American University Students for Justice in Palestine and AU Alums for Palestine held a noise demonstration in protest of the AU Meltzer Schwartzberg Center for Israel Studies conference “Israel at 100: Scenarios for the Future of Israel in 2048” on Nov. 12 outside Constitution Hall.
The demonstration began around 11:30 a.m., with one Metropolitan Police Department car parked on Nebraska Avenue and another parked in Hannay Gate at its commencement. Protestors dispersed around 2 p.m., with MPD numbers fluctuating throughout those hours.
Over a dozen officers and at least seven squad cars were seen across East Campus at the height of police presence. Caution tape and officers blocked off the entrances and stairs to Constitution Hall, and the back of the building.
Before the demonstration began, an MPD officer approached protesters and asked to speak with the organizer. The officer asked if the protesters planned to remain on the sidewalk or demonstrate in the street and if the protest was going to be peaceful.
Protestors utilized noisemakers, drums and various chants to disrupt the conference. They often yelled “Shame!” to those entering the building, and middle fingers were occasionally exchanged back and forth. Throughout the afternoon, multiple cars drove by and honked in support of the protestors.
The noise demonstration began on Nebraska Avenue Northwest by the street entrance to East Campus. After around half an hour, demonstrators marched to the entrance of Constitution where four officers guarded the stairs leading to the event.
Protesters stood directly in front of the officers and chanted at them, “MPD, KKK, IOF they’re all the same.” IOF refers to the Israel Defense Forces but instead labels them the Israeli Offensive or Israeli Occupying Forces.
The conference hosted by the CIS began on the night of Nov. 11 with opening remarks in the School of International Service Abramson Family Founders Room. The next day, the event continued from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., with various notable speakers.
The keynote speaker was David Passig, a professor and scholar of futurism at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, advisor to the Israeli Air Force and Ministry of Education and former IDF soldier.
Other speakers included Eugene Kandel, the former economic advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and current chairman of the board of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, as well as Eyal Hulata, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council.
According to the website detailing the conference information, the event was meant to “explore future scenarios for the Jewish state” that originally “grew out of a utopian vision.”
Quinn Chapman, who graduated last spring from the College of Arts and Sciences and the co-founder of AU Alums for Palestine, critiqued this “utopia label.”
Chapman discussed the importance of protesting this conference on what he calls “the 400th day of genocide.” Chapman said the conference celebrated Israel 100 years since the “nakba,” which translates to “catastrophe” and refers to the large displacement and loss of land experienced by Palestinians when Israel became a state in 1948, according to the United Nations.
Chapman founded AU Alums for Palestine this past summer with other alumni who were former members of SJP.
“[A noise demonstration] shows the admin and the Center for Israel Studies that we’re here, we’re not going away,” Chapman said. “The students have alumni support, and the alumni have student support, and we’re going to continue working together.”
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Maya Cederlund, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Charlie Mennuti.
