UMD pro-Palestinian protest proceeds peacefully on October 7

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct. 13 (ZFJ) — A vigil held by UMD Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on McKeldin Mall on Monday, Oct. 7, took place without incident.

On Sept. 1, the University of Maryland, College Park, attempted to limit all demonstrations on campus on Oct. 7 after thousands of people wrote objecting to SJP’s permit to protest on that day. The significance of Oct. 7, 2023, is that it was the day when Hamas militants stormed into nearby Israeli towns from the blockaded Gaza Strip to kill and take hostage hundreds of civilians.

SJP took the case to federal court, where a district judge compelled the university to allow the demonstration to proceed on the originally scheduled date on the grounds that UMD had made an unconstitutional content-based restriction of speech.

On the day of the event, ZFJ reporters observed crowd-control fencing set up around the half of McKeldin Mall in front of McKeldin Library. Private security guards wearing bright yellow “CSC Event Staff” or orange “Apex Security Group” shirts were manning security checkpoints around the perimeter. Vehicle barriers were also set up around the mall.

There was a highly visible police presence at the mall, with reporters observing motorcycle officers, University of Maryland Police Department supervisors, and a surveillance drone.

Two ZFJ reporters entered the area at around 6:15 p.m. for the vigil. They had to present their student IDs and then pass through a metal detector and bag search. Security guards gave screened attendees red paper wristbands.

Security checkpoint at the perimeter of McKeldin Mall, set up for the UMD Students for Justice in Palestine demonstration on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. ZFJ/Alvin Wu

According to a UMD SJP post on Instagram, only students or community members vouched for by a current UMD student would be permitted at the event.

Student organizers addressed the crowd of several hundred attendees and then recited 106 names “in remembrance of 106,000 innocent victims of the zionist entity’s genocide.”

The death toll UMD SJP cites is from an article published in The Lancet, a British medical journal. The most recent death toll reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, is over 42,000 Palestinians.

Organizers then read poetry and held prayers.

UMD Students for Justice in Palestine display at the organization’s demonstration at McKeldin Mall on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. ZFJ/Claire Zhu

Afterwards, various speakers addressed the attendees for the remainder of the demonstration. Several spoke about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on their families, while others expressed disappointment with the university’s attempt to prevent the vigil from happening.

The crowd intermittently chanted slogans like “Free, free Palestine!” between speeches.

The event ended at about 7:52 p.m. when the last speech concluded.

Two ZFJ reporters who attended the entire event did not observe any violence while the demonstration was in progress.

Several Jewish counter-protesters watched the demonstration from the pathway at the center of McKeldin Mall. Some held poster boards about relatives they had lost in the Israel-Hamas war, and many were wearing shirts from Maryland Hillel, one of UMD’s Jewish organizations, that read “NEVER FORGET 10.7.2023.”

Jewish counter-protesters at the UMD Students for Justice in Palestine demonstration on McKeldin Mall on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. ZFJ/Alvin Wu

ZFJ reporters observed crowd control fencing in Hornbake Plaza around a Jewish demonstration about the hostages held by Hamas, but the protest had ended before SJP’s evening event.

Maryland Hillel held an off-campus vigil at 8:00 p.m.

References

• UMD Students for Justice in Palestine - @umd_sjp, @jvp_umd (Instagram) - https://www.instagram.com/p/DAv1hZJRqIP/?img_index=1 As we approach one year of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, join us this entire week to honor the lives of the martyrs in Gaza and Lebanon.
• UMD Students for Justice in Palestine - @umd_sjp (Instagram) - https://www.instagram.com/p/DA3nMZCRPSa/?img_index=1 One Year of Genocide.