KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A group of University of Tennessee students held a vigil on Wednesday in memory of Palestinians who have been killed in the Gaza area. At the same event, the Students for Justice in Palestine also called for UT to divest from Israel-affiliated companies.
Late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, law enforcement was seen on campus. The Knoxville Police Department said officers joined the University of Tennessee Police Department's response to the demonstrations.
Students at the vigil told 10New that they deliberately didn't bring sleeping bags or tents because they were not setting up an encampment.
UT released a statement regarding the group late Thursday morning:
"The university values freedom of speech and expression and is committed to the safety of all members of our campus community. Everyone on campus is expected to follow applicable laws and university policy for freedom of assembly and demonstration. A group of administrators from divisions and offices across campus had been communicating with the group gathered on the outskirts of campus all day yesterday and returned last night to reiterate permissible and impermissible activities, including the state law prohibiting camping on state property, like the university’s campus. The university utilizes a tiered response approach that begins with warnings from administrators and could escalate to law enforcement if necessary. If there is an imminent safety threat, law enforcement responds immediately. No arrests were made."
As part of those calls for divestment, the group called on UT to also disclose its investments and donations. The SJP also said it wants the university to end its study abroad program in Israel, and to publically support students' freedom of speech on campus.
A full list of the group's demands is available below.
- That the university fully discloses all investments and donations received from Israeli companies or entities. The university community of students, faculty, alumni, and donors has the right to know how our institution's finances are being utilized and whether they are potentially supporting violations of international law and human rights. We request a transparent disclosure of all current investments to be reviewed and realigned with our university's core values.
- That the University of Tennessee divest its endowment from any and all corporations that are directly or indirectly involved in facilitating war, occupation, policing, militarism, and death globally. It is the responsibility of our institution to ensure that its financial resources do not support or profit from such activities.
- The immediate cessation of the Study Abroad program in Israel. The program purports to provide students a study of peace and conflict, despite the fact that this very program exists within a state built on apartheid. As students who were taught the values of equity and justice in education and in life, we find this program, and by extension, the university, to be complicit in apartheid.
- That the university explicitly rejects any threats against the free speech of the students — including SPJ members — and affirms our First Amendment rights. Recent events have shown a growing hospitality towards student organizations that advocate for Palestinian rights, and it is vital that our university stand firm in protecting our constitutional right to free expression.
"I feel like they're just trying to mute our voice. Like I was saying earlier, anything that we'd try and do for SJP, Students for Justice in Palestine, they either try to, like, relocate us somewhere where not a lot of people will see it, or they're just being very difficult," said Laith Burbar, a student at UT.
UT said it would engage with students directly on the list of demands, and said they appreciated the "civil nature" of the students who participated in the vigil.
Dozens of people attended the vigil and signed a poster on the university's Pedestrian Walkway near Hodges Library. Groups there spoke about the crisis and about the impact it has had on families in East Tennessee.
Another group later joined the students and marched for Palestine. That group included faith leaders, some UT faculty and some community leaders including Yassin Terou, owner of Yassin's Falafel House.
According to The Daily Beacon, UT's student newspaper, a group of pro-Israel also appeared with U.S. flags and chants. The pro-Palestine group marched from the Torchbearer statue followed by the pro-Israel group, eventually standing at opposite ends of the street on Cumberland Avenue.
While the pro-Israel group eventually left, the pro-Palestinian group continued its gathering Wednesday evening. Organizers there served food, made crafts and continued speaking on the crisis. At least 50 people attended on the UT campus.
Another demonstration was organized at Vanderbilt University, where activists shared sentiments with pro-Palestinian activists across the country.
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.
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.
