AHRC Salutes Students Protesting Against The Genocide In Gaza, Calls For Respect Of First Amendment Rights:

The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins peace loving people across the nation expressing support for the right of the students to protest and assemble free from fear, intimidation, scare tactics and other efforts to suppress their ability to express themselves freely.

Students around the country and at different prominent universities such as Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, and University of Michigan have gathered in “Encampments for Gaza” to take a stand against the ongoing Israeli genocide war against the occupied Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. These students are taking an honorable stand against the ongoing human rights violations and war crimes against the Palestinians.

AHRC condemns the suppression of the constitutional rights of students. These students should be protected and not be subject to the heavy hand of the law simply for exercising their constitutional rights. This suppression is immoral and unconstitutional and goes against the very idea of a university.

These honorable students have been falsely accused of being "anti-Semitic" or anti-Jewish. This is a blatant lie. Many of these protesters are Jewish. They are taking a stand against an ongoing genocide in Gaza. The World Court said there is a genocide. President Biden himself admitted last December that Israel's bombardment of Gaza is “indiscriminate.” Israel is preventing Gazans from receiving the food they need to survive. The attacks on humanitarian aid workers have been systematic. There is ample reason for these students to be angry and to express their anger peacefully on their own campus.

We call on all university administrators to not cave in to pressure from the Zionist lobby and Zionist donors. University presidents’ primary obligation is to their primary stakeholder- the student.

Students have a history of activism for different causes. The Vietnam war is one example of student protests. There is nothing new in students protesting. They should not be met with draconian measures from the government and from the university. Calling these students names will not change the reality that these are good people. These students are on the side of human rights and international law. They are on the side of decency.

These students are motivated by concerns for human rights and international law. They are putting what is right above their self -interest. Their self-interest is not to challenge the powerful Israel lobby. Their narrow self-interest is to remain silent or to be on the side of the powerful. We urge all peace and justice loving people to support these student protesters.