Students for Justice in Palestine at Ohio State aim to bring attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a rally and candlelight vigil. Credit: Jessica Langer | Editor In Chief
Students for Justice in Palestine at Ohio State will hold a rally and candlelight vigil Friday night, demanding Israel be held responsible for their actions in Palestine.
According to a news release, there will be an estimate of 200 students and Columbus locals in attendance at Goodale Park. Daoud Al-Akhras, a fourth-year in economics and co-president of SJP, said in an email the demonstration is meant to mourn the Palestinians who lost their lives as a result of the missile strikes in Gaza.
“The purpose of our demonstration today is to mourn the death of 44 innocent Palestinian civilians, 16 of which were children, who were brutally murdered in a missile strike conducted by the Israeli Occupation Forces,” Al-Akhras said.
Khalid Dada, a fourth-year in public policy analysis and president of SJP, said the rally comes after Israeli Occupation Forces launched missile attacks in a residential area of Gaza and later killed four Palestinian resistance leaders in a raid in Nablus Aug. 9.
According to the BBC, on Aug. 5, Israeli forces began attacking sites on the Gaza strip in what was the most serious flare up in the conflict since May 2021. After three days of violence in which at least 44 people were killed, a ceasefire was mediated by Egypt, which has mediated conflicts between Israel and Gaza in the past.
Dada said SJP hopes their support reaches beyond Ohio State to the people of Palestine.
“We are gathering today, hosting this protest and rally, for hope that the children and innocent people of Palestine can hear our support for them,” Dada said.
Al-Akhras said the candlelight vigil, which will be held after the demonstration, is meant to honor Palestinians who were killed or injured by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
“As a token of respect for the Palestinian people, we are holding a vigil to commemorate the deceased and injured as a result of the settler colonialist aggressors,” Al-Akhras said.
Dada said SJP worked to pass the divestment resolution in the Undergraduate Student Government this past spring. The resolution asked Ohio State to divest from two companies, Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which it stated contributed to human rights violations by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
Dada said since the resolution was passed but never enacted, SJP hopes to educate students on the events in Palestine and hold the university accountable for being complicit in the human rights violations happening in Palestine.
“We hope that Ohio State students can recognize a horrible situation that the people of Palestine are in as we continue to advance our fight at the university level because our university is very complicit in these crimes,” Dada said. “We are knowingly participating in the illegal occupation by providing for several companies who have a major say in what is going on over there.”
According to the Office of Marketing and Communications, Ohio State follows all applicable laws regarding investments, “including state laws specifically addressing this issue.”
