Police Violently Raid UMich Gaza Solidarity Camp Before School President Testifies in Congress

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We speak with Palestinian American University of Michigan student Salma Hamamy, who was pepper-sprayed and beaten at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor when the Gaza solidarity encampment there became the latest to be violently dismantled Tuesday morning in the nationwide crackdown on student-led protests in solidarity with Palestine. Student protesters set up the encampment about a month ago to demand the University of Michigan’s endowment divest from companies with ties to Israel, but school President Santa Ono claimed the peaceful action had become a threat to public safety. Dozens of officers raided the encampment before dawn, arresting and hospitalizing students after pepper-spraying and pushing them to the ground. “I repeatedly said that my family has been killed, and that is why I am here. And as I was saying that through the megaphone, police officers snatched the megaphone out from my hand,” says Hamamy. She explains the university has refused to discuss divestment with protesters. “Instead of meeting with us at the table and meeting with us at the encampment, they decided to meet us with violent force and chemical attacks.” University of Michigan President Santa Ono is slated to appear before Congress Thursday alongside the presidents of UCLA and Yale.

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