Members of the independent Yale University student group ‘Yalies4Palestine’ went on a hunger strike starting over the weekend. They want the school to divest from Israel, among other things.
There were only six participants, which would seem to suggest that most people have moved on from this fad.
Yale Daily News reported:
Six Yalies4Palestine members begin hunger strikeSix individuals associated with Yalies4Palestine began a hunger strike “for Gaza” at noon on Saturday.The group, which includes five undergraduate students and one recent Yale College graduate, will only consume water until Yale concedes to their list of demands, they told the News. The individuals spoke to the News on the condition of anonymity.“Children and families are starving, so we’re in solidarity with Gaza, as well as students across the country that are hunger striking,” a hunger striker told the News on behalf of the group.The hunger strikers told the News that they began their protest in solidarity with a group of 25 students from California State Universities in Long Beach, San Jose, Sacramento and San Francisco, who began a hunger strike on May 5. They also pointed to Israel’s blockade of all goods and humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has halted the entry of any food, medicine and fuel since March 2…Pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale have seen significantly fewer attendees during the 2024-25 academic year than they did last spring. On April 22, around 200 pro-Palestinian protestors set up an encampment on Beinecke Plaza to protest an upcoming talk near Yale’s campus by far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. That encampment lasted less than three hours.
The tweet below reads:
Yale students are hunger striking “for Gaza,” but the whole display reeks of performance and moral blackmail.“Maybe they will care if their students are hunger striking.”They’re demanding that Yale divest from defense contractors, sever ties with Israel, and adopt a rigid political agenda—all while insisting they’re champions of “free speech.”“We demand ideological divestment and ending partnerships with Tel Aviv University…”
You’ll notice that everyone in the video is hiding their identity.
They eventually tried to raise an alarm over the blood sugar level of one of the protesters.
And finally, the best part. An administrator showed up and informed them that none of their demands would be met and that if they continue, they could face arrest. Note that this is exactly the way a recent, similar situation was dealt with at Swarthmore College.
This tweet reads:
The official reminded students that their gathering was unauthorized: “You’re not allowed to be here… you need permission to hold an event or a gathering on campus.” Only registered groups can request that permission, and this group was not.They were told to leave by 4:30 p.m. or face consequences: “If not, I will ask for your IDs.” Those who refused could be subject to “disciplinary action or arrest.”One protester shot back: “Would you rather have your students starve than to talk to them?”
Watch:
As I said about Swarthmore, this is the right way to deal with this. No negotiations, no coddling, no talk of demands. You are distracting the learning process for other students. Knock it off or there will be consequences. End of story.
Featured image via Twitter video.
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