NEW ORLEANS — As the war rages in Gaza, pro-Palestine protests are beginning to happen all over the country at major universities, Friday afternoon Loyola and Tulane students walked out of class to rally.
Students from two of the biggest universities in the city walked out of class Friday. Protests like this one, are being seen nationwide, with more and more students rallying for Palestine.
Juleea Berthelot a Loyola student said, "We thought we can still take the streets; we can still do some occupation and make a statement."
Students from Loyola and Tulane Universities took to the streets, closing down part of St Charles Ave. They're calling for both institutions to cut ties with companies linked to Israel or any businesses making money from this war.
Millicent Helmka, a Tulane student called for, "Tulane to divest from any Israeli military companies... all Israeli companies."
That demand is similar to the one being made in New York City. Where Pro-Palestinian protesters have been camping out on Columbia University's campus for the last week.
On the West Coast, 90 people on the University of Southern California's campus were arrested this week, and more than 100 people were taken in custody at Emerson College in Massachusetts and four officers were injured. In Texas, on the campus of UT Austin a group of both sides protested.
Lindsey Friedmann with the Anti-Defamation League and part of the Jewish community says American Israelis feel deeply connected to Israel. She said, "Calling for the eradication of the Jewish people... while I can value and appreciate the need for free speech and the need for protests it's really challenging."
She says she too wants both Palestinians and Israelis to be free, saying, "After living and learning about World War II and the Holocaust there are people still out there who believe that the Jewish community doesn't have a right to exist and land and a place to be safe... and then something like that turns up on US soil and then it feels unsafe to be Jewish in the united states."
WWL Louisiana reached out to Tulane they chose not to comment, we are yet to hear back from Loyola.
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