his support for Israel, The College Fix reported.
MORE: UC Berkeley deletes course description praising Hamas as ‘revolutionary resistance force’
IMAGE: FreedomNews.TV/X
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