🧚🏼 !! mutual aid request !! 🧚🏼
I’m trying to get some more eyes on this campaign as the donations are still low (€600)🕊️
This is baby Mila, her mother Mai and father Akram. They have lived in poverty for years and finally saved their money for a new apartment for their daughter to grow up in, they lived there *two* days before it was bombed and completely destroyed 🤍
They are now displaced and trying to evacuate out of Rafah. if you can share or donate, anything would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏼🙏🏼 she is @mayoshakhalel on ig, even interacting with her page on there is helpful!!
Mai and I connected through ig and it’s been weeks now and not a lot of interaction w her campaign. I really want to lift her spirits and help get her and her family to safety. They deserve so much better than this.
Please help anyway u can 🪷
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Columbia suspends students after deadline to end Gaza camp passes
The number of arrests has crossed 1,100 since New York police detained first demonstrators at Columbia on April 18.
(April 30th 2024)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold a protest outside Columbia University in New York City. [Michael M Santiago/Getty Images via AFP]
Columbia University has begun suspending student demonstrators after they defied an ultimatum to disperse.
The New York University, the epicentre of pro-Palestinian protests that have upended college campuses across the United States, made the call on Monday.
The move follows almost two weeks of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, which have swept through higher education institutions from coast to coast, and spread into Europe. The demonstrators have demanded that the universities cease all investment in Israel or companies that are seen as supporting its war effort.
The response of the authorities has been tough, with critics of the protests referring to sporadic instances of anti-Semitism. About 100 protesters were arrested at Columbia on April 18.
In the latest crackdown, authorities at the prestigious university in New York had demanded that the protest encampment be cleared by 2pm (18:00 GMT) or students would face disciplinary action.
“These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians,” said a statement, read out by a student at a news conference after the deadline passed, referring to the death toll in Gaza.
“We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or … [we] are moved by force,” said the student.
A few hours later, Columbia vice president of communications, Ben Chang, said the university had “begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus”.
He said students had been warned they would be “placed on suspension, ineligible to complete the semester or graduate, and will be restricted from all academic, residential, and recreational spaces”.
Meanwhile, at the University of Texas in Austin, police used pepper spray as they clashed with protesters on Monday. Arrests were made as they dismantled an encampment, adding to the more than 350 people detained nationwide over the weekend.
“No encampments will be allowed,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on social media. “Instead, arrests are being made.”
Protests against the Gaza war, with its high Palestinian civilian death toll, have posed a challenge to university administrators trying to balance free speech rights with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and hate.
Footage of police in riot gear summoned at various colleges to break up rallies has been viewed around the world, recalling the protest movement that erupted during the Vietnam War.
Columbia University president, Minouche Shafik, in a statement on Monday announcing talks had broken down, said, “Many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks.
“Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy,” she continued. “Anti-Semitic language and actions are unacceptable and calls for violence are simply abhorrent.”
Protest organisers deny accusations of anti-Semitism, arguing their actions are aimed at Israel’s government and its prosecution of the conflict in Gaza.
They also insist there have been incidents engineered by non-student agitators.
A protester wears the university's disciplinary warning covered over by support for Palestinians in Gaza at Columbia University in New York City. [Alex Kent/Getty Images via AFP]
The protests have upended university campuses across the US, with the number of arrests crossing 1,100. [Caitlin Ochs/Reuters]
A faculty member holds up a sign as faculty members seek to protect students in the Pro-Palestinian "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at Columbia University. [Michael M Santiago/Getty Images via AFP]
Protesters at Columbia defied a deadline to disband the event with chants, clapping and drumming. [Stefan Jeremiah/AP Photo]
Columbia University issued a notice to the protesters asking them to disband their encampment after negotiations failed to come to a resolution. [Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP]
Demonstrators gathered outside an entrance to Columbia University as the 2pm deadline to disband or face suspension approached. [David Dee Delgado/Reuters]
Students condemned the university’s attempts to silence the protesters and said they were determined to continue. “What trumps our fear is our love for Palestine, and our love for liberation, and our refusal to accept subjugation and censorship from an oppressive institution,” one said. [Nuri Vallbona/Reuters]
Pro-Palestinian supporters continue to demonstrate on the campus of Columbia University. [Spencer Platt/Getty Images via AFP]
One graduate student protester said: "It's finals week. But at the end of the day, school is temporary." [Alex Kent/Getty Images via AFP]
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Monday April 29 is Seraj's Support Soiree (virtual!)- Auction is live until May 3!
Come dance with me at Seraj’s Support Soiree April 29 from 7-9pm CST (Chicago Time!)
Get your $0+ up sliding scale tickets for the 2 hour virtual accessible dance party on Zoom hosted by Sky from @RebirthGarments!
Get event tickets and bid on the auction at givebutter.com/serajsupport
Or support Seraj directly at bit.ly/payseraj
here is his go fund me: gofundme.com/f/help-seraj-survive
Dance to beats from DJ @QueerShoulders
Featuring selections from past @RebirthGarments + @RadicalVisibilityCollective fashion performances. We will be hyping up @Se3raj.0 fuhn-raizer while talking about all the art + services in our auction that you can bid on!
Access Info:
Access Doula’s:
@moira670
@xxAlexaDexaxx
@TSuhh
who will be providing audio description as well as sound description!
Auto Captions available!
It will be hosted on Zoom, get a ticket to get the details! All ticket money goes towards Seraj’s family because our DJ + Access doulas are all volunteers!
[Image description: an illustration by @K8Deciccio of a zoom party featuring four squares with a purple border. The top left square is diagonally split between purple and blue and has handwritten-style text in white and purple that says “Seraj’s Support Soirée | Virtual accessible fundraiser dance party April 29 7-9 PM CST” with a black and white QR code in the bottom right corner.
The top right square is bright yellow and has an illustration of a person in a purple tank top over a black long sleeve shirt, purple hijab, orange and green sunglasses, and teal leggings leaning forward in a purple manual wheelchair. Text at the top says “get tickets + bid at givebutter.com/serajsupport”.
The bottom left square has an illustration of Seraj in a red jacket and black and white keffiyeh. He is standing in front of an orange background with black music notes surrounding him.
The bottom right square has a person in sunglasses and a pink hat dancing in front of a disco ball with a pale yellow background. They have one arm up and are wearing a black sports bra with a colorful band. At the bottom of the illustration along the border are small doodles of zoom icons, including a smiley face and the word “dance”.]
Here is the link that goes directly to the auction:
The Auction ends May 3 at 11:45pm CST (chicago time!)
I need everyone's help sharing both the auction and the virtual event! Please help spread the word!
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