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Stanford University Bars Anti-Zionist Rioters From Graduation

Students are seen at an anti-Israel protest encampment at Stanford University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Stanford, California, US, April 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Stanford University in California will withhold degrees from any seniors who participated in occupying the school president’s office during a pro-Hamas riot that broke out this week and caused the injury of a public safety officer.

“Thirteen individuals were arrested inside Building 10 this morning,” Stanford president Richard Saller and provost Jenny Martinez wrote in a message to the campus community on Wednesday. “In addition to going through the law enforcement process, any arrested individuals who are students will be immediately suspended. Any seniors will not be allowed to graduate.”

They added, “These actions are necessary based on the public safety threat posed to our campus community.”

According to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the university has been resolute in resisting their demands for the adoption of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward the Jewish state’s eventual elimination.

Before occupying Saller’s office, the anti-Israel group assembled a collection of tents on White Plaza — widely referred to as a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Despite living there since April 25, the university declined to negotiate terms with its members, a rebuff SJP called “gravely insulting to Palestinians and pro-Palestinian students on campus.”

Refusing to be ignored, SJP, as reported by The Stanford Daily, raided Saller’s office on Wednesday morning and dozens of other students, forming a human chain, “surrounded the building.” SJP proceeded to lock themselves inside, using, the Daily added, “bike locks, chains, ladders, and chairs” and covering security cameras with tin foil. SJP then reiterated its terms, demanding that no criminal charges be filed against its members and that any disciplinary proceedings currently underway be terminated.

Saller and Martinez said in Wednesday’s statement that this was a step too far, noting that the president’s office wasn’t the only building which SJP attempted to occupy.

“The situation on campus has now crossed the line from peaceful protest to actions that threaten the safety of our community,” they said. “This began with the recent attempted occupation of Building 570 and has now escalated into today’s deeply unfortunate events. In the interest of public safety, the encampment has been removed. There continue to be many ways for members of our community to engage in the peaceful expression of diverse viewpoints on important global issues, in a manner consistent with our university policies. We value that continued peaceful and reasoned debate but forcefully condemn any actions like those that were taken today.”

During the latest demonstrations, protesters graffitied “Kill cops” and “De@th 2 Isr@hell” on school property.

Stanford University – shocking calls for the death of the police and the Jewish nation.

A reminder once again that what starts with the Jews NEVER ends with the Jews.

Whomever is responsible must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law – enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/SRtuOE4s3F

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) June 5, 2024

Stanford’s withholding degrees from seniors comes amid widespread criticism of elite college officials’ allegedly soft-handed approach to dealing with anti-Zionist protesters.

Meanwhile, SJP is soliciting the public for donations

“As our comrades are released, we are asking the community to help support financially for their arrangements (i.e. legal, housing, food, etc,” the group said in a social media post. “We keep eachother [sic] safe. Thank you to our community for keeping us safe!”

“Gaza Solidarity Encampments” on US college campuses have caused immense harm to Jewish students, according to civil rights groups, which have cited incidents of antisemitic harassment and assault. Hesitating to restore order has so for led to legal consequences for Columbia University, which earlier this week settled a lawsuit which accused it of neglecting its obligation to foster a safe learning environment.

The resolution of the case, first reported by Reuters, calls for Columbia to hire a “Safe Passage Liaison” who will monitor protests and “walking escorts” who will accompany students whose safety is threatened around the campus. Other details of the settlement include “accommodations” for students whose academic lives are disrupted by protests and new security policies for controlling access to school property.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently issued words of encouragement to American Jewish college students during a meeting with a delegation of them at his office in Israel.

“We’re facing a world struggle to fight slander against the Jewish people and the Jewish state,” Netanyahu told the group, which comprised current and recently graduated students from Tulane University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — the prime minister’s alma mater, which he attended while serving in the Israel Defense Forces — Columbia University, Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, and Harvard University.

“The most important thing is you have to fight. And how do you fight lies? With truth,” he continued. “A lie can circle the earth 1,000 times before a single word of truth gets through, but we have no other choice. We fight by exposing the lies.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Stanford University Bars Anti-Zionist Rioters From Graduation first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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