(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . FSU students demonstrate for Palestine; demand trustees divest from Israel [1] ['Christian Casale', 'More From Author', '- November'] Date: 2023-11-10 A small but spirited group of student activists rallied outside of the Florida State University Board of Trustees meeting Friday to demand divestment from Israel — and were incensed by their inability to speak during public comment. “Viva, Viva, Palestina,” the students chanted, placing Palestinian flags onto a statue of a football player outside of Doak Campbell Stadium, near the meeting. “Shame!” They hissed in unison at any mention of FSU Richard McCullough, FSU’s partnership with The Boeing Co., or the university’s relationship with an organization that sponsors trips to Israel. The activist maintained that FSU has shown steadfast support for Israel and its Jewish students while neglecting the death toll in Gaza and Arab students. “FSU’s position on this matter has been made crystal clear by President Richard McCullough, who offered condolences for Israeli and Jewish students and faculty, with no mention of Palestinian members of our community and the turmoil they are certainly experiencing,” FSU Students for a Democratic Society said in a statement. The activists had three demands: First, a statement from President McCullough acknowledging the Palestinians killed by Israel since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas and the ensuing war. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Second, that FSU ends its student mentoring partnership with Boeing, which holds contracts with the Israel Defense Forces. Third, that FSU cease support for Birthright Israel — which sponsors “heritage trips” to the Holy Land for young Jewish adults — and “end any existing ties to related Zionist organizations.” “Our goal is to create a broad coalition of people to support Palestinians, including students and community members,” the statement reads. “We will not stop until Palestinians are free from discrimination and repercussions for sharing their experiences!” Public comment Joelle Nunez, a biology student ​​and president of FSU Students for a Democratic Society, was frustrated by what she said seemed like an effort by the university to keep the group from speaking during public comment. “It seems like they changed [the timing] right before we got here,” Nunez said. “So instead, we are having this rally to express our demands and essentially demand that FSU stop being complicit and stop endorsing this genocide.” FSU spokesperson Amy Farnum-Patronis said the trustees’ meeting started earlier than expected due to quick committee meetings, and so the protesters did not arrive in time for public comment. She declined to comment on the protesters’ specific demands. The demonstration comes at a time when university campuses have become polarized between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists. Gov. Ron DeSantis saw his efforts to try and disband Palestinian student organizations in Florida complicated after pushback from the University of Florida and the University of South Florida. On Friday, Columbia University suspended its campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, according to the Columbia Spectator, the school’s student newspaper. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/11/10/fsu-students-demonstrate-for-palestine-demand-trustees-divest-from-israel/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/