A group of about 50 DU students, faculty and community members gathered Thursday afternoon to protest the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip.
The protestors called for an immediate ceasefire, according to a flyer that appeared on campus in the days leading up to the event.
“[The protest] was the idea of an American friend and several international students to express their dejection of killing civilians and calling for a peaceful resolution in the Middle East,” said Lwael Dokhan, a second-year MBA student.
Although many of the protesters waved Palestinian flags and showed their support for the Palestinians, some students showed up merely to show their outrage at both sides.
“Anyone you talk to, no matter how liberal or conservative, will say it’s not right for Israel to attack Hamas, but what Hamas has done to Israel in the last few years is not okay either,” said freshman Paul Hamilton-Pennell.
A few other observers took the side of Israel, and some showed anger toward the protest.
“I think it’s messed up that they’re [protesting],” said freshman Eric Berkley.
“Palestine started the bombing and when Israel reacts, they get mad.”
As for a peaceful resolution, Berkley thinks it will probably never happen.
“There’s no peaceful resolution for the Israeli people,” he said. “Israelis were born to dislike Arab people.”
An anonymous DU employee observing the protest wasn’t quite as outraged but takes the same stance that Palestine is being hypocritical.
“Palestine launched 3,000 missiles into Israel last year,” he said.
“Hamas even launched 60 missiles the day before this began, and now they complain they’re the victims.”
Although supporters from both sides were present, the core group of protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs that read “US – Stop $ to Israel,” and “JustPeace – Palestine and Israel.”
“The guys firing the rockets are people like me, who are just pissed that they have to buy their food on the black market,” Hamilton-Pennell said. “No one is to blame. This is a good example of why we have to learn that people are people. There are Jewish Palestinians and Islamic Israelis; they are the minority, but the violence is a vicious cycle.”
Dokhan is from the Gaza strip and left behind a wife and two kids along with extended family and friends.
This protest was a result of his efforts, in collaboration with the International Awareness Initiative at DU and Colorado’s human rights community.
He believes the protest should send a message to the American people that their government should take a more proactive role in bringing
peace to this situation.
“I am angry and very worried about my family and my people,” he said.
“I know people who have been killed, and have relatives who have been killed.
“This will not bring peace, by killing civilians. An agreement must be reached and this must end.”
