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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUC Berkeley students walked out of class to demand a cease-fire in Gaza while counterprotesters wave an Israeli flag on Tuesday.Adahlia Cole\/Special to the Chronicle<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/a><\/a>Hundreds of UC Berkeley students walked out of class Tuesday afternoon, protesting Israel\u2019s war on Gaza as the conflict reached a grim one-year anniversary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than 300 students, many draped in keffiyehs and holding protest signs, congregated at Sproul Plaza, where speakers mourned Palestinian victims and urged students to continue organizing efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne year of genocide and one year of resistance,\u201d an organizer told the cheering crowd, speaking into a megaphone in front of a banner that read \u201cStrengthening steadfastness\u201d in black and green letters. \u201cWe need to continue fighting for a complete cease-fire and rebuilding of all of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mood at the protest was both solemn and defiant, as speakers called attention to the war\u2019s immense bloodshed \u2014 more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Israel declared war following Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which the militant group killed some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Demonstrators on Tuesday vowed to keep protesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are absolutely not going to stop gathering, stop making noise, until the genocide ends,\u201d said Whitney Sparks, a Berkeley community organizer who attended the protest. \u201cThe university is complicit \u2014 they need to divest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The walkout, organized by a coalition of activist groups at the university, kicked off an afternoon and evening of programming including a teach-in, spoken word poetry performances and multilingual prayers. Protesters called on the university to sever ties with Israel, including ending foreign exchange programs and cutting any financial holdings in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faculty members also attended the protest, including a tenured professor who said she walked out of her classroom to protest the university\u2019s administration, which she said has suppressed her attempts to teach about Palestine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a McCarthyist moment for us, where the mere mention of Palestine in our syllabi and in our lectures is enough to initiate this investigation process by the administration into our teaching,\u201d said the professor, who said she has taught in the UC system for two decades and declined to give her name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The war has laid bare deep divisions in the university\u2019s student body. On Monday, Jewish students held a memorial<\/a> to grieve hostages and victims of Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, UC Berkeley\u2019s student senate voted to join a coalition of students who support the \u201cboycott, divest and sanction\u201d movement, as student newspaper the Daily Californian\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Tuesday\u2019s rally, a group of about 10 counterprotesters chanted \u201cBring them home\u201d and held up Israeli flags. Pro-Palestinian organizers moved to obscure their flags with Palestinian ones, while attendees chanted \u201cGo home, Zionists.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n A speaker urged the crowd to keep attending pro-Palestinian protests, \u201ceven if your voice shakes, even if you\u2019re reprimanded. \u2026 We do not want you to leave here feeling defeated,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to humble ourselves and hold on to hope.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reach Maliya Ellis: maliya.ellis@hearst.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oct 8, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Maliya Ellis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n HEARST FELLOW<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maliya Ellis, originally from New Haven, Conn., is a recent graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Social Studies and edited the Harvard Crimson\u2019s weekly news magazine. Her summer newsroom internships \u2014 on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\u2019s features desk and the Boston Globe\u2019s metro team \u2014 have confirmed her passion for deeply reported local news. In her free time, Ellis enjoys long runs and word games. She is excited to explore a new coast and a new city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UC Berkeley students stage walkout to demand end to Gaza war By\u00a0Maliya Ellis, Hearst FellowOct 8, 2024 (SFChronicle.com) UC Berkeley students walked out of class to demand a cease-fire in Gaza while counterprotesters wave an Israeli flag on Tuesday.Adahlia Cole\/Special to the Chronicle Hundreds of UC Berkeley students walked out… Continue reading