Pro-Palestine demonstrators participate in national movement at Johns Hopkins University

By Tori Yorgey

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — Pro-Palestine demonstrators participated in a rally on the grounds of Johns Hopkins University Thursday evening, the same spot where they once had tents set up to show their support for Palestine.

“Our research submitted to Hopkins Public Interest Investment Advisory Council confirmed millions of dollars of investments in General Dynamics with an estimated millions more kept hidden by the university,” said one JHU student who did not provide their name to 11 News, while rallying for Palestine. “Kicking off the year, we send a warning to the administrators, the bureaucrats, and the architects of war who try to suppress the student movement. Though the tents and tarps came down in May, the student intifada has only begun.”

Demonstrators with the Hopkins Justice Collective met on Thursday to participate in the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s Student Day of Action for Palestine.

“We will not rest until our demands are met for a complete demilitarization of the university system, including the boycott and divestment of companies engaging in genocide and apartheid in Palestine,” said one demonstrator and student.

Baltimore Zionist District executive director Caren Leven attended the rally to ensure her pro-Israel voice was also heard.

“I had been alerted by different people, some students about this, JSP, the Student Justice for Palestine, had put out a national call for a rally around different campuses, including basically all campuses in Baltimore for a rally and uprising,” Leven said. “Johns Hopkins had a big encampment here, which I was here last year as well for the encampment. And just being Jewish, of course, my feelings are, I can’t even express the feelings of despair, the feelings of hurt, and the feelings of sadness that Jewish, and I don’t even want to say for myself, I want to say for Jewish students on campus.”

Leven added that some students on campus told her they were uncomfortable with the rally and demonstration.

“Why would you want to see this type of behavior on your college campuses, where you’re sending your kids to learn, to study, to be educated, and then you see this on your college campuses,” Leven said. “College campuses are being taken over by terrorist organizations, and it’s not OK.”

A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins University released this statement to 11 News once the rally ended:

“Our priority this afternoon was to accommodate peaceful protest while maintaining a safe environment for our community. “Our students have strong views and opinions on a range of issues. They are free to express them here as long as they comply with our rules, policies, and guidelines, which we expect them to follow. We ended the encampment in May with an agreement, and we are entering this semester with the expectations that the students will honor that commitment.” An agreement was met between the Hopkins Justice Collective and the university back in the springtime, which ended the encampment.

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