The situation was tense at a pro-Palestine encampment protest at Northeastern University Friday night. Given unconfirmed reports police action could happen as early as 11 PM, many were on the edge. That tension only grew when a group of pro-Israel Jewish students came to counter-protest the encampment’s “liberated zone.”
With pro-Palestine protesters locked in arms, their chants of “Free Palestine” were met with provocative counter slogans from two pro-Israel students standing on the barricaded lawn chairs on the rim of the encampment. Behind the lawn chairs, a protest leader announced “You repeat to me what I repeat to you. Got it?” One counter-protester yelled “Kill the Jews” while holding the Israeli flag. “Anybody on board with that?” Clearly meaning to provoke and create a reaction, the peaceful protesters responded with booing and opened a lane for them to leave, in which they did when camp chanting began to taper off by midnight.
The next morning, police arrested about 100 demonstrators. In a statement from Northeastern University Vice President for Communications Renata Nuuk announced police would clear the encampment due to the presence of hate speech. “Last night, the use of virulent antisemitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line.”
The statement also says students who had a school ID would “face disciplinary proceedings with the university, not legal action.” However, there has been no mention if there will be further investigation into the two pro-Israel counter-protesters who spewed “hate speech” and “antisemitic slurs,” which video evidence now shows them responsible for.
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