Why are college students protesting across US for Palestinians? What about in Iowa?

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1] [2]

Student-led protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are expanding to college campuses in Iowa.

In Iowa City, students at the University of Iowa have announced plans for a three-day demonstration starting Friday in solidarity with other student protests.

The plans have been shared on social media by Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine, which describes itself as a collective of students, university faculty and staff and Iowa City community members.

The group's mission is to create a community that has "the tools to support the liberation of Palestinians" and all oppressed peoples, as written in a statement that can be found through its social media accounts.

The three-day demonstration scheduled to begin May 3 is not an encampment, the collective stated on social media. The demonstrations are scheduled for noon to 7 p.m. at the Pentacrest each day.

Students for Justice in Palestine's goal is to reiterate its demand that the University of Iowa divest funds from weapon manufacturers that aid Israel and to show support for encampments that have been established at dozens of universities in the nation.

These encampments have been the site of increasingly hostile confrontations between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and police, resulting in hundreds of arrests and reports of injuries.

As some Iowans have and are poised to take part in planned demonstrations, here's why students across the nation are protesting and what they are seeking.

Why are college students protesting in America in support of Palestinians?

Protesters at Columbia University, in New York City, established an encampment on April 17 that led to over 100 arrests, USA TODAY reported.

Columbia is just one of many universities where students have led protests in support of Palestinians, including through encampments.

The Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people, and more than 200 people were kidnapped and taken as hostages. Israel responded with immediate airstrikes on Gaza and an ongoing war that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians and has left the population displaced and in need of food, water and medicine, USA TODAY reported.

Protests have been organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of more than 100 student groups that include the university chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine, Reuters reported.

Some of the protesters' demands of the university, as described on the coalition's Instagram account in an April 2 post, include divestment; severing ties between Columbia and Israeli universities such as study-abroad programs; an end to "targeted repression of Palestinian students"; and for Columbia to release a public statement calling for an immediate, permanent cease-fire in Gaza and to call on government officials to do the same.

Generally, student protesters across the nation are demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, a halt of U.S. military aid to Israel, an end of universities investing endowment money in Israel and in companies supporting Israel and the right to protest on campus without retribution.

What does divest from Israel mean?

The term divest is defined as "when a business sells off its subsidiaries, investments or other assets for a financial, ethical or political objective," according to the dictionary from the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Pro-Palestinian student protesters are seeking to put an end to their schools' investment of endowment money, which can be used to fund operations and grows through investments, in Israeli companies and other businesses that "profit from the war in Gaza," USA TODAY reported.

Where are US college students protesting in support of Palestinians?

More than 50 schools have reported on-campus protests as of late April, including Harvard University, University of Southern California, University of New Mexico and Indiana University.

What are students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University protesting?

Students for Justice in Palestine — Iowa City was one of several organizations that invited people to show up for a demonstration near an event for U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and House Speaker Mike Johnson in Iowa City on April 29.

There, about 100 Iowa City community members called for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Some of the collective's demands include that the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine and UIHC call on Israel's government to cease the "assault on Gaza's health system"; an immediate end to the war in Gaza and U.S. military funding to Israel; for University of Iowa to "fully divest from weapons manufacturers" that arm Israel's assault on Gaza; and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions.

About 50 people were protesting in support of Palestinians at Iowa State University on Wednesday afternoon. Protesters pointed to Iowa State's connections to Collins Aerospace, a weapons manufacturer in Iowa that produces weapons provided to Israel.

"We want full divestment by ISU from these engineers and weapons manufacturers," said Duncan Vernett, an activist protesting with Iowa State students. "It's really not the role of education to be funding military endeavors, or to be reimbursed by military contractors."

Does the Iowa Board of Regents have investments in Israel?

The Iowa Board of Regents oversees Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. The board and individual universities don't have direct investments with Israel or companies working directly with Israel, said Josh Lehman, the board's senior communications director.

"Regent investment portfolios consist of indirect holdings (mutual funds, fund of funds, index funds, etc.) managed by external fund managers that include other investors," Lehman said. "Each fund contains many different individual securities or fund of funds. We cannot readily determine if the individual securities within these externally managed funds are Israeli companies or do business with Israel."

Pro-Palestinian event scheduled at University of Iowa isn't an encampment. So what is it?

The three-day event is described as a "gathering," according to a May 1 statement posted to social media from the Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine.

"In order to promote a community where students can safely gather and learn, we have put together a weekend of programming that will include presentations from members of Jewish Voice for Peace, Iowans for Palestine and other members of the campus and broader community," according to the statement.

The organization encouraged people to learn more about Jewish history and culture through an event scheduled on May 3 at the university, and expressed their wish to "facilitate education and cultural exchange" through art, history and conversation with Palestinian students and community members.

The collective, similar to ISU protestors on May 1, called attention to the University of Iowa's connections to weapons and defense manufacturers Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin.

What is Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds saying about pro-Palestinian protests?

Gov. Kim Reynolds pointed to a 2021 law that increased penalties for some protest-related crimes, including blocking roadways, saying Iowa has significant laws in place to address behavior that goes too far.

"Of course we want to protect the First Amendment right to protest, but we're going to do it peacefully," Reynolds told reporters Wednesday afternoon in Des Moines. "We're not going to allow hate speech. We're not going to allow destruction. We're not going to allow what we see happening in some of the universities across this country. It's ridiculous. It's putting people at risk. We're seeing just a tremendous increase in antisemitism."

Reynolds said schools like Columbia University in New York have let protests get out of hand and disrupt classes and potentially graduation.

"As long as they abide by the laws and do it peacefully, then great," she said of protests in Iowa. "But if it crosses that line, we will be ready."

Des Moines Register reporter Stephen Gruber-Miller, Ames Tribune reporter Celia Brocker and USA TODAY reporters George Petras, Carlie Procell, Cecilia Garzella, Janet Loehrke and Suhail Bhat contributed to this article.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.