Pro-Palestine activists and members of the Students for Justice in Palestine staged a ‘die-in’ during an annual “Rave in the Park” hosted by New York University’s (NYU) pro-Israel group Realize Israel on Thursday, May 9, at Washington Square Park.
Realize Israel’s annual rave celebrates the anniversary of Israel’s foundation. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), also based at NYU, held a counter-event called “Resisting the Celebration of Apartheid.” “Show up to educate and speak out against the lack of acknowledgement of the expulsion, massacre, and destruction of Palestinians and their homes,” read the description of the SJP event.
Activists who were staging the die-in claimed they were targets of both physical and racial abuse during the rave. One video shared online showed a young man draped in an Israeli flag pretending to urinate on a pro-Palestinian activist, while another person took a photo of him.
“People kicked off my kufi, stepped on, kicked on, danced on, and had Israeli flags shoved into my face,” said NYU student and SJP organizer Khalid Abu Dawas in a Facebook post. “People tried to get their dogs to walk on us. People danced and clapped in our faces.”
Remarks by Sarah Patt via Storyful and watch the video from the Townsville Bulletin.