Activists vow continued protests at US universities despite crackdown

By Faruk Hanedar

ISTANBUL (AA) - American activists vow to persist in their pro-Palestine protests despite police interventions and university administrations' efforts to block the demonstrations.

Huwaida Arraf and Marybeth Brownlee, who came to Istanbul as part of the activities of the International Freedom Flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, spoke to Anadolu about Palestine solidarity protests at US universities.

Arraf, a Palestinian-American human rights lawyer and organizer of the Freedom Flotilla, criticized the US for failing to act in the face of crimes against humanity in Gaza.

"We intend to sail until we break this siege. We have long witnessed, unfortunately, the US leading an effort to foil our ability to sail, and they have done that by placing pressure economically ... but that has not stopped us. In fact, it has strengthened our resolve," she said.

Arraf criticized the US for neglecting its responsibilities, highlighting how civil society is taking on tasks the government should handle.

She said they are opposed to the "war crimes," emphasizing that US resources should be used to prevent such acts, not hinder those opposing them.

"The US is absolutely complicit in Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people," Arraf added.

Amid nationwide protests now taking place at around 35 universities, she criticized the stance of universities and the US government toward student protests.

"Unfortunately, the universities, instead of listening to these students and respecting their demands -- which are in compliance with international law, they are asking their universities to not support Israeli apartheid -- are ordering a brutal crackdown. They are beating students, arresting them, and expelling them.

"It's a shame, but what these students are doing is absolutely laudable. They are really reflecting the best of humanity, and I give them my greatest respect and admiration. I don't think these students will give up."

Arraf also praised the students' "resolute" and historic movement in the US marking a "turning point" in the struggle for "Palestine's liberation.”

- ‘We are all working towards a single common goal through different paths’

Marybeth Brownlee, a US college student, said young people's independent thinking and critical analysis in protests were inspiring, noting that some of these protesters are her friends.

"We're all working towards that common goal through different avenues of approach," she said.

Brownlee criticized state and university administrations' attitudes towards students, asserting that they will not back down despite challenges.

"It is absolutely unreasonable, over-policing, it's an overstretch of the power, and demonstrates how there is this ruling class in the US that does not, in fact, listen to the will of its people.

"Well, you'll see that even with the arrests, they're still coming back, and not only do more students join, but more camps are forming all over the country,” she noted.

Brownlee stressed that the US police's increased pressure on students will exacerbate the protests.

"So I hold my country accountable, and I hold myself accountable, I hold my neighbors, my community accountable, and ultimately I hold my government accountable, because if they're paying for the bombs, then it's our bombs."

She also said the US supports the "genocide" carried out by Israel in Gaza.

"I don't know that democracy ever truly existed in the US, because we were a country built on the backs of human trafficking with the slave trade that benefited the US in its fledgling years, and we've never even reconciled that aspect of our history. So I don't know that I could even call us a democracy, but with that, with the love I have for all of humanity, I must point out these issues. I must raise my voice to my government, to my country, to say we need to do better."

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi