Emory University’s Students for Socialism (SFS) group encouraged students to leave classes to attend their walkout and rally in support of Palestine on Thursday amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Roughly 70 protestors attended as speakers delivered demands for a ceasefire from atop a bench on the Quadrangle near the Administration Building.
As of publication, the Israel-Hamas war has continued for 147 days.
SFS is a new club dedicated to replacing capitalism with socialism. This is SFS’s second organized protest after hosting a demonstration on Feb. 19.
Students listen to an SFS speaker on the Quad. (Claire Fenton/Managing Editor)
During the protest, participants shouted chants such as “There is only one solution, intifada revolution,” “Israel, Israel, what do you say, how many kids have you killed today?” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Elijah Brawner (26T) delivered a speech where he discussed the need for solidarity in the pro-Palestinian movement when facing “enemies.” He later equated Zionists to enemies.
Some members of the crowd then turned to a group of roughly 15 pro-Israel counter-protesters and chanted, “Hi enemies.”
“It’s not enough that we simply write in the comments and quote ‘free Palestine’ in the comments on Instagram … that we simply wear an article of clothing around campus so we know what hashtags to put on our posts or what flag to put on our Instagram bio,” Brawner told the crowd. “We have to show material solidarity. What does material solidarity look like? Material solidarity looks like disrupting the … machine that hosts this genocide.”
Emory-Israel Public Affairs Committee President Sophie Kalmin (26C) attended the event as a counter-protester and characterized the protest as antisemitic.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of these protests popping up on campus and part of me is afraid to come over here,” Kalmin said. “Last week, we heard ‘intifada’ on our campus for the first time. That is chilling. It’s disgusting. It’s disturbing.”
“Intifada” is a word for an uprising that is used to describe periods of Palestinian militant attacks on Israel throughout history.
Isabella Montealegre (21Ox, 24B), a principal organizer for SFS, said the group designed the protest to disrupt classes because they should not “go on as usual” while there is “genocide” occurring in Gaza.
“We’re really calling for the liberation of the Palestinian people that have faced insane, brutal occupation for almost 75 years,” Montealegre said. “We are in favor of a one state where Israelis and Palestinians can live together.”
Jack Rutherford (27C) is a News Editor at the Emory Wheel. He is from Louisville, Kentucky, majoring in Economics on a pre-law track. When not writing for the Wheel, he can normally be found with the Emory Rowing team or at a Schwartz Center performance. In his free time, Rutherford enjoys listening to classical music or opera, or is out walking in Lullwater.
