Chants echoed between buildings at Georgetown University on March 23 as keffiyeh-clad protestors streamed down Library Walk.
The demonstrators were attending a rally in support of Badar Khan Suri, a professor and postdoctoral fellow at GU who, according to court documents, was detained by the Department of Homeland Security on March 17.
Lela, a Georgetown undergraduate student at the rally who declined to give a last name, said she was a member of an autonomous student group of students unaffiliated with any campus organization. She said this autonomous group organized the action and no campus groups were participating.
Lela said the protestors demanded the university call for Suri’s release, divest from entities complicit with the Israel-Hamas war and become a sanctuary campus that protects immigrant students from law enforcement.
“We recommend that one, the administration immediately divest from Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and all others complicit with the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” Lela said. “And two, that this campus become a sanctuary campus, meaning we do not allow [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement], DHS and [Metropolitan Police Department] onto campus, and the university should not aid in the arrest and deportation of its students.”
Although Suri was originally granted a visa to continue his research in the U.S., his legal work authorization has been revoked, according to GU Walsh School for Foreign Service Dean Joel Hellman. In a post on X, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Suri had spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media and has close connections to a Hamas senior advisor.
The demonstration assembled outside of Healy Hall, then marched a circuitous route around the campus, pausing by Red Square and the Leo J. O’Donovan Dining Hall. Multiple protestors who identified themselves only as undergraduate students addressed the crowd.
Outside O’Donovan, a student read aloud the Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine statement on Suri’s arrest and a ceasefire-breaking Israeli attack that occurred on the same night.
“We must recognize that both attacks are perpetrated by the same force, U.S. imperialism, for the primary purpose of advancing colonial expansion in Palestine,” the student said. “We must heed this moment with confidence, refusing to lose ourselves to fear and paranoia. We ground ourselves in the righteousness of our cause and the growing strength of the masses.”
The next speaker, another student, said freedom of speech is pointless if it is not used to resist GU and the country’s involvement with the Israel-Hamas war.
“We have an obligation to our peer and community member Dr. Suri and the Palestinian people,” the student said. “We must show the U.S. war machine that coming for one of us means they come for all of us.”
As the protest moved up Library Walk on its way back to Healy Lawn, a chant rang out, one that had been repeated several times throughout the demonstration.
“The people, united, will never be defeated,” students chanted.
Editor’s Note: The AP Style Middle East Conflicts Topical Guide refers to the current conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas as a war. The guide also recognizes the antecedent context of a 75-year Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. AWOL is following that guidance in our reporting. Any feedback on this article can be emailed to [email protected].
