From April 25th to May 13th, 2024, Cornell University student activists created an encampment on the Arts Quad to protest against the Israeli military action in Gaza. The encampment was part of a global student movement to advocate for divestment from companies and institutions that supported the Israeli siege on Gaza, and its occupation of the West Bank. The Cornell encampment also incorporated aspects of the Land Back movement for Indigenous Americans, comparing America’s colonization of Indigenous people to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Photos are in chronological order.
Cornell Encampment
The Cornell University administration told the students that after 8 pm, anyone left in the encampment would be considered trespassing and at risk of suspension and arrest.
In response, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) organized a rally at the encampment that night, hoping to deter police presence.
The encampment lasted past 8 pm without any police intervention.
That night, an anti-zionist shabbat celebration took place. Participants discussed the long Jewish tradition of fighting against injustice.
Members of the encampment take photos of a rainbow after a storm.
A car parked across from the encampment blasts the Israeli national anthem and flashes its headlights as student activists prepare to sleep.
An encampment member draws a sketch of a police officer tackling a student protestor at the Emory University encampment a few days prior.
A rally is held in support of the encampment and divestment from Israel. Protestors also denounced the Israeli invasion into Rafah which began the day earlier.
