Education

‘Violence Will Necessarily Continue’: Graduate Assistants Union Releases Statement Condemning Israel

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A graduate assistants union released a statement Wednesday saying “Violence will necessarily continue” in Israel, following Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.

Following violent terrorist attacks in Israel that killed 1,300 Israelis, multiple socialist organizations and student groups released open letters in solidarity with Palestinians. The University of Kansas graduate teaching assistants’ union, GTAC AFT local 6403, said “Palestinians must be free” and sympathized with violence against Israel, according to the statement.

“We condemn the ethnic genocide and sexual violence against and the expulsion and maiming of the Palestinian people which began with the 1948 Nakba and has continued since. We refuse to stay silent in the face of deadly and inhuman injustices. Violence will necessarily continue as long as apartheid and settler colonialism exist. Palestinians must be free if we ever hope to see peace,” the union said in a statement.

“We encourage our members to educate themselves on and teach about the apartheid of Palestine, which is a direct result of racist violence, including both the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land and the forced displacement of Jewish people from Europe,” the union continued.

Other student groups have put the blame on Israel and endorsed violent acts against Israel. Multiple student groups at Harvard University signed a pro-Palestinian letter blaming the “Israeli colonial occupation” for the Hamas terrorist attacks. Harvard President Claudine Gay released a statement later clarifying that the student organizations don’t speak for the university.

Student groups at other elite universities and colleges, including Columbia University, Yale University and George Washington University, also put out statements supporting Palestinians following the terrorist attacks.

The American Federation of Teachers and GTAC AFT local 6403 did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.