Ithaca Commons: antisemitic slogans on posters of Israeli hostages and anti-Israel rally in late November

Apparently, according to the Cornell Daily Sun, all of the posters of Israeli hostages were taken down from the Commons a few days ago. (Although I had noticed a few were still left up on light poles outside of the Commons). Before they were taken down, antisemitic graffiti was drawn on some of them, including "Free Palestine," "Still free" and "Israel is Hitler." 

An anti-Israel rally is planned for tomorrow afternoon on the Commons, sponsored by a variety of organizations including the "Ithaca Communist Party" (Who knew? There's also a nifty little graphic from them on the poster, sporting an updated hammer and sickle). The poster for the rally accuses Israel of intentionally killing Palestinian children. No notice, of course, of the Hamas massacre of civilians on October 7, or of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Other sponsors include Cornell SJP, Tompkins County SURJ, Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace, Ithaca DSA, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation - in short, the far left in Ithaca. 

National SJP lauded the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7.

(The PSL supported the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, supported Bashar Assad in Syria, denies that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against its own citizens, and thinks that the North Korean regime has been unfairly targeted - see the Wikipedia article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Socialism_and_Liberation).

National Students for Justice Palestine approved of the Hamas massacre of civilians and calls it "resistance"

I just saw the statement that National Students for Justice in Palestine issued as part of their "tool-kit" right after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. They entirely approved of the Hamas terrorist attack on civilians that left over 1200 dead and hundreds taken hostage. I'd been looking for this statement in order to prove that SJP supports Hamas and wants Israel to be destroyed. Anyone who supports SJP should know that this is their position.

Here's the statement:

National Students for Justice in Palestine is calling for a national day of resistance on college campuses across occupied Turtle Island and internationally this Thursday, October 12th, 2023. On the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war, the resistance in Gaza launched a surprise operation against the Zionist enemy which disrupted the very foundation of Zionist settler society. On the morning of October 8th (sic, the attack was on October 7), the Palestinian resistance stormed the illegitimate border fence, gaining control of the Gaza checkpoint at Erez, and re-entering 1948 Palestine.

Referred to as Operation Towfan Al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood), the resistance has taken occupation soldiers hostage, fired thousands of rockets, taken over Israeli military vehicles, and gained control over illegal Israeli settlements. In the West Bank, the Palestinian resistance has called for collective action by the Palestinian masses amidst attempts by the Zionist entity to lock-up the West Bank. The Palestinian resistance has called for mass protests in every Palestinian city, and Palestinian workers have called for a general strike. In

Gaza, Israel has launched an onslaught of airstrikes. As of Sunday, Oct 8th at 12pm ET, Israel has murdered 320 Palestinians and left over 2200 others injured. Despite this, our people choose resistance over negotiated cages on our homeland. Fearlessly, our people struggle for complete liberation and return.

Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near. As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization.

National liberation is near— glory to our resistance, to our martyrs, and to our steadfast people.

In addition to this statement, and some information about organizing, the toolkit also included templates for two posters - one showing a captured Israeli tank with people holding a Palestinian flag standing on it, and one showing an outline of a hang glider, like the hang gliders that Hamas used on October 7 to attack Israeli civilians. 

Amazing story of four Bedouin men from Rahat who rescued dozens and evacuated their cousin in Be’eri

 

Four Bedouin drove from Rahat to evacuate their cousin in Be’eri; they rescued dozens

Amazing seven-minute video from coexistence group Have You Seen the Horizon Lately tells the chilling story of how a kibbutznik cyclist was saved from Hamas by a cafeteria worker’s family

Four Bedouin men from Rahat saved dozens of Israeli lives on October 7 while deployed by their uncle to evacuate his son Hisham from Kibbutz Be’eri.

As described by Ismail Alqrinawi in an intense 7-minute video produced by the coexistence organization Have You Seen the Horizon Lately, his uncle pointed at his nephews at about 6:45 that Saturday morning and said, “You four, you’re going to bring back my boy.” They immediately got in a jeep and began what normally was a half-hour trip — but this one was amid the Hamas onslaught that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, throughout the area and decimated the kibbutz’s population.

On their way to Be’eri they entered the area in which the Supernova rave was under attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, and found people running from the party in immediate danger.

“Our conscience wouldn’t allow us to leave them there, under fire. Before we went to evacuate our cousin, we helped many other people who were at the party… we evacuated at least 30-40 people who were at the party,” Alqrinawi said. Some 260 partygoers were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists; dozens were taken hostage.

With each carload of frantic partygoers that they ferried to a safe location, the four men said they hugged them, asked if they were okay, gave them water to calm them down, and washed their faces. One of the cousins made sure that they called their parents.

Then they’d go back to rescue more people.

Recalling the horrors and crying himself, Alqrinawi says he is hit with flashbacks of the piles of corpses at the party and in the nearby fields.

After hours of saving dozens from the party, the four men decided to enter the heaving gunfire near Be’eri and attempt to evacuate their cousin, who was hiding in bushes with a local resident near the kibbutz where he worked in the cafeteria.

The resident, Aya Meydan, had set out early for her regular Saturday morning bike ride. A triathlete, Meydan was set to meet up with her biking partner Lior Weizman, who was biking in from Sderot. Hearing the massive rocket barrage overhead, she checked in with her husband, Omri, who was at home in the kibbutz with their three children. Omri asked her to return home. He wasn’t clear on the details, but it was dangerous to be outside.

Posters of Kidnapped Israeli Hostages appear on the Ithaca Commons

 

Today I was driving past the Ithaca Commons and saw some of the posters of kidnapped Israelis put up on light poles and other surfaces, so I stopped to take pictures of some of them. You can see that these posters were pasted over an earlier set that had been torn down by people who don't appreciate being confronted by the actions of Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.