Harvard students rename hall after Palestinian journo Shireen Abu Akleh
Harvard students in the United States renamed a hall after veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed two years ago by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
One of the institution’s halls was named after Abu Akleh on Saturday, concurrent with the second anniversary of her death to commemorate the distinguished journalist.
This comes after students at Columbia University occupied its Hamilton Hall and renamed it after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old child who was killed after the family car came under Israeli fire in Gaza in January.
The newly named Shireen Abu Akleh Hall at Harvard, on the two year anniversary of her death pic.twitter.com/t1Hj6AbRKg
— lilia kilburn 🌷🌻🌹 (@LiliaKilburn) May 10, 2024
University students in the United States and Europe, as well as other parts of the world, have been staging pro-Palestinian protests on campuses worldwide.
The US nationwide protest movement began at Columbia University on April 17.
The peaceful protests across the US were however met with arrests, detentions, police violence, surveillance and disciplinary measures, and sanctions against members of the educational community exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
The Associated Press has recorded at least 75 instances since April 18 in which arrests were made at US campus protests. Nearly 2,900 people have been arrested at 57 colleges and universities. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from schools and law enforcement agencies.
What these student protests on university campuses across the US underline is the fact that the attempts to manipulate public opinion have failed spectacularly.
Ramzy Baroud, a prominent Palestinian journalist, author, and founder of the Palestine Chronicle website, in an interview with the Press TV Website, hailed the students’ efforts to change public perception regarding the decades-long massacre of Palestinians at the hand of Israeli regime forces.
“I am happy to see young Americans, from all backgrounds, championing this new effort. I believe that we are at the cusp of a serious shift in the collective perception of the American people,” Baroud said.
