Anti-Israel convention in Chicago suburb instructs students how to 'make your campus Palestinian': Report
An anti-Israel convention that was recently held in a Chicago suburb offered advice to college students on how they could make their campus "Palestinian."
The Free Press reported on the 17th Annual Convention for Palestine, which took place last week at the Tinley Park Convention Center, dubbing itself "the largest gathering for Palestine in the US" according to its website.
There was a game called "Crisis Room" aimed at "figur[ing] out strategies" on how to combat an Israeli official appearing on their campus.
"A war criminal is coming to your campus," Jenin Alharithi, a recent graduate of University of Illinois in Chicago who led the game, told the participants, according to the report. "What are you going to do?"
A participant responded by saying the students should organize a protest and recruit demonstrators through the messaging app Telegram. Another raised concerns about accusations of antisemitism, suggesting the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace join the protest.
"The first complaint is going to be ‘Oh, this is antisemitic,’ " she said. "I think we need like a JVP, or something like that, with Jewish people. We want White people, Jewish students there."
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The convention was hosted by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a nonprofit the Free Press noted is currently under a congressional investigation over its alleged ties to Hamas.
Among its speakers was Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Nihad Awad, who sparked outrage last year when he said he was "happy to see" the terrorist attack unfold on October 7.
Other sessions geared towards college students include "Make Your Campus Palestinian" to "amplify the voices of Palestinian students" and to effectively oppose "anti-Palestinianism." Another called "In Front of the Lens" trained them how to write press releases and address "tricky questions" from journalists like whether they "support terrorism" like Hamas.
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"I would say, ‘No, I do not support terrorism,’ and then I would go over the things that Israel does—I would say, ‘I do not support the eviction of innocent Palestinians, I do not support the shooting of Palestinian children,'" one participant responded. "You don’t want them to put you on the defensive. You have to put them on the defensive."
There was also a session called "Bringing Activism to Professionalism" which taught students how they could integrate "Palestinian activism into their craft."
College campuses have had widespread anti-Israel protests following the events of Oct. 7. Last spring, student activists created encampments, causing tension with college administrators.
More recently, a group of protesters temporarily disrupted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.