Dozens of students from the University of São Paulo (USP) began a camp this Tuesday (7) in support of the Palestinian cause and against Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip. The protest, the first of its kind at a major educational institution in Brazil, follows similar initiatives that began in the United States and spread across several countries.
The students set up tents at 6pm this Tuesday in the space of the Geography and History building, at FFLCH (Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences). At 8 pm, 17 tents were erected, and around 50 people were watching the pro-Palestine speeches taking place there. At 10pm, there were 26 tents.
In an act that marked the beginning of the camp, protesters hung Palestinian flags at the college and shouted slogans against Israel and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “State of Israel, murderous state. Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people!” and “Netanyahu war criminal, his time will come”, were some of the phrases sung by those present.
The protesters also repeated the slogan “from the river to the sea”, a phrase that defends that Palestinian territory officially extends from the Jordan River, the border between the West Bank and Jordan, to the Mediterranean Sea — today, this area is largely part Israel.
The movement is organized by the Student Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ESPP) with the participation of other student organizations at USP.
Luiza Arantes, director of the academic center for the literature course and member of ESPP, says she hopes that the camp will strengthen and give projection to the movement. She says the students will stay camped out at least until Thursday (9). A meeting was scheduled for that date in which students would pressure USP to terminate agreements with Israeli universities. According to Arantes, the meeting was canceled without explanation.
“The situation in Palestine has been going on for decades. Palestinians have had their lands and lives taken away. […] They are an oppressed people, as is also the case with people on the outskirts of Brazil. So we think it’s important to put the student movement in favor of this cause”, says Arantes. According to her, 50 to 100 students will spend the morning of this Wednesday camping in the tents.
The camp program includes debates and cultural activities. Also on Tuesday night, a film about Palestine was scheduled to be shown. On Wednesday, students must organize a round table with academics and experts on the Middle East, in addition to the performance of Palestinian music.
Protesters are also organizing an online petition in “defense of the Palestinian people”, which as of Tuesday night had 652 signatures. In the text, the students accuse the University of Haifa, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ariel University, all with agreements with USP, of developing technology used in what they consider the Palestinian genocide.
The University of Haifa coordinates an officer training program for the Israeli Armed Forces, while the Hebrew University of Jerusalem maintains partnerships with the Army on medical and soldier training programs. Ariel University is located in a Jewish settlement in Palestinian territory — these settlements are considered illegal by the international community.
Even before the act began, Jewish organizations in Brazil had already expressed concern. In a statement, the Israeli Federation of the State of São Paulo, says that, in the USA, the demonstrations on campus ended up “disconnecting from the peaceful bias of a speech in favor of a ceasefire in the Middle East to become the scene of acts of violence and spreading hate speech against Jews”, in addition to preaching praise for the terrorist group Hamas.
“Situations like this reinforce a fact: the war between Israel and Hamas has advanced territories, not with the presence of soldiers, but with the invasion of aggressive narratives, full of hate and without historical foundation that are taking shape in places far beyond the borders between Israel and Gaza,” said Marcos Knobel, president of the organization. “Spaces that are environments for debate and creating a critical mass of thought ended up becoming hubs for the dissemination of anti-Semitic messages.”
A Sheet was at the demonstration and, while following the event, did not witness any speech in support of Hamas or with anti-Semitic content.
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The event at USP also had the participation of Jews. Daniela Fajer, 31, member of the Vozes Judaicas por Libertação collective, said she was welcomed by the protesters. “Our relationship has always been very positive, of building together, because what unites us is the end of the occupation, the end of apartheid, the end of genocide [em Gaza]”.
Magno de Carvalho, 77, member of Sintusp (Workers’ Union of the University of São Paulo), said that, in his “struggle trajectory”, he has already been accused of anti-Semitism at USP. “I have nothing anti-Semitic. In fact, my greatest human reference is a Jew: Karl Marx.”
A Sheet contacted the USP press office and did not receive a response until the publication of this text, which will be updated as soon as there is a response from the institution.
