San Francisco State students renew anti-Israel protests with class boycott
Pro-Palestine student activists at San Francisco State University (SFSU) recently resumed anti-Israel demonstrations by organizing a boycott of classes.
The event took place on Oct. 8, with students organizing protests rather than attending class.
Pro-Palestine student activists at San Francisco State University (SFSU) recently resumed anti-Israel demonstrations by organizing a boycott of classes.
The event took place on Oct. 8, with students organizing protests rather than attending class. The protesters demanded that the U.S. cease giving weapons to Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine.
“I feel like we have solidarity here with [faculty members] joining in protests and our president listening to us, but we don’t have the support of the CSU,” one SFSU student told the San Francisco Examiner.
This is the first protest at SFSU since the university administration reached an agreement with its chapter of Students for Gaza, an anti-Israel campus group.
As part of the agreement, SFSU conceded to the protesters by divesting from defense companies. “Students for Gaza has pushed us to reflect on and commit to working with the SF State Foundation to review and draft a revision to our existing environmental, social, and governance investment policy statement,” SFSU President Lynn Mahoney said in May.
In regard to the latest protest, the school’s “Time, Place and Manner group was on hand [Tuesday] to advise individuals on possible policy violations,” according to SFSU Spokesperson Kent Bravo.
“SF State has a long tradition of honoring the rights of its community members to peacefully protest while preserving a safe campus environment, and that was the case again this week,” Bravo told the San Francisco Examiner.
In explaining the reason for the protest, SFSU Students for Gaza spokesperson Brian Ya connected rising tuition costs to the administration’s financial connections with Israel.
“Students here are already struggling, this is a working-class school,” Ya told the outlet. “Raising tuition makes it more difficult for students to pay for tuition, let alone rent, insurance and food. Now, our tuition is getting raised while the money is still being used to fund this genocide.”
In August, SFSU formally divested from three defense contractors linked to Israel.
“By standing with us, we were able to be the first university that was able to divest from major weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, Palantir and Leonardo,” an SFSU student at the time.
”And to continue the work that was started by the liberation movements of the 60s, and to say we do not want education to be invested in the killing apparatus of the state and global imperialism,” SFSU Professor Omar Zaza added.
“We believe we have forged a region-neutral plan that strengthens our environmental, social, and governance investment strategy and will have broad-reaching positive impacts while continuing to provide critical support to our students,” SF State Foundation President Jeff Jackanicz wrote. “We have been lauded for being a leader in ESG investment before, and with credit to Students for Gaza, our revised policy affirms our leading role in values-driven advising.”
Campus Reform has contacted San Francisco State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
