University of Michigan graduation ceremony is ruined after mob of anti-Israel protestors storm the commencement stage waving Palestine flags – as furious students yell ‘shut the f*** up!’
Footage has emerged of protesters chanting anti-war messages and waving flags at the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony on Saturday.
Many student demonstrators could be seen wearing robes, waving Palestinian flags and shouting, “Palestine will live forever” and “Uncover, dismantle, we will not stop, we will not rest,” as the event progressed.
In one video, you can hear people cheering and clapping for the graduates as their names are called.
In another video, several graduates can be heard shouting, “Shut up,” in a sing-song voice, while another decries, “You’re ruining our graduation!” as other students sing.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate during the University of Michigan’s spring 2024 commencement ceremony at Michigan Stadium
Many robed student demonstrators could be seen waving Palestinian flags and shouting, “Palestine will live forever” and “Uncover, dismantle, we will not stop, we will not rest” as the event progressed.
Rawan Antar, 21, center, sings in support of Palestinians during the University of Michigan commencement ceremony in spring 2024
Graduates carrying Israeli flags and pins shout at Pro-Palestinian demonstrators as they demonstrate
A protest banner read: ‘There are no more universities in Gaza.’
During the ceremony, a plane also flew overhead with the message ‘Liberate Palestine’ and ‘divest from Israel now’.
In response, another plane circled the area with the text: ‘We are on the side of Israel. Jewish lives matter.”
No arrests have been reported yet and the protest – consisting of about fifty people, many wearing traditional Arabic keffiyeh along with their graduation caps – did not cause any serious problems during the nearly two-hour event.
Saturday’s incident comes just one day after the University of Michigan’s School of Music faced a similar anti-Israel protest during their commencement, which lasted just a few minutes before police arrived.
Pictured: Anti-Israel protesters disrupt the opening ceremony of the University of Michigan’s School of Music
No arrests were reported following Saturday’s protest
A plane with a banner reading ‘We stand with Israel jewishlivesmatter.us’ flies overhead
Graduates wave Israeli flags in response to pro-Palestinian protesters in response
Graduate Ari Belchinsky wears pro-Israel pins
U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who was delivering a speech, had to pause several times and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, if you could please return your attention to the podium.”
As he administered an oath to armed forces graduates, del Toro said they would “protect the freedoms we so cherish,” including the “right to peacefully protest.”
The university has allowed protesters to set up an encampment on campus, but police helped break up a large gathering last night and one person was arrested.
Some schools have reached agreements with protesters to end the demonstrations and reduce the possibility of disruption to finals and commencements.
While other tent camps have been dismantled and protesters arrested in police crackdowns.
According to the Associated Press, more than 2,400 people have been arrested at 47 colleges and university campuses.
NYPD officers, dressed in riot gear, burst through the window of a Columbia University building occupied by dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters to begin clearing them out
Police use a vehicle called “the bear” to enter Hamilton Hall from a public street, which was occupied by protesters, while other officers enter the campus of Columbia University
Police battle pro-Palestinian supporters at an encampment at the University of Wisconsin Library Mall on Wednesday
At Princeton, New Jersey, 18 students have also started a hunger strike in an attempt to push the university to divest from companies linked to Israel.
Princeton senior David Chmielewski, a hunger striker, said it started because they only consumed water.
He said the hunger strike will continue until university officials meet with students about their demands, including amnesty from criminal and disciplinary charges for protesters.
Other protesters are participating in “solidarity fasts” that last 24 hours, Chmielewski said.
Police drag a protester out of line and into custody as police clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Arizona campus early Wednesday
Last week, Provost Andrew Guzman wrote a letter to the university community about the cancellation of the farewell speech. “While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety,” he wrote
On Tuesday evening, officers raided a Columbia University building where activists had occupied the building
A pro-Palestinian protester is treated ‘after being knocked down’ during violent clashes at UCLA
Princeton students set up a protest camp, and some staged a sit-in at an administration building earlier this week, leading to about 15 arrests.
Students at other colleges, including Brown and Yale, launched similar hunger strikes earlier this year before the more recent wave of protest camps.
Columbia University, where the protests first began, switched to a hybrid learning style for the rest of the year after Hamilton Hall was taken over by protesters and renamed “Hind” Hall.
The University of Southern California has canceled its first commencement ceremony due to the protests.