Hundreds of students left the Stanford University graduation ceremony yesterday, Sunday, in protest against the university’s investments in institutions that provide weapons to the Israeli army, and to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Video footage showed the students leaving the ceremony at the beginning of the university president’s speech, carrying flags and Palestinian keffiyehs, and media platforms estimated the number of students at more than 400.
A student group boycotting the ceremony called on students to hold an alternative graduation ceremony on the same day, attended by students who were prevented by the university from attending the graduation ceremony due to their role in the student protests that took place at American universities months ago in rejection of the war on Gaza.
TODAY: Over 400 Stanford University students walk out of commencement alongside their families during President Richard Saller’s speech.
Students say the walkouts are demanding diversification from Israel and are protesting the shut down of a 120 day sit-in for Gaza. pic.twitter.com/t4mX4gCYtE
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) June 16, 2024
About two weeks ago, more than 10 people were arrested at Stanford University in California after pro-Palestinian student demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the university president’s office, in the latest clash between American students and the authorities over the Israeli war on Gaza.
The students urged the university to divest from companies linked to the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, among other demands.
The university said that the studies of the detained students will be suspended, and those who graduate will be deprived of them.
The university also removed a pro-Palestinian camp that had been on campus since last April, and a pro-Israel display honoring the Israelis killed in the Al-Aqsa flood attack on October 7, citing public safety concerns.
Many American and European universities witnessed student protests rejecting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which prompted local authorities in many of them to dismantle camps for pro-Palestine protesters and arrest dozens.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Reuters + social media sites
