Why Isn't the Media Covering Attacks on Palestinian University Students?

posted on: Nov 8, 2016

BY: Adriana Murray/Contributing Writer

College is said to be one of the best times in a person’s life, but for some students, this is not the case. Palestinian university students often experience a very different time than their American counterparts.

While most American students are able to enjoy their time in college without giving a second thought to whether or not they’ll be able to get to class that day or safely hang out with friends, Palestinian students are not afforded the same luxuries. The Israeli occupation is a familiar topic among Arab Americans, but its impact on Palestinian students often goes unmentioned.

At universities like Birzeit University, students are frequently forced to deal with the repercussions of Israeli Occupation, all while trying to obtain a degree. There are some days when the decision to go to class can be an unnerving and dangerous decision. Students and faculty are always on high alert and prepared for some form of havoc to occur at school because raids and attacks at the hands of Israeli soldiers is something they are all too familiar with.

In these raids and attacks, Israeli soldiers destroy classrooms and university buildings frequented by students. Often times, IDF destruction happens because the students participated in a peaceful protest against the illegal occupation and seizure of Palestinian lands. In January 2016, Birzeit University experienced a raid in which Israeli soldiers destroyed furniture and confiscated equipment and computers, leaving students and faculty to pick up the pieces. Other encounters with Israeli soldiers have yielded similar outcomes at the university, causing disruptions to the learning process each time.

Raids and attacks are not limited to universities located within West bank. Abu-Dis University in Jerusalem has also experienced almost identical raids and attacks. Last week, students suffered once again at the hands of Israeli soldiers, when almost 50 Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers. The students and the campus community are a under constant threat, due to methodical and ideological attacks by the Israeli military; as a result, learning in this environment is extremely difficult.

In addition to these instances, Palestinian students risk their lives for their education at Israeli military checkpoints. At these checkpoints, students are held for hours depending on the mood of the soldiers. Close to 13,000 Palestinian and international students go through at least one of 600 checkpoints in order to reach their classrooms. Students are often late to class, or may even be killed as a result of the mandatory checkpoints. Like the university attacks, the checkpoints diminish any feelings of safety, comfort, and eagerness to learn that the students need to possess before they walk into a classroom.

Combined, these realities of living under occupation have become a normal part of college life for many Palestinian students. It is unsettling to think about the little coverage these dangerous situations have received by American media outlets. As a country that provides itself on access to higher education and supporting the accessibility of education, there has been very little coverage or discussion about the environment in which Palestinian students are being forced to receive their education.

Arab American students often face harassment, threats, and blacklisting as a result of their campus activism in support of Palestine. Additionally, numerous American politicians have come out to disparage and condemn the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement – a student-led initiative to impose economic strain on Israel until it ends the illegal occupation of Palestine. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be an Arab student, both in America and Palestine. Yet, mainstream media refuses to cover these two injustices to students.

The lives and futures of students everywhere matter, and should be respected by those who willfully ignore such blatant disregard for society’s brightest people. If the rights of students are neglected by the authority and media, students will no longer be around to keep pushing society in better directions.