Pro-Palestinian protesters walked out of classes Tuesday afternoon to engage in a more than two-hour protest on the second day of the “Week of Rage” on campus.
About 75 protesters gathered on the H Street side of Kogan Plaza at about 3 p.m., where organizers played songs like Falastin Taj 3al Rass by Muhannad Khalaf while waiting for additional students to trickle in. At about 3:24 p.m., organizers began leading chants like “We want justice, you say how? We want your investments canceled,” in reference to protesters demands for the University including greater financial transparency and divestment from companies that allegedly support Israel.
Pro-Palestinian organizations across the D.C. area organized a “Week of Rage,” a week of demonstrations following the one year anniversary of Oct. 7, which marks Hamas’s attack on Israel and the beginning of the war in Gaza. Tuesday’s walkout was the second demonstration of GW’s week, the first being a vigil Monday mourning those killed in Palestine during the war in Gaza.
A representative from the DMV chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine said protesters gathered to express the “rage” they feel as the war in Gaza enters its second year and Israel “sets its eyes on” other countries like Yemen, Lebanon and Syria. Since the onset of the war in Gaza, relationships between Israel and its neighbors have grown more strained, especially over the last few weeks as the country has continued its military operations beyond the Gaza Strip, killing civilians in the process.
In Lebanon, at least 2,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7, majority in recent weeks by Israeli military.
“One year of resistance by our people in Palestine, in the diaspora and in new heart of empire, we truly must refuse to be exhausted,” the DMV SJP representative said in a speech.
The representative said two-thirds of the weapons responsible for the war come from the United States and protestors must hold GW accountable for its role in investing in weapon manufacturers. A flier that was passed out to demonstrators claimed the University has a “history” of working with companies like Lockheed Martin, which manufacture and supply weapons to Israel.
“Don’t let them try to tell you that GW isn’t involved, or that divestment isn’t possible, like Granberg so proclaims,” the representative said in a speech. “The company that runs GW’s finances already developed a complete process of divesting from weapon manufacturers,” the representative said in a speech.
The crowd grew to about 150 protesters at about 3:55 p.m. and began marching down H Street towards University Yard while two dozen Metropolitan Police Department officers stood in front of U-Yard, which was surrounded by caution tape.
Six minutes later, protesters turned onto G street. Office of Student Life officials like the Assistant Dean of Student Life Brian Joyce followed alongside the demonstration around campus.
At about 4:08 p.m., protesters stopped at the corner of G and 21st Streets while representatives from student organizations like the Muslim Student Association and Black Defiance gave speeches.
A speaker from the MSA told protestors to not let apathy and feelings of hopelessness overcome their ability to act and advocate.
“Many of us stand here today, frustrated, angry and in disarray, unable to comprehend that we are witnessing one of the most tragic anniversaries of genocide in our lifetime, but today and every day we have to use the perseverance and unwavering peace seen on the faces of our Palestinian brothers and sisters as fuel for us to continue to fight for a free Palestine within our lifetime,” the MSA representative said.
A representative from GW Black Defiance said the organization will continue to stand in “unwavering solidarity” with the Palestinian community despite “continuous opposition” from the university.
At about 4:20 p.m., protesters continued down 21st Street toward Strong Hall, turning onto F Street at about 4:25 p.m. The demonstration stopped in front of the School of Engineering and Applied Science building at about 4:30 p.m. to chants of “No more hiding, no more fear, rise against war profiteers” and “Gaza, Gaza you are not alone, this campus is our freedom zone.”
As protesters walk down 21st street toward H Street, some ran to the sides near MPD and held up signs next to MPD Commander Jason Bagshaw that read statements like “This pig killed an unarmed Black man” and “Wanted for: murder Lazarus Wilson,” in reference to when Bagshaw shot and killed a man in July 2022.
While protesters continued chanting in front of the SEAS building, at least five organizers handed out flyers to passersby that outlined GW’s investments in technology and engineering companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, with ties to Israel. The flyer contains five QR codes leading to donation links to help people in Gaza, multiple petitions demanding companies cut ties with Israel and encouraging students to not accept jobs that don’t.
“No tech for apartheid! Divest from death!” the flyer reads. “Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman are priority foundations that GW has a ‘longstanding’ relationship with.”
“Disclose, divest, no ties to bombs, no ties to tech,” the crowd of protesters chant in front of SEAS.
At about 5 p.m., the group of about 60 protesters walked down H Street chanting “Gaza, Gaza make us proud, come on GW let’s get loud,” stopping in front of Phillips Hall where a banner reading “Israel bombs, GW invests, divest from death” was hung by organizers from the skywalk connecting Phillips Hall and Smith Hall.
An organizer of the protest said students have been “resisting” for one year and have been all over campus demanding divestment and financial transparency to close out the demonstration.
“Last year in Shohada Square, when GW brought in these pigs to come and mace us and brutalize us, GW thought that our resistance was done,” the organizer said in a speech. “They thought that our organizing was done, but here, one year later, we are still here.”
The organizer said the “Week of Rage” is a nationwide movement hosted by SJP chapters at all universities.
“And why is this a week of rage?” the organizer asked the crowd of protesters. “Because we are angry. One year of massacres, one year of bloodshed, one year of watching children in pieces, mothers and fathers digging through the rubble for their children.”
