As protest remains peaceful at UC Santa Cruz solidarity camp, critics say some signs are antisemitic
-Video from previous broadcast.
As the Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of California, Santa Cruz moves into day seven, some have raised concerns over signs that have been posted in and around the camp.
On Wednesday, May 2, students set up an encampment, with tents, meal areas, first aid centers, a library and hastily made fencing and barricades, at the UCSC Quarry Plaza. Since then, the number of tents has only grown.
Related | An inside look at UC Santa Cruz encampment, continued protest for divestment
The group Students of Justice in Palestine UCSC has called for the school to divest from weapon manufacturing companies, cut ties "with all Zionist institutions" including kicking Hillel off campus, and more.
Some people online, as well as students on campus who have talked to KSBW 8 reporters, are concerned by some of the signs and rallying cries chanted by the protestors.
Concerning Signs and Chants
"From the river to the sea" is a common rallying cry at pro-Palestinian protests across the country calling for Palestinian freedom. The river is the Jordan River on the eastern side of Israel and the sea is the Mediterranean, which is on the west of Israel. For some Jewish people, it is a call for the destruction of Israel and death to Israelis.
The phrase "from the river to the sea" has its roots in the Hamas charter and is also chanted by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a militant group that that was behind suicide attacks in the early 2000s).
Protestors say they use the call as one for freedom in the region that includes Gaza and Israel.
Less popular, but still seen at the UC Santa Cruz campus protest, is the phrase “Globalize the Intifada."
On its face, an intifada refers to a civil uprising and rebelling against oppression. According to the American Jewish Committee, the phrase is bathed in violence, and intifadas conducted by Hamas and other terrorist groups have ended in the deaths of Jewish people and the end of Israel.
"Globalize the Intifada" is a call for the world to rise up and stand against Israel, which is not antisemitic on its own, but since the First and Second Intifadas were periods of time where Jewish people were targeted and killed, the Jewish community view it negatively around the world.
A few signs reading "Glory to the martyrs" have been captured by KSBW 8 cameras at the UC Santa Cruz encampment. To Jewish students and pro-Jewish groups across the country, the phrase is praising killing of Jewish civilians by Hamas in October.
Most signs and chants at the UC Santa Cruz encampment have zero connections to antisemitic phrases or events. They call for peace in Palestine, the end of UC investments to weapon manufacturers, and for the end of genocide.
It should be noted that during the interviews conducted by KSBW 8 reporters at UC Santa Cruz, no one has made antisemitic remarks or statements. A few Jewish students have said they feel uncomfortable on campus, but no violence or clashes have been reported at UC Santa Cruz.