University of Central Florida students are the latest to rally for Palestinians
As protests roil college campuses nationwide, University of Central Florida students and local activists rallied Friday afternoon in solidarity with Palestinians and against the war in Gaza.
More than 200 gathered in front of the John C. Hitt Library, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs as they called for an end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip and liberation of what are considered occupied territories. The protests were largely orderly, and no arrests were reported.
Reem Elkhaldi, a Palestinian American lawyer who runs the Gaza-based nonprofit Healing Our Homeland, spoke of losing loved ones in the latest escalation to the conflict.
“The status quo is disgusting,” Elkhaldi said. “The people of Gaza are more than just numbers. They are my family.”
Protesters marched from the library and twice circled the Student Union, their numbers growing as the march continued.
The chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” echoed through the crowd along with calls for UCF to divest from what organizers say are companies that benefit Israel. The chant is regarded by some as antisemitic.
Marchers were escorted by police on bicycles — who at one point kept a small group of counterprotesters at bay. But the march ended without incident.
“We’re not fighting among ourselves,” said
Lamia Moukaddam, a Lebanese American activist. “We are fighting for the people of Gaza.”
The protest is among the latest on college campuses across the nation since a Hamas terror attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 and led to Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is headquartered. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have died, prompting many in the international community to accuse
Israel of war crimes.
Student demonstrators have called on universities across the country to divest from companies and investments that they say profit off Israeli violence in Palestinian territories. The effort aims to pressure the Israeli government similar to actions taken against apartheid-era South Africa.
“We don’t have a fully fleshed-out campaign yet, but we are fully planning to do more research and building a divest campaign coalition,” said Liam Gundy, an organizer with the Young Democratic Socialists of America designated as a point person for reporters at the UCF rally.
It’s not clear if UCF has such investments, but organizers said they plan to look into it.
A UCF spokesperson did not answer questions about divestment demands.
Elsewhere in the state, University of Florida officials late Thursday cracked down on proPalestinian student demonstrators as protests entered a third day. Students faced up to a threeyear suspension and banishment from the Gainesville campus if they broke certain rules — such as using bullhorns or rallying inside campus buildings. Employees or professors caught breaking the rules would be fired.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis backed the UF policy in a tweet Friday. UCF administrators have issued no similar declaration.
The nationwide protests, many led by Jewish organizers, spread from New York to California to Texas and now Florida after New York City police broke up a student-established encampment at Columbia University. Scores of protesters have been arrested, with many since released without charge. But encampments have popped up at universities across the country.
Public opinion has shifted drastically since the Israel-Hamas war began. While young people tend to be more critical of Israel, a Gallup poll in
March found 55% of Americans disapprove of Israeli actions in Gaza compared to 50% approval toward the beginning of the war.
The recent wave of public support for Palestinians “has not been the case for a long time,” Gundy said. “It’s deeply moving to us here that it’s becoming very explicit the solidarity that people have.”
UCF President Alexander Cartwright was one of many university leaders who spoke out against the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. In a universitywide email sent Oct. 10, he condemned the attacks along with “hate, violence, and antisemitism in all forms.”
In response to Friday’s protests, UCF spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said the university “values the free exchange of ideas and the expression of different viewpoints.”
“All members of the UCF community and campus visitors alike have the right to express their beliefs without violence or disruption, subject to the rules and regulations of the university and state and federal laws,” Gilmartin said.
At least 7,800 undergraduate and graduate Jewish students attend UCF, making up about
11% of its population, according to Hillel International. The Jewish campus organization says that figure puts UCF as having the third-largest Jewish student population in the world outside of Israel.
Since Oct. 7, Palestinian students and their campus allies have staged numerous peaceful rallies and marches. But recent escalation of the conflict — the result of decades of Israeli occupation and creeping settlement onto Palestinian land — have raised tensions on campus.
In January, a Palestinian American student was arrested on charges of voicing death threats to Jewish students. According to an affidavit, Seif Asi, 21, told police his “emotions got the better of him” after he grew “tired of seeing students on campus defending the killing of Palestinian people.”
UCF Police Chief Carl Metzger called the student’s comments “a direct antisemitic threat.”
“At UCF, we all have the right to free expression — but violence, threats of violence, and unlawful harassment will not be tolerated,” he said.