DePaul students commemorate Nakba Day with rally

More than 200 students and community members gathered on DePaul University’s Wednesday afternoon to hold a walkout and rally.Speakers honored Nakba Day, which commemorates the permanent forced removal of from their homes on May 15, 1948, to establish Israel. Nakba is an Arabic word for “the catastrophe.”Organizers opened the rally by inviting members of the crowd to share their explanations of the Nakba, before providing their definitions, reminding the crowd that “we’re here to learn.” Henna Ayesh, a Palestinian student organizer whose family was displaced during the Nakba, said the rally showed how the student body supports the Palestinian cause.Student leaders of the demonstration say they’ve reached an impasse in negotiations with the administration. On Tuesday, the university canceled an end-of-school-year music festival set to take place in the quadrangle, where the encampment sits.Jim Vondruska/For The Sun-Times“This encampment has kind of been an envisionment of what it would be like if we were all in a liberated Palestine with each other,” Ayesh said. “My grandfather, when he saw this, he was crying.”Protesters came wearing keffiyehs, waving Palestinian flags and hoisting signs with slogans such as “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” Some community members brought children and dogs. Speakers played “Hind’s Hall,” a protest song released by Macklemore on May 6.Speakers addressed the Palestinian liberation movement’s connection to other social movements and the oppression of other groups, including undocumented immigrants, Jewish people, and the climate movement.“I am here on Nakba Day to remind everyone that ‘Never Again’ isn’t just a quippy slogan to put on a sign or the back of a shirt,” said Owen, a graduate student representing Jews for Justice who did not give his last name. “It holds weight.”Organizers also reminded the rally attendees about a message from Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, who recently shared a video thanking the students of DePaul and the University of Chicago.“You see us, you hear us. We see you, we hear you, and you are all, together, there for us,” Owda said.Ayesh said seeing this message is a reminder to keep the encampment going, even though negotiations have stalled and the university continues to reject the demand for divestment from companies that do business with Israel.Protesters wore keffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags. Others carried signs reading “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” Jim Vondruska/For The Sun-TimesOver the weekend, administrators declared they had reached a stalemate with organizers and could not move forward with negotiations. Ayesh said the encampment still wants to negotiate and proposed additional meetings, but the administration did not show up. Still, the people of Gaza remain front of mind for her.“We see that, whatever they’re going through, they’re recognizing this and they’re proud of us,” Ayesh said. “We have to keep on going. Even though DePaul administration is not seeing us, the people of Gaza are, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most.”On Monday, DePaul announced the , an annual music festival that had been scheduled for Friday on the quadrangle, where the encampment is located. Organizers urged students to direct anger about this decision toward the administration for not choosing to relocate the festival or meet their demands.The DePaul encampment, which started April 30, is now the longest standing in the U.S. and the last remaining in the Chicago area.