KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Wednesday, a group of students and community members were scheduled to meet on a lawn at the University of Tennessee for a "Nakba Day Vigil." Before any activities could take place for the vigil, several people were taken into custody including Yassin Terou — a Knoxville icon. UT said eight people not affiliated with the university and three students were arrested.
The vigil was meant to honor communities that were displaced during a period of Palestinian history when people lost their homes and lives following World War II, as Israel was created.
It was originally scheduled to be held on the lawn near the UT College of Law at 7 p.m. By that time, a heavy police presence was there. Several University of Tennessee Police Department cruisers lined the road surrounding the building, along with a van from the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
On social media, the People's School for Gaza said police threatened to arrest them.
"Senior Vice Chancellor, Allen Bolten, has come with police threatening to arrest students and community members grieving and protesting on Nakba Day," the group posted on social media.
UT previously told the People's School for Gaza that it could use a plaza near the Student Union until May 18, as long as they left by 10 p.m. each day. On Wednesday, the group organized the Nakba Day Vigil at the College of Law lawn.
At around 8 p.m., Bolten emerged and warned the group of more than a dozen people to leave within ten minutes or they would be arrested for trespassing, according to a livestream of the vigil posted on social media.
In a video posted by the social media page, Bolten reads a statement with a megaphone after the group walks up to the College of Law with flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.
"That space has been reserved for you from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Saturday, May 18. This is not a reservable campus space, and you are not authorized to be on this site. Please leave this location immediately. The Student Union Cumberland Plaza remains available for your use today, until 10 p.m. Your failure to leave this non-reservable campus space within ten minutes will result in trespass notification and possible arrest by the police. Anyone arrested this evening will be processed and transported to the Knox County Jail," he said.
In the video, he walks away as a person shouts, "How are you going to arrest me on a campus I pay money to attend?" The crowd then breaks out in pro-Palestinian chants.
"For whatever reason, all these cops are present today," said one person wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh at the vigil. "I feel like we are losing our free speech rights in this country, and that's a shame."
The group stood on the concrete near the College of Law lawn when they were warned they would be taken into custody for trespassing. Yassin Terou, the owner of Yassin's Falafel House, was also seen in the livestream being handcuffed and taken into police custody during the vigil.
"I really, really admire Yassin. I admire what he stands for. I admire that he seeks to grow this country into what it could be," said one person who attended the vigil. "It just hurts, and at the core of it, it really is just a waste of everyone's time because the dean could have let a quick vigil."
Terou has been a major presence at gatherings of the People's School for Gaza and was recognized several times for his work organizing relief efforts for tragedies worldwide.
After the people were detained, the group grew in size. Several flew Palestinian flags and wore keffiyehs while chanting pro-Palestinian phrases like, "Free Palestine." They stood on the sidewalk near the lawn, and police at the scene warned them not to block pedestrian traffic.
"We're here to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba in Palestine, which is about the displacement of about 750,000 Palestinians from their homes. It was generally referred to as a 'catastrophe,' but as my daughter referred to this evening, it was actually a crime," said Rebecca Husain. "Very peaceful, nobody objected and nobody did anything. They just walked them into the paddy wagon and drove them away."
She estimated that at least ten people were taken into custody. The Knoxville Police Department said its officers were not involved in the response to the vigil.
Information about whether any charges would be filed against the people was not immediately available.
Reporters from WBIR were not at the gathering when people were taken into custody. UT released a statement after people were detained, saying the gathering was a protest. The full statement is below.
"There was a protest on campus and after multiple communications about time, place and manner restrictions and warnings about consequences for violating those restrictions, some members chose not to vacate the area and were trespassing, resulting in arrest."
At around 10:50 p.m., UT sent another statement. It is available below.
"The university has repeatedly communicated about following policies, including regarding the time, place and manner for holding events, to the protest group leaders and provided signage at their reserved event space. Administrators and UTPD provided personal warnings today that violation would result in trespass citation and arrest.
Despite these clear and repeated warnings, several members chose not to vacate the area and were arrested for trespassing. Eleven group members were taken into custody, including three students and eight people not affiliated with the university. Any student arrested will also be referred to student conduct.
The University of Tennessee respects individual’s rights to free speech and free expression and is committed to managing the campus for all. We will continue to be guided by the law and university policy, neutral of viewpoint."
Background on the People's School for Gaza
When People's School for Gaza began in early May, seven students and two people not affiliated with UT were arrested after the group was told to leave. It emerged after the Students for Justice in Palestine hosted an event about the ongoing Israel-Gaza Crisis, bringing students together for a vigil to honor Palestinians killed in Gaza on May 1.
During the event, they also demanded UT end its Israeli study abroad program and divest from Israel.
Following the vigil, groups began peacefully demonstrating for Palestine at UT. Some of the people who joined the demonstrations were not affiliated with the university. Those demonstrations lasted late into Thursday night near the Law School lawn. Police then arrested seven UT students and two people not affiliated with the university after they were told to leave.
The groups continued their gathering for days later, and they ended without arrests following warnings to leave from UT leaders. Organizers of the group said they invited guests to give seminars about Palestine and its history, effectively creating a daily study session focused on Palestine.
On Wednesday, the group organized the Nakba Day Vigil — meant to give people a chance to mourn and grieve. The group encouraged people to dress in black for the vigil. The United Nations said "Nakba" means "catastrophe" in Arabic and refers to the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948.
In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that effectively partitioned Palestine into two states — an Arab one and a Jewish one. While the Arab world rejected the resolution, the UN said militias attacked Palestinian villages and forced thousands to flee. It later led to a full-blown war erupting in 1948, according to the UN, which ended in the creation of the State of Israel.
In 2022, the UN General Assembly asked that the anniversary of the Nakba be commemorated on May 15.
The People's School for Gaza organized the vigil to commemorate the Nakba and remember the people who died in it.
Background on the Israel-Gaza Crisis
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Israeli officials said around 1,200 people died in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led raid in Southern Israel, and some 570 Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed since.
The ongoing Israeli offensive has also been internationally condemned, and the International Court of Justice called for Israel to prevent death and destruction after South Africa filed allegations that the country committed genocide in Gaza.
Across the U.S., protests at college campuses have also flared to show support for Palestine. At several schools nationally, police and National Guard members were called to force the demonstrations to an end.
The Oct. 7 bombing followed decades of tension, during which time the Human Rights Watch said Gazans lived in an "open-air prison." Most of the tension centers around Palestine and Gaza, an area that was divided as part of the "Nakba" — a period of displacements in the region following World War II as Israel was created.
"It remains a deeply traumatic event in their collective memory and continues to shape their struggle for justice and for their right to return to their homes," the UN said about the Nakba.
Hamas was elected to power during the mid-2000s. The United Nations said in 2019 more than half of all people in Gaza were under 18 years old, indicating they were not able to vote for Hamas when Israel declared war.
The group launched the attack on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War — causing an initial death toll that was unseen since the 1973 war between Israel, Egypt and Syria. The day after the Oct. 7 bombing, Israel declared war against Hamas and started bombarding Gaza.
The Gaza Strip was home to millions of people. The UN said more than 70% of all housing units have been destroyed, and around 80% have been destroyed in the northern area. The UN said the entire Gazan population is facing a "severe food crisis," escalating the risk of famine and especially impacting vulnerable groups. A UN Special Rapporteur for food also said Israel "has mounted a starvation campaign."
It also said on April 30 that the region's health system was in jeopardy. Only five hospitals in northern Gaza were partially functional, and only six were operational in the southern part of the region.
It said around 86% of schools were damaged, and 72% would need at least major rehabilitation work. It also said around 1.7 million people were displaced across the Gaza Strip, with families having to move multiple times in search of safety.
Around 200 days since the start of the crisis, violence continued flaring across the region.
The UN also said Israeli settler violence was prevalent, and over two days there were 18 incidents involving Israeli settlers. It said armed settlers held Palestinian farmers at gunpoint, seized crops, and assaulted shepherds. In the Jordan Valley, the UN also said settlers entered and tore down Palestinian tents.
Since Oct. 7, Israel has cut off much access to food, water, medicine and electricity in Gaza. On May 7, Israeli forces took control of Gaza's Rafah border crossing, prompting fears of a full-scale invasion of the city after talks in Cairo of a cease-fire with Hamas without any clear agreement.
The Pentagon said Monday that U.S. Army vessels and a U.S. Navy ship were part of an effort to build a floating platform to distribute aid to the Gaza Strip. The Pentagon said the effort would cost around $320 million, and a U.S. military official also said the American Army engineering unit teamed with an Israeli Defense Force engineering unit recently to practice installing parts of the platform, according to the Associated Press.
Aid has been slow to get into Gaza, with backups of trucks waiting for Israeli inspections. The U.S. and other nations used air drops to send food into Gaza, and aid organizations said several hundred trucks of resources are needed per day to fully help the region. With the Rafah crossing captured, Israel gained full control over the entry and exit of people and goods for the first time since it withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005.