Pro-Palestine Rally At Brooklyn College Prompts 'Absolute Madness'

SOUTH MIDWOOD, NY — Brooklyn College was "absolute madness" Thursday during a pro-Palestinian rally amid growing tension citywide.

A rally planned to support "Palestinian liberation" drew a heavy police presence and counter-protesters Thursday afternoon at the CUNY campus on Bedford Avenue.

"Join us in the streets and on our campuses to honor the martyrs of Palestine, uplift the Palestinian resistance, and let Zionists know that NYC supports Palestinian liberation and return," student organizers wrote in an Instagram post.

"From New York to Palestine, occupation is a crime," students could be heard chanting at Thursdays rally.

Photos and videos posted to social media show helicopters circling overhead, and a trio of City Council Members said in a statement a heavy police presence was expected.

Despite the heavy security, the NYPD reported no incidents from the rally and would not specify whether there were police helicopters present.

The rally was originally planned on campus but was moved off campus to the Bedford Avenue sidewalk, Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson said.

No students would be penalized for missing class Thursday, Council Members Farah Louis, Inna Vernikov, Kalman Yeger said.

"We want to be clear that we don’t condone the activities of any internal organizations that are sponsoring rallies to celebrate or support Hamas’ cowardly actions," CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said.

The statement was partially a response to a protest in Times Square condemned by politicians, including Mayor Eric Adams.

Student Groups Respond

But Muslim and Palestinian associations at Brooklyn College took issue with this characterization, contesting they have "never endorsed the actions of Hamas, or any militant group," student organizers with Students for Justice in Palestine said in a joint statement Thursday.

"It is imperative that the BC and CUNY administration distinguish between the actions of Hamas and the broader Palestinian people," said multiple student groups in a joint statement. "These statements issued by you and the CUNY administration can lead and are leading to criminalization, harassment, and violence against our Muslim communities at CUNY."

The students called out what they saw as a hypocritical response to recent events in the region.

"Brooklyn College has never expressed support for its Palestinian students yet alone for Palestine when time and time again it was subjugated to numerous documented war crimes," a conglomeration of CUNY student groups supporting Palestinian liberation said in a statement. "The hypocrisy of BCs President is not only hurtful, but also dangerous and puts the wellbeing of its Palestinian students at risk."

Days before, Brooklyn College students held a vigil for Israelis killed and taken hostage by Hamas. The students were met with protesters, videos posted to social media show.

"Today we showed that despite adversity we stand united," said organizers with Tanger Hillel at Brooklyn College.

Meanwhile, college students across New York City planned pro-Palestinian protests, including Hunter College and Columbia University.