LIVE: Pro-Palestine students line up with umbrella shields at USF protest
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Three people pushing for a free Palestine were arrested at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus on Monday and plans for another protest are underway.
The Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society are scheduled to meet near the school’s library at 10 a.m. Tuesday with other supporters.
“Even though the university attempted to suppress us multiple times even before this event we’re still here and we’re still proud to exercise our First Amendment right,” said Tyler Ramirez, one of the students involved in the protest yesterday.
The Jewish community and descendants of Holocaust survivors like Michael Igel are in shock at what’s happening across the country especially so close to home.
“Sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself ‘Is this really happening right now? Really? Here?’”
“This protest is due to what’s happening in Gaza,” said Omar Rabah, a Palestinian USF student. “It’s beyond just the genocide. It’s more of they’re fighting for USF to stop funding companies like Lockheed Martin that support the genocide.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind, and we’ve actually even seen, that much of the information that these people are getting is not true,” Igel said. “You can even look at the idea that every time the word genocide is being used, genocide is a word that has a legal definition. In fact, it was coined as a result of the Holocaust. This isn’t genocide.”
Governor Ron DeSantis said those who participate in these pro-Palestinian protests should be expelled from their universities and if it applies, their visas should be canceled.
“I want to be a medical professional, I want to be an M.D.” said Rabah. “I’d give up that right to fight for truly what’s right.”
Supporters of Israel stood close by Monday’s protest as the words “Free Palestine” echoed through campus.
USF leaders said they support peaceful protests on campus. They called this most recent act a disruption because it involved an attempt to make a permanent Gaza solidarity camp with tents.
The school said the group hosting the protests has been on interim suspension for disrupting campus last week, and they shouldn’t be holding these protests right now. They said students were also warned multiple times not to bring tents.
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