On the 24th of September, protesters gathered at 56th and Fowler in Tampa, FL, not far from USDF(Univ of South Florida). The protest was an emergency protest for Lebanon, facing a brutal Israeli air war. This is just days after the exploding pagers of one of history’s worst terrorist attacks. Unlike Saturday’s protest in Orlando and unlike prior protests in the same spot in Tampa, police did not dare show their faces. Most likely this is because of that FOX video clip from Orlando that proves the cops there were lying, committing perjury in court, and assaulting peaceful protesters. In short, the cops have pulled back after getting caught with their fingers in the cookie jar.

Speakers at the rally in Tampa confidently predicted Lebanese victory over Israel, citing the outcome of the 2006 war. That time around, Israeli troops withdrew in defeat on the last day of the war from the same positions they had occupied on the first day of the war. They had not been able to advance a single inch further in the face of overwhelming resistance.

A Palestinian student member of USF’s SDS chapter warned that USF has gone beyond university punishments and is attempting to get them deported. A similar case exists in Orlando at UCF (University of Central Florida).

By threatening to turn over Palestinian students to Israel, both universities have effectively declared war on Palestine. The same is true for their stubborn refusal to divest from war profiteers who are using the genocide in Gaza to sell more weapons and ammunition to the IOF.