Members of UChicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) held a rally, teach-in, and die-in in front of Edward H. Levi Hall on Wednesday afternoon—the 76th anniversary of the expulsion of Palestinians from what is now Israel. The event came two days before the beginning of Alumni Weekend this Friday and is the first major action by a campus pro-Palestine organization since the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) cleared UChicago United for Palestine’s (UCUP) encampment from the quad last Tuesday.
Events began with a rally and press conference outside of Swift Hall, with about 50 attendees. Members of FJP also temporarily set up a single tent at the rally in remembrance of the encampment.
“We stand before this tent that is our way of memorializing and symbolizing the beautiful encampment that our students put together and kept alive for eight long days,” a faculty speaker said.
The rally began with chants heard at encampment rallies, including “Down, down with occupation; up, up with liberation” and “Free, free Palestine; long live Palestine!” One UCPD officer on a segway, a Dean-on-Call, and several Allied Security officers patrolled the quad during the rally.
Demonstrators moved closer to the center of the quad for a teach-in on the history of the conflict in Gaza and the University’s connections to weapon manufacturers and institutions connected to Israel. Organizers also spoke about the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic and refers to the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 to establish the state of Israel. Two student speakers of Palestinian descent talked about the ongoing trauma caused by displacement and hardship faced by Palestinians.
The teach-in ended with a discussion of the destruction of universities and killing of many academics in Gaza, which protesters have referred to as “scholasticide.” The concept was a sticking point in negotiations between administrators and demonstrators during the quad encampment, with organizers demanding the University use the term and contribute to efforts to rebuild universities in Gaza.
In a statement to the Maroon on the protest, the University emphasized its value of free expression.
“As part of our commitment to free expression, the University of Chicago is deeply committed to upholding the rights of faculty and students to express a wide range of views,” the statement said.
Around 1 p.m., a faculty organizer passed out signs bearing the names of professors and academics killed in Gaza for protesters to tape to their shirts for the die-in. Protesters then walked to Levi Hall and lay down in front of the building’s main entrance, leaving space for people to enter and exit the building. The die-in concluded at 1:30 p.m.
While the group has conducted teach-ins before, the rally and Levi Hall die-in are the first actions led by FJP, which was created in December and has usually played a supporting role to student-led actions. During the quad encampment, FJP members made it clear that they intended to support student protesters in their negotiations with the University and by serving as police liaisons for the protest, but members stressed that they were there to support students, not play a leading role in the encampment.
In a press conference on May 6, the eighth day of the encampment, faculty members voiced public opposition to police intervention, support for Palestine, and expressed that they believed the University was negotiating in “bad faith” with student protesters.
Kayla Rubenstein, Nikhil Jaiswal, Tiffany Li, Sabrina Chang, and Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon contributed reporting.