Watan-The protests continue at many American universities, in solidarity with Palestinians and to demand an end to Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.
While the United States led the scene of student protests there, the demonstrations contributed to shifting American public opinion in favor of Palestinians.
Naseer Al-Omari, a professor at the City University of New York, said that for the first time in the history of the United States, public opinion tends to support Palestinians and rejects everything said by opponents who promote the idea that Palestinians are “terrorists.”
In statements to Al Jazeera, he added that the activism of American students will not solve all the problems of Palestinians, but it constitutes an important change, explaining that American students deserve credit for achieving this change.
He pointed out that the students’ goal of this activism is to change American public opinion on a range of domestic and foreign issues, and enable them to play an effective political role, as their peers did during the years of the Vietnam War.
He reported that protesting students emphasized the link between aid provided to Israel and imperialism, stating that Israel is “at the forefront of global imperialist politics.”
He explained that the conflict in the United States today is between students who want to change American public opinion towards Israel, considering it as committing war crimes without being held accountable, and a ruling political authority supported by the Zionist lobby accusing students of supporting terrorism.
He said that America is facing a bitter political conflict between supporters of change who want to control universities and control the choices of the American people.
Arrest of hundreds of students
American police have arrested hundreds of protesters and demonstrators supporting Palestinians at American universities.
This came in a police operation carried out by riot police, while students pledged to continue the peaceful political movement seeking to stop the ceasefire in Gaza.
Wide-ranging demands
Activists behind the protests at universities – not all of them students – are demanding an end to the ceasefire in Gaza, as well as severing colleges’ ties with Israel.