MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia University Muslim Student Association (MSA) led a protest and march Sunday from the Mountainlair to the Monongalia County Courthouse calling for lasting peace for the Palestinian people.
President of the MSA, Omar Ibraheem said Palestinian people have been suffering at the hands of the Israelis for decades and they are calling for an immediate stop. He asserts the oppression has killed many Palestinians and forced countless others from their homes as settlements expanded.
“The fact is that the Palestinian people have been harassed and oppressed for over 75 years,” Ibraheem said. “So, our main goal right now is to remove that oppression and that harassment the Palestinian people have been under.”
While generally in favor of protests on other college campuses across the country, Ibraheem isn’t currently aware of any WVU investments in Israeli-related areas. He said he has the right to know where the university spends money generated by tuition payments from students and families.
“The majority of the major colleges across American are invested in this foreign country, Israel which is actively killing Palestinian people and genociding the people in Gaza,” Ibraheem said. ” That’s what we’re standing against. We’re calling for that.”
The Morgantown event was largely peaceful and included chants of “Free, Free Palestine,” and “Ceasefire now,” while carrying signs that read “Free Gaza,” and “End the Occupation.”
“We had Jewish students protesting with us, we had Christian students protesting with us,” Ibraheem said. “We had people all around protesting with us.”
Ibrahim said they have experienced threats, vandalism to their office, and in one instance another with a bullhorn attempted to drown them out by calling them terrorists.
“Here at our own university we have been harassed by a few Zionist students at every event we’ve had,” Ibraheem said. ” We are actually in the process of an active investigation against that student.”
According to Ibraheem, the protest at Columbia University escalated because President Nemat Shafik has violated the free speech rights of students. The support protesters are receiving from faculty members is further proof Shakik is choosing not to listen to the students.
“They are standing for something right, they are holding their university accountable for divesting in a foreign country,” Ibraheem said. ” Why does a university need to invest in Israel, that makes no sense to me.”
Executive Director of Communications for WVU, April Kaull said,” As a state agency, West Virginia University does not have any investments Israel-related or otherwise.”