Stanford activists disrupt 'Family Weekend' event with anti-Israeli chants

Despite Stanford caving to most of their demands, a group of anti-Israel student protesters still interrupted a Family Weekend event on Feb. 24 with loud chants blaming the school for violence against Palestine.

According to The Stanford Daily, the event was a welcome session and the first in a series of Family Weekend events held by the university. It involved a panel of speakers, including Stanford President Richard Saller, Provost Jenny Martinez, Humanities and Sciences Dean Debra Satz, and Interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Samuel Santos.

[RELATED: Sanford pro-Palestine group plans to ‘flood’ Biden fundraiser: ‘Disrupt and Occupy’]

As Campus Reform reported on Feb. 20, pro-Palestine Stanford students had ended a 120-day sit-in protest when the university agreed to four of their demands.

Although it is unclear which specific demands the school agreed to with the students, the students’ orders included: Stanford offering an “explicit condemnation” of Israel’s “crimes of Apartheid and Genocide,” Stanford giving “dedicated resources” for “Palestinian and Palestinian Diaspora students on campus” in coordination with groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, Stanford identifying ways to address bias against Palestinians on campus, and Stanford joining the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The anti-Israel students also sought for the university to establish “5 student seats on the Special Committee on Investment Responsibility” and that Stanford leadership regularly meet with “sit-in participants” and “representatives of the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities on campus regarding [their] demands and Stanford’s complicity to Israel’s apartheid and genocide.”

The protesters, who reportedly also participated in a recent “Sit-In to Stop Genocide,” disrupted the Family Weekend panel with loud chanting until they were escorted out by security, with some having to be forcibly removed. 18 demonstrators have been cited for misdemeanors for interrupting the campus event, according to The Stanford Daily.

“We made it very clear to President Saller and Provost Martinez during their negotiation process with the Sit-In to Stop Genocide that if they were not going to negotiate in good faith with our demands, then we’re going to escalate in our call for the demands,” Katie Eder, a protester and member of the “Sit-In to Stop Genocide,” told The Stanford Daily. “That’s exactly what we have done today.”

The student protesters allegedly shouted and chanted at the panelists during the event and had two banners that they held next to the stage. They also threw paper from a balcony that read, “Israel bombs, Stanford profits” and “Stanford uses scare tactics on your kids.” 

The chants that they yelled reportedly alternated between “Palestinian blood is on your hands,” “Up with liberation, down with occupation,” and “Free Palestine.”

[RELATED: Stanford students to stage sit-in at Starbucks to protest Israel: ‘Pledge to BDS’]

Some parents were not pleased with the protest. Reportedly, some shouted at the protesters, while others booed.

One student’s family member told The Stanford Daily, “[The protest] disrupts the 99% of people who were in there just purely trying to listen.” Another individual stated, “[T]his is an extraordinarily challenging time for university administrators, and I applaud them for their efforts.” 

Campus Reform has contacted Stanford University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.