Gaza solidarity student protests and encampments spread to Nordic nations

By avagrace // 2024-05-10

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The wave of Gaza solidarity university and college campus protests and encampments that started in the United States has reached the Nordic nations. In Finland, dozens of protesters from the Students for Palestine solidarity group have reportedly erected an encampment outside the main building at the University of Helsinki. They are demanding that the institution cut ties with Israeli universities, including terminating all exchange student agreements and research cooperation. According to the demonstrators, Israeli universities, particularly Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have been involved in developing weapons and other military technologies used in Gaza and in training military personnel in cooperation with the Israel Defense Forces. (Related: Pro-Israel student screams "Kill the Jews" to invoke police crackdown on pro-Palestine protests.) Finnish university students are following in the footsteps of those in Norway, where protests have successfully gotten five universities to divest from Israel back in February. The students in Helsinki have threatened to keep their encampment up until their demands are met. In Denmark, students have also set up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Copenhagen. About 45 tents have been reportedly installed on the lawn outside the Faculty of Social Sciences campus. The university said students could protest but called on them to respect the rules on campus grounds. "Seek dialogue, not conflict and make room for perspectives other than your own," the administration stated on X. The pro-Palestine group argued their attempts to talk to the administration over the past two years about withdrawing investments from Israeli companies have been in vain. "We can no longer be satisfied with cautious dialogue that does not lead to concrete action," the group stated on its Facebook page.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupt in Sweden

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted in Sweden's third largest city of Malmo at the onset of the Eurovision Song Contest. Swedish authorities have reportedly tightened security ahead of the protests and have allowed police to carry larger weapons and riot gear and bring in reinforcement officers from Denmark and Norway. In the early morning hours of Thursday, May 9, hundreds have already gathered in Malmo's main public square chanting slogans like "Free, Free Palestine" and slogans about the invasion of Rafah, and have carried Palestinian flags and worn Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves. Demonstrations were planned for May 9 due to Israel's participation in the second semifinal of the Eurovision song competition. Protesters have called for Israel to be disqualified from the competition. Protests are set to resume on Saturday, May 11, the final day of the competition. Up to 30,000 protesters are expected to participate in the demonstrations. The demonstrations have even spread all over the city of more than 360,000 inhabitants, with AFP journalists reporting seeing brightly colored competition banners struggling for attention with the deluge of Palestinian flags hanging from windows and balconies. In an effort to prevent participants and viewers from waving Palestinian flags, Eurovision organizers have gone so far as to ban the waving of all flags other than those of the participating countries inside the arena. Banners with "political messages" have also been banned. Watch this video from "Southfront Press" discussing the beginning of Israel's brutal invasion of Rafah. This video is from the channel Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth on Brighteon.com.

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Pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupt in Sweden

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