FSJP Condemns Excessive Force of in “Ohio State Gaza Encampment”

We, Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at the Ohio State University, condemn the university’s decision to authorize campus police, in coordination with the Columbus Police Department (CPD) as well as state troopers from across Ohio to our campus, to aggressively respond to a peaceful demonstration by our students called “Ohio State Gaza Encampment.” Students were protesting the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and calling on OSU to divest from companies that aid in Israel’s occupation. To date, Israel has killed over 34,262 Palestinians and wounded 77,229 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, since October 7.

Over 300 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members gathered in an orderly way, abiding sound restrictions that had just been communicated to students. There were no OSU administrators present to speak with students. There was no acknowledgement from OSU leadership that, while they may disagree, the university has a responsibility to protect students’ right to peaceful protest. Instead, the entire gathering faced police forces, including CPD officers who have a track record of using lethal force and aggression against Black, Indigenous, and other community members of color.

In response to the ethical demands of students and their supporters, the University deliberately chose to create an environment of force and intimidation, even as it claims that its actions are in students’ best interests. Police forces and their vehicles, vans, and bikes cordoned off the area while some officers surveilled the area from atop buildings using telescopes and drones. The stark contrast between the peaceful gathering and the militarized campus is shameful evidence of Ohio State University choosing to intimidate and repress students, rather than ensure their safety.

At approximately 10:08 pm, over 70 police officers charged a crowd of over 250 students and community members, and made arrests against students who were beginning their Isha (evening) prayers. Ohio University admin called upon employees to set up lights and barriers to aid in the arrest of students. Around 41 students and community members, including a 14 year old and mostly women of color, were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, all of whom were not released until the next morning. Moreover, we have heard firsthand reports that unnecessary levels of violence continued to occur after arrests were made. Arrested individuals were humiliated, zip-tied, and denied religious rights. Muslim and Jewish students were subjected to religious discrimination, including hijabs being forcefully removed and taken away, being strip searched in front of male officers, and not given a space to pray. Earlier that day, an FSJP member was also arrested and charged with criminal trespass, facing similar forms of egregious religious discrimination, as well as several other FSJP members reported being harassed by the police for simply reading and sitting in the oval. These actions appear to be part of a pattern of policing and harassment of faculty, staff, and students of color and anyone speaking out in support of pro-Palestinian activism.

We find this policing of our own students, staff, and faculty appalling and unacceptable. We will continue to hold OSU accountable and call out OSU’s complicity in aiding Israel’s 75 years of occupation and apartheid state. As we continue to bear witness to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, it is crucial that we stand in support with all of our students. With that said, our demands towards Ohio State remain the same. We call on the university to:

• Immediately drop all criminal charges against the arrested OSU students, staff, and community members;
• Stop all forms of intimidation, targeting, and threats against Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students, staff, faculty and their supporters;
• Prioritize de-escalation strategies and respond to student activism regarding Palestine as an ethical issue;
• Stop deliberately characterizing anti-zionism political speech and protest marches as hate speech and equating criticisms of zionism with antisemitism, all of which endanger the well being of our students, including the safety of anti-zionist Jewish students;
• Divest from Israel, the corporations complicit in the genocide of Palestinians, and the corporations that stand to profit from the illegal occupation of Palestine, as demanded by student groups on campus;
• Stop stifling academic freedom; and
• Acknowledge the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.