Edgar Lee
On Tuesday (04/22), Yale students relaunched their encampment in response to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir holding a talk on campus. The demonstrators dispersed from the encampment later that night, resulting in zero arrests and at least three disciplinary citations. Encampment organizers used the short-lived encampment as a show of force against the university. The following day, Yale revoked recognition of an allegedly-involved Palestine solidarity student group, citing protest policy violations and antisemitism.
On Thursday (04/24), City College of New York students set up an encampment, named after Hilmi al-Faqaawi, a reporter for Palestine Today who was killed by Israel on April 7. Afterwards, protesters were brutalized and pepper sprayed by police, forcing demonstrators off campus and placing the campus in a state of lockdown.
On Wednesday (04/23), the FBI and Michigan police raided five homes of University of Michigan Palestine solidarity activists with warrants issued by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate “coordinated criminal acts of vandalism and property damage” dating back to February 2024. Electronic devices were confiscated and eight were detained but released.
John Philo, the legal director of the law center representing two targeted individuals, stated that “The students that were targeted appear to be those that [University of Michigan] officials believe are most active in on-campus protests… which in no way can be characterized as violent or causing significant vandalism.”
On Friday (04/25), a University of Michigan student—one of the “Encampment 11”—was ordered to spend four days in jail for violating his bond that required him to only be on campus to attend his classes. The repression is in the midst of the persecution of the “Encampment 11” and “Festifall 4,” University of Michigan students and graduate workers who are being charged for alleged involvement with protests in 2024. Readers can donate to their legal fund here.
The repression taking place against activists after the activity of the Palestine solidarity movement has relatively decreased is an intentional tactic of reaction, aiming to quietly repress some and make a big show out of others, both to quell rebellion and to intimidate dissidents while the movement has less eyes on it.
On Wednesday (04/23), monopoly media NBC News released a report of an alleged leak of plans to re-establish encampments at Columbia, detailing the careful and painstaking means in which they avoid and respond to repression, planning out legal defense before arrests occur, and using pseudonyms to avoid identification. Following the alleged leak—which highlights the fear among monopolies of the student movement rekindling—plainclothes security guards were spotted on Thursday (04/24) around what they claimed was the planned location. An encampment has yet to take place.
The continued reactionization of the old State and the repression that continues against Palestine solidarity activists demonstrates the importance of escalation and improving security and tactics in the midst of brief periods of shock and awe and prolonged periods of low-intensity counterinsurgency, so as to preserve one’s forces while inflicting maximum financial damage to schools. Every blow from reaction is something to learn from.
Photo: Yale protesters on April 22. Credit: @yalepalestineactions on Instagram.
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