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At the SUNY Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions launch event on Tuesday, Syracuse University alumnus and Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha spoke about the time he spent in Gaza from Oct. 7 to the moment of his release from detainment. His extended family, however, remains trapped in Gaza, he said.

SUNY BDS – an organization independent from SUNY, which consists of SUNY school students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members – unified as a movement responding to the Israeli occupation in Palestine, according to its Instagram. BDS is a movement calling on consumers and governments to cut monetary ties to Israel to pressure the country into recognizing Palestinian rights and withdrawing from the West Bank.

In a statement to the New York Post, a representative for Gov. Kathy Hochul said she and the SUNY system do not endorse SUNY BDS “or their mission.”

Tuesday’s launch event focused on divestment from Israel on college campuses and featured guest speakers Abu Toha along with Riham Barghouti — a Palestinian-American activist, cultural worker and educator — and Alice Yaser, a student activist and member of the communist Workers World Party.

Abu Toha said he was only in Gaza for 10 days before Hamas’ Oct. 7th attack. After his family home was bombed by an Israeli airstrike, he said he migrated to Rafah on a donkey cart. In the city, he saw a tank – which was surrounded by Israeli soldiers — in person for the first time, he said.

“They were just a few meters away from me. Israel was killing us, wounding us, bombing our houses and killing everything that we like, without seeing them,” Abu Toha said. “Just imagine someone hurting you and killing you and taking everything from you without even seeing their faces.”

Alongside his wife and three children, Abu Toha explained to the Israeli soldiers that he had just returned from Philadelphia, showing them his approved visa and American passport in hopes they would let him pass. Instead, he said, they detained him.

During the three days Abu Toha spent in detainment, he said he was stripped naked in front of three Israeli soldiers and was dispossessed of everything he had, including his children’s winter clothing. Abu Toha has also previously said he was beaten while detained.

For the 10 days after his release, he stayed in a school with no mattress, blankets or heavy clothes for his children until he made it to Cairo, Egypt, where he currently resides. Abu Toha said his and his wife’s families are still stuck in Gaza and are suffering from starvation and thirst. Only his two siblings were able to make it to Rafah.

“People who are now in the south cannot go back to Northern Gaza, and people who are still in the northern part of Gaza are also unable to head south because it’s unsafe,” Abu Toha said.

Abu Toha said his siblings are still being attacked in the south. In the north, his brother spent five days looking for food for his wife who had just given birth. He spent $100 for a few pieces of meat and rice, Abu Toha said.

During the event, Barghouti, a founding member of the Adalah-New York: Campaign for the Boycott of Israel and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, said the Israeli occupation of Gaza is an “ethnic cleansing” of the land. She said Israel has failed to “wipe us (Palestinians) out” and “stifle our unrelenting resistance.”

Students at college campuses across the country have participated in student activism against the aid to Israel, and there has been an “extensive effort” to shut down student activism groups, Barghouti said. She also said the United States is “criminally complicit” in aiding Israel.

“These attacks against student activism and calls for justice for Palestine can only be seen as violations of free speech,” Barghouti said.

In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the BDS movement a manifestation of antisemitism, prompting Amnesty International to condemn the U.S. State Department’s designation as a violation of the freedom of expression.

Barghouti emphasized not being silenced by others, encouraging attendees to participate in Palestinian protests, shutdowns, creative actions, artistic works, articles and posts. She also emphasized the importance of standing in solidarity with Palestine and continuing to raise awareness despite the government’s “utter failure to stop the genocide.”

“The most important thing is just don’t stop. Extreme forms of protest — such as that that was taken by U.S. Air Force member Aaron Bushnell who (burned) himself in front of the Israeli embassy to end his complicity with the genocide taking place in Gaza — reflect such a loss of hope and humanity,” Barghouti said.

Yaser said Israel and Zionism are “intimately bound” with global imperialism. She said the minority of those who are politicians, corporate stakeholders and university presidents have had their interests advanced while the working class gets “not one iota.”

“As residents of the Imperial core, as the youth who stand to inherit the earth, we owe it to our siblings and Palestine to assist in their liberation and as students we occupy a unique position within the university system,” Yaser said.

Abu Toha ended the event by reading some of his poems detailing his life growing up as a Palestinian and reflecting on Israel’s attacks on Gaza. He said that while his family could die at any moment, it is important to “document your feelings and reactions.”

“Do not hide your anger, and don’t stop talking about Palestine,” Abu Toha said.

Published on February 28, 2024 at 12:28 am

Contact Roxanne: rmboychu@syr.edu