Anti-Israel demonstrators chanted anti-Semitic chants and attempted to disrupt speakers during the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony Saturday, disrupting what was supposed to be a celebratory event, one graduate said. I ruined it.
The event at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium took place as U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro addressed and addressed newly commissioned officers as a group of about 50 protesters held Palestinian flags and chanted anti-Semitic slogans. chanting as they marched toward the stage, causing chaos.
They were greeted with a chorus of boos from the thousands in attendance.
Additionally, planes carrying pro-Palestinian slogans flew overhead, and some demonstrators were wearing keffiyeh, a garment that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, the university’s Ross School of Economics said on Saturday.・Benny Shayefsky, a business graduate, said: Law enforcement confronted the protesters and pushed them to the rear, where they remained for the remainder of the event, he told Fox News Digital.
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A group of anti-Israel protesters briefly disrupted a graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday. (@goldfish crak1 via Storyful)
“They were screaming the whole time. I couldn’t hear anything,” Shaevsky said. “Because of this, half of the commencement speakers were absent and were moved to different seats.”
Shayevsky yelled at protesters to leave and said he did not see any arrests made. The school announced regulations on its website, including “prohibition of banners, banners, and anything that obstructs the line of sight.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the university.
Like other universities, the University of Michigan has had to contend with anti-Israel protests on campus amid clashes and vandalism between demonstrators and authorities.
“I’m really upset. These people have been wreaking havoc on my campus for the last few months, but especially in the last two weeks with large encampments and wreaking havoc.” Shayevsky said. “We see these people at the encampment. They are not students.”
Graduating from the University of Michigan has been a lifelong goal for Schaevski, who said he loves the school’s historic football team, the reigning national champions.
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Anti-Israel encampment on the grounds of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, April 28. (Katie McTiernan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“This has been my biggest fear the last few months. I’ve wanted to graduate from Michigan all my life, and it was emotional to see Michigan State upset in the way I feared it would be,” he said. said.
Saturday’s protests came amid a crackdown on similar demonstrations at universities across the country, including the University of Michigan. The university respects free speech, but school administrators said they would take steps to “mitigate and address” the disruption of the graduation ceremony.
That did not happen on Saturday, Shayevsky said, calling on authorities to take a stronger stance against disorderly and disruptive behavior on campus.
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“While I strongly disagree with what they said, and I believe in their right to free speech, there is a time, a place, and an etiquette to do so,” he said. “Today they would have been in the designated protest area outside the stadium. They did not comply.”
