On September 15, students at Boston University (BU) alongside community members launched the “Anas Al-Sharif Union”. The encampment was named in honor of Anas Al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist murdered by Israel in Gaza on August 10 after the Zionists targeted his media team.
Within 15 minutes of the encampment being established, the Boston University Police Department (BUPD) arrived on the scene, followed by the Boston Police Department (BPD). Two hours into the encampment, protesters reported that dozens of police vehicles had gathered, and that BUPD and BPD had called in additional reinforcements from the Massachusetts State Police Quick Response Force and Counter Assault Team—heavily armed, militarized tactical units.
After a standoff, protesters dispersed without arrests. In a statement posted to Instagram, organizers with Quinobequin Student Front For Palestine (QSFP) vowed to return, writing, “Boston University’s decision to mobilized militarized troops to descend upon our encampment on Monday night was unsurprising. This institution is cowardly. It is weak, and steadily weakening. We, the students, can only grow stronger. We understand that this is a protracted struggle… Now is the time to act.”
One organizer who spoke with The Worker explained the significance of the encampment:
“The Anas Al-Sharif Union was designed to foster anti-imperialist community early on in the year at BU and to put the administration’s willingness to subjugate their students to state violence on display. The police response, involving over 50 police vehicles from four different agencies, two surveillance drones and a helicopter, was completely unprecedented on our campus. The response displayed to the student body uninvolved in the struggle for Palestinian liberation the lengths the university would go to silence student voice and protect the zionist entity.
“The Anas Al-Sharif Union gave students a space to reflect on the life of Anas Al-Sharif, discuss the student movement, and reimagine a part of the campus for Palestine. We hope this set the groundwork for this year’s organizing—educating new students on the movement and being strategic and adaptable in the face this university’s repression. We also sent the message to the university early on in the year that this is only the beginning. That we are organized, strong, prepared to continue to disrupt. We are prepared to escalate until divestment and until we see a liberated Palestine.”
Instead of being intimidated by the heavy repression, the organizer described the police response as a sign that the ruling class is “weak and dying, so they are lashing out.”
“The only way to win demands is through targeting these institutions financially, sharpening contradictions… until we can force these institutions into a position where they have no other choice,” the organizer told The Worker. To do this, the organizer emphasized the need to “continue to call people into the movement, without sacrificing any principles or giving up ground.”
The monopoly outlet NBC reported that the encampment came on the same evening that the Boston University College Republicans held a meeting discussing how they are feeling “marginalized” following the annihilation of ultra-reactionary commentator Charlie Kirk.
Photo: Boston University encampment. Sent to The Worker anonymously.
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