Fordham Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held their first rally of the semester on Nov. 21, breaking a period of relative silence after a series of major protests that punctuated the spring 2024 semester.
The protest began on the sidewalk in front of the Leon Lowenstein Center. The group deliberately gathered on the sidewalk to remain off of Fordham University property.
Arnaldo Cruz-Malave, a Fordham Lincoln Center professor of Spanish and comparative literature, accompanied the group on the sidewalk and followed along with them when they migrated to Columbus Circle to join the New York City chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement who were concurrently holding a rally of their own.
According to Cruz-Malave, Fordham Faculty Senate requested that a faculty member be present at the gathering and take notes for the Faculty Senate.
On the sidewalk, the group held Palestinian flags, keffiyehs and signs in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon amidst their respective conflicts with Israel.
“They were asking to see if someone was available to perform the role of being a witness as to what happens in case something occurs,” Cruz-Malave said. “And to protect the rights of students and faculty.”
A member of Fordham SJP who requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the university said they felt it was really important to have a professor accompany the group at the rally.
“Professors at the university are our number one network of care and protection,” the student said.
On the sidewalk, the group held Palestinian flags, keffiyehs and signs in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon amidst their respective conflicts with Israel.
A drought breaking rainstorm did not sway protestors as they moved from Columbus Avenue to Bryant Park. The protest was peaceful for its entirety.
One masked member of the group spoke and led chants including, “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon, Free Sudan,” “Not another penny, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s Crimes,” and “Down, down with occupation, up, up, with liberation.”
Another member of Fordham SJP who requested anonymity claimed that the school administration contacted organizers and requested they hold the event on the sidewalk so it would not be on university property and considered a campus protest.
“University admin contacted organizers last night when we posted the flyer for the event for the protest outside and they basically wanted to make sure that the event would be on the sidewalk and not on campus so that it could not be titled as a campus protest,” the student said.
The protest gathered around a large sign held up by the different pro Palestinian groups that read “The Student Intifada.” Speakers from other universities, including an educator from the CUNY system, spoke out against the “genocide of Palestinians” and the “attacks on Lebanon by Israel.”
After the groups converged at the center of Columbus Circle, the crowd marched down 59th Street alongside central park south, turning at 5th Ave. until reaching Bryant Park. The participants walked on the sidewalk, observed by New York Police Department officers who walked on the bus lane of the street.
The protestors stopped on the steps of the New York Public Library – Stephen A. Schwarzman Building to raise banners and chant again.
