AMHERST, MASS. — Students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst silently protested against a speaker from the Israeli Army who came to detail of his “experiences” in Gaza at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Thursday December 2 in the Hillel House.

The speaker, Sergeant Kenny Sachs, is known for working with Israeli PR groups Upstart Activist and Divestment Watch, and was sponsored by the campus organization Student Alliance for Israel. He never used the word “Palestinians” in his stories, and instead called those who shot him in a skirmish “terrorists.” The soldier emphasized his inability to continue playing semi-pro basketball after being shot in the knee as one of the hardest consequences of the incident, attempting to gain sympathy for the Isreali Army.

The Western Massachusetts Coalition for Palestine organized the protest in respect for those who have been silenced during the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine. Following examples of previous protests, the students taped the names of children killed in the occupation on their shirts, standing silently before leaving the room.  The protest continued a trend that began at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.