Editors note: This article was edited to accurately reflect the organizers of the protest, the South West Asian North African Student Organization at Colorado State University did not organize the protest, however they posted about it on their Instagram story.

Colorado State University’s Muslim Student Association organized and promoted a Freedom for Palestine Protest Friday, Oct. 13.

After Hamas surprise attacks on Israel Oct. 7, the Israeli government responded with airstrikes on Gaza. Protesters gathered to stand up for human rights and educate with the best and most accurate information available about the conflict, organizer and MSA board member Shehab Elhaddad said.

Students and supporters walked from Lucky’s Market down College Avenue, passing Homecoming celebrations on The Oval and proceeding through The Plaza and the Lory Student Center. They then walked back up College Avenue to complete their route. 

Elhaddad led protesters with chants of, “Gaza, Gaza, don’t you cry; Palestine will never die,” “Free free Palestine,” and “There is only one solution: intifada revolution.” Intifada is a word meaning “to shake off,” referring to the revolts against Israel after the 1948 Nakba, or the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Elhaddad said. 

“There’s a lot of false and misinformation out there about the recent attacks because it’s something unprecedented in history for those attacks to have happened,” Elhaddad said. “In my opinion, those attacks — resistance is not terrorism unless you’re killing civilians. So to stand up against (the) government? That is needed when you’re occupied.” 

Elhadadd said roughly 50-70 protesters were expected to attend the protest. Fellow organizer and MSA President Ali Eldeiry echoed the group’s intent to support human rights and to protest any civilian deaths on both sides. 

“It’s more of a humanitarian issue. Regardless of the history of who owns the land, the issue right now is there’s an open-air prison, essentially, of millions of people that are living in this tiny plot of land. And they essentially have zero freedom and are always vulnerable to attacks and aggression from Israel. We do not agree with any sort of civilian death on either side. That’s totally unjustified.” -Ali Eldeiry, Muslim Student Association president

“We condemn any violence from from any source,” Eldeiry said. “There was a vigil yesterday on campus, and we want to respect them as well because they had deaths as well. We’ve just got to be respectful from all sides and just recognize what’s going on because it’s really sad what’s happening in the world right now.”

Elhaddad attended the vigil to assure speakers there that this protest was not against the civilians who died during the Hamas attacks. 

“I wanted to make sure that we’re being respectful of their time to mourn because everyone has the right to mourn,” Elhaddad said. “They have their losses; we have our own losses. Differences aside, no civilians should be killed. … This is not meant to be against civilians who have been murdered. It’s just standing up for human rights for people in Gaza who are getting killed — kids who are getting killed — the same way you’re standing up for mourning the people who have lost.”

One protester said that she had to educate several people in her life about the conflict because of a lack of coverage in the USA about the Palestinian perspective. 

“There’s the oppressor, Israel, and there’s the oppressed, Palestine: these people, the indigenous people of that land,” the protester said. “It’s not a religious conflict. There are Palestinian Jews. There are Palestinian Christians. There are Palestinian Muslims. This has nothing to do with religion. We love our Jewish brothers and sisters.”

Another protester, Shay Jennings, referred to the 1948 Nakba in her explanation of why she attended the protest. After the call for the evacuation of Gaza, many Palestinians reported fearing another Nakba. 

“We’re just here because the Palestinian people have been oppressed for almost 80 full years,” Jennings said. “And Israel commits atrocities every day. This is the biggest act of violence against Palestinian people since the occupation or since the instatement of the state of Israel in 1948.” 

In advertising, organizers wrote that this gathering was a peaceful protest for Palestinian human rights and asked that participants bring signs and posters to take a stand against colonial settlements and apartheid.

“(Palestinians) are being treated as second- and third-class citizens,” Shahab said when asked about the meaning of apartheid.

The protesters were mainly focused on civilian deaths and not wanting their tax dollars to go toward the conflict. 

“It’s more of a humanitarian issue,” Eldeiry said. “Regardless of the history of who owns the land, the issue right now is there’s an open-air prison, essentially, of millions of people that are living in this tiny plot of land. And they essentially have zero freedom and are always vulnerable to attacks and aggression from Israel. We do not agree with any sort of civilian death on either side. That’s totally unjustified.”

Reach Ivy Secrest at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @IvySecrest.