While the city of Detroit joined the growing list of American cities in solidarity with the Palestinian people, communities and students in the Detroit area continued their protest activities against the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for the seventh week in a row.

A student demonstration at the University of Michigan resulted in dozens of sit-ins in the university president’s office, which led to the police intervening to forcefully evacuate the administration building. Another protest took place in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn and a well attended  “Night for Palestine” at the Galata Sweets Café in Dearborn dedicated all proceeds to support devastated Palestinians in Gaza.

Last Tuesday, the Detroit City Council issued a resolution supporting a ceasefire and the immediate release of all hostages, in addition to allowing the entry of vital aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as activating diplomatic efforts to end the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The resolution, presented by Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero, was supported by seven of the nine members who make up the  Council. It warned of the “devastating consequences” of the deterioration of the armed conflict in Gaza and other areas in the occupied Palestinian territories, which might spread into a broader regional conflict.  Santiago-Romero, who previously participated in a demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause in the heart of Detroit, explained that the Council’s decision in solidarity with the Palestinian victims was based primarily on a humanitarian reason.

City Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero calls for a ceasefire during a massive rally at Hart Plaza on Oct. 31. Photo courtesy of Samuel Robinson and first appeared at Axios

The resolution condemns violence aimed at Palestinian and Israeli civilians, calls for the release of hostages while ensuring their safety and well-being, urges humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and compliance with international law.

“I am focused on a solution and that is the immediate cease-fire and release of all hostages, and allowing for the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Santiago-Romero said. “It is calling that all parties work toward peace. A cease-fire will save lives, both Israeli and Palestinian, and there is nothing controversial about these basic needs. I condemn the violence caused by Hamas, which has tragically killed (1,200) innocent Israeli lives, and I condemn the illegal response by the Israeli government, which has taken more than 13,000 Palestinians and counting, 5,000 of them, and counting, children. Governments have the right to self-defense, no one argues that. However, self-defense does not allow or justify the violation of international humanitarian law.”

Council President Mary Sheffield and Council members Mary Waters, Santiago-Romero, Angela Whitfield Calloway, Latisha Johnson, Scott Benson and Fred Durhal III voted yes, while James Tate and Coleman Young Jr. voted no.

The City Council’s resolution highlights that Gaza endured “collective punishment” and has been cut off from humanitarian aid. Much of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure as of Nov. 12 had been destroyed, 1.5 million Palestinians have been internally displaced and escalation may result in a larger regional conflict with devastating consequences, the resolution says.

Sheffield told the Free Press she supports a pathway to peace.

“I am just as horrified as everyone else who has witnessed the unspeakable and tragic loss of innocent life in Israel and Palestine,” she said.

Hundreds of protestors gathered on the Diag on Friday, Nov. 17, to call on the University of Michigan to divest from Israel before marching towards the Alexander G. Ruthven Building. – Photo courtesy of Danielle Kiminyo/MiC.

Protest calling for  the University of Michigan’s divestment from Israel met with aggression from DPSS, local police

On Friday, Nov. 17, more than 100 protestors chanted for hours in the cold outside the Alexander G. Ruthven Building at the University of Michigan, standing in solidarity with the 40 students charged with trespassing citations during a peaceful sit-in on the premises. Above them, banners reading “Free Palestine”, “UMICH Jews say Boycott, Divest, Sanction” and “Never Again For Anyone” leaned against windows on the third floor.

A University of Michigan pro-Palestinian protest Friday ended with police arresting students occupying the U of M administration building, Ruthven Hall, and staging a sit-in at the office of Santa Ono, the school’s president.

Students are urgently seeking a meeting with Ono on their demands, said Salma Hamamy, president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality.

“It’s been a lot of effort from our end to have a simple conversation with President Ono, who has absolutely refused to meet with us for so long, especially for such a pressing issue that is extremely concerning,” Hamamy said.

The protest began at the Diag around 3 p.m. Friday, with student advocates giving speeches before marching toward Ruthven Hall. Hundreds of students demanding a meeting with Ono gained access to the building, which police said had been locked.

Protest leaders said about 40 students were arrested. They were issued citations and released. Ann Arbor Police responded to the incident Friday, but did not arrest or issue any citations to student demonstrators, spokesperson Chris Page said in a statement. University of Michigan police did not respond to requests from the Free Press for comment.

Students arrested and ticketed are banned from Ruthven Hall for one year, student organizers said. Some students also received citations stating they were banned from all U of M buildings, though U of M police later emailed students retracting the campus wide ban, which they said was issued in error, according to documents.

“The fact that the president and the Board of Regents of the university would rather brutalize their students through police force instead of meeting with the 55 student organizations that have been trying to reach out to them for weeks is extremely telling as to where their priorities are,” Hamamy told the Free Press.

Student activists occupied the building for about five hours, with groups protesting in the building’s rotunda area and a group of around 25 students sitting in at Ono’s office. Ono wasn’t in the office at the time.

Student activists with SAFE UMich and Jewish Voice for Peace documented the demonstration on their social media platform throughout the evening, including videos of the sit-in, police removing people from Ruthven Hall and police escorting students out of Ono’s office Friday night.

A coalition of 55 student organizations demanded that the university divest from companies affiliated with Israel’s military actions and that Ono meet with the student activists. The coalition released a statement Saturday criticizing law enforcement actions at Friday’s demonstration, alleging police use of force toward students. The statement renews calls for divestment, and also calls for an investigation into anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic discrimination at U of M, among other demands.

Participants at the “Night for Palestine” at the Galata Sweets in Dearborn, Tuesday, November 21. – Photo courtesy of Abbas Shehab

“Night for Palestine”