Jacksonville SDS rallies against Israeli soldiers on campus

Jacksonville, FL – On March 27, Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied dozens of students to protest a speaking event which brought two Israeli occupation forces (IOF) troops to the University of North Florida. The soldiers were on campus to justify their war crimes in Gaza during the first wave of the accelerated genocide. The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) co-sponsored the protest, and several other student and community organizations were in attendance.

The rally took place outside the UNF Student Union, where the speaking event was being held. They chanted so those inside the building could hear: “Say it loud, say it clear, IOF’s not welcome here!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

During the rally, SDS member Felix Bonventre condemned UNF for allowing the soldiers on campus. They said, “Anyone on this campus who speaks up about the genocide and UNF’s complicity is forcibly shut down, but monsters like these soldiers are given the red carpet in the name of ‘hearing both sides.’”

While the rally was taking place outside the Student Union, members of SDS and JPSN, along with several other students and community members, entered the building to disrupt the event from inside. They gathered outside the room where the event was being held and shut it down with chants loud enough to be heard from outside the building.

UNF responded to the protest with heavy police presence. 20 riot police and 15 squad cars were spotted, with officers openly surveilling the rally. University police trapped the indoor protesters in the building’s lobby, taking IDs, and banning them from campus. At one point, the chief of university police isolated SDS Vice President Lorelai Dodge and threatened to “make [her] a martyr” if she did not leave the premises.

Despite UNF’s attempts at repression, the students and Jacksonville community members stood firm against the Zionist event. Between the disruption from the rally outside and the indoor protest, several people were seen leaving the event prematurely, and the IOF soldiers did not have a moment of peace at UNF.

Throughout the protest, SDS raised its demands for UNF to disclose its investments and cut its ties with Zionist weapons manufacturers. The university has a known partnership with Boeing, a company that supplies Israel with weapons used against Palestinians. They also have over $150 million in private investments which are sealed from public view.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #Palestine