A student group at California State University has been slammed for its ‘sickening’C and distasteful pro-Palestine protest poster which depicts a paraglider.
The La Fuerza Student Association shared the poster on Monday for their ‘Day of Resistance: Protest for Palestine’ event organized for Tuesday for students ‘united against apartheid.’
The poster sparked fury online – with many calling it insensitive after Hamas terrorists used paragliders to descended on Israel and butcher civilians during its brutal attack on Saturday.
‘I can’t believe you actually used a paraglider in your poster. You’re sick,’ said one user.
‘Despicable, I can’t believe blatantly supporting the rape and murder of women and children by a bunch of modern day Nazi’s is allowed and condoned on the @csulongbeach campus,’ said another.
California State University’s La Fuerza Student Association has been slammed for its ‘sickening’ and distasteful pro-Palestine protest poster (pictured) which depicts a paraglider
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The poster sparked fury on campus (inset) and online – with many calling it insensitive after Hamas terrorists used paragliders to invade Israel
They added: ‘Literally celebrating the worst attacks against Jews since the Holocaust on the flier. Cowards.’
One user said that the ‘attacks aren’t even about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.’
‘The reality is that a terrorist organization has committed a violent act of antisemitism by killing hundreds of Jews on a holiday,’ they said.
‘It’s really inappropriate that the conversation is being shifted to how to free Palestine, when the country doesn’t have the infrastructure to prevent these hate groups like Hamas from rising from it.
‘Rally against terrorism and the need for Palestine to first of all have the tools to prevent attacks like these, or else you’re just celebrating antisemitic violence.’
La Fuerza wrote in a caption for the Tuesday event: ‘Join us and CSU Students United Against Apartheid tomorrow at the Central Quad from 1:30 – 4:30.’
‘We will be rallying and marching in support of the Palestinian liberation and against Zionist occupation in Palestine.
‘FROM PALESTINE TO THE PHILIPPINES, STOP THE US WAR MACHINE.’
In a video posted to the group’s Instagram story, it appeared faculty was taking down the groups previous banners, but it remained unclear their stance on the protest poster.
Chief Communications Officer, Jeffrey D. Cook told DailyMail.com that the university ‘rejects the glorification of war or celebration of death.’
‘In recent social media posts, a student group here at the university expressed support for recent attacks against Israel,’ he said.
‘For many, those posts — and an event the group is planning for this afternoon — are deeply offensive in light of the loss of life and unspeakable violence during this conflict.
‘We reject any glorification of war or celebration of death, and we acknowledge the pain caused by speech that does.’
Cook went on to note that while the university works to foster an ‘environment of mutual respect and civility,’ they ‘have a constitutional and educational responsibility to uphold freedom of expression — even for ideas and opinions that many find objectionable or abhorrent.’
![La Fuerza wrote in a caption of the Tuesday event: 'Join us and CSU Students United Against Apartheid tomorrow at the Central Quad from 1:30 ¿ 4:30'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/18/76391617-12615673-image-a-46_1696960347301.jpg)
![In a video posted to the group's Instagram story it appeared faculty were taking down their banners, but it remains unclear their stance on the protest poster](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/18/76391613-12615673-image-m-45_1696960337329.jpg)
CSU faculty was seen taking down the groups previous banners, but it remained unclear their stance on the protest poster
![La Fuerza has organized a 'Day of Resistance: Protest for Palestine ' event for Tuesday afternoon](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/18/76391623-12615673-image-m-38_1696960255505.jpg)
La Fuerza has organized a ‘Day of Resistance: Protest for Palestine ‘ event for Tuesday afternoon
In an email sent to the campus yesterday, CSULB President Jane Close Conoley said: ‘The conflict engulfing the region is horrifying, and the loss of innocent lives is heart-wrenching.’
‘The historical roots of this conflict are deep. The prevailing dynamics in the region are complex.
‘We all know that perspectives vary widely when identifying the source of the crisis and ways to move forward.
‘But in the face of all this complexity one thing is clear, human life is sacred, and indeed of immeasurable value.
‘An aspiration we can share is, perhaps, that we all wish not only for the absence of conflict but for a lasting and just peace — as elusive as that may seem.
‘Our role as a place to understand history, appreciate diversity of thoughts and backgrounds, stand for peace and against violence, and to find strength in community continues to be at the heart of who we are.’
La Fuerza was also contacted for comment following the backlash as well as the California State University, Long Beach Hillel division.
Hillel are dedicated to creating a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students.
About 1.3 percent of the 33,666 undergraduate students enrolled in CSU Long Beach are of the Jewish faith, while 0.9 percent of the 5,399 graduate enrollments are.
The ‘insensitive’ display is the latest in a number of student organizations throughout the country that have expressed their support for Hamas since Saturday’s kidnappings and killings.
The Students for Justice in Palestine is also planning a National Day of Resistance for its campus chapters to be held on Thursday, and at least six SJP chapters have announced they will be holding campus events on that date including: Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Butler University, University of Louisville, University of Binghamton and the University of Virginia.
Meanwhile, two other chapters at Michigan State University and University of Mary Washington have similar events at off-campus locations, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The group previously described Hamas’ attack as a ‘historic win for Palestinian resistance.’
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They called for ‘not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors.’
At Stanford University, students hung bedsheets bearing slogans defending Hamas.
This comes after students at several Ivy League institutions, including Harvard and Columbia, condemned Israel.
A group of 31 Harvard organizations, including its branch of Amnesty International, has placed the blame on Israel for Hamas’ brutal, surprise attack that has killed at least 700 Israelis.
The organizations released a letter to the public as a ‘Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine’ on Sunday to condemn Israel in the wake of the violence.
They said that Hamas’ attacks, which are still ongoing, ‘did not happen in a vacuum’ and the Israeli government has forced Palestinians to live in ‘an open-air prison for over two decades.’
‘We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,’ the groups wrote.
Harvard’s President Emeritus Larry Summers condemned the letter, saying he was ‘sickened’ by it.
Summers, who is Jewish and led Harvard University from 2001-2006, addressed the school, tweeting: ‘In nearly 50 years of affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today.
‘The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups’ statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.’
It marked another moment of contention for the school after a professor was forced to apologize for implying the Hamas attack on Israel was an attempt to distract from Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘own corruption.’
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine have also said that Hamas’ actions were a ‘counter-offensive against their settler-colonial oppressor.’
Fiery protests over the conflict have broken out in the Big Apple and beyond.
The Israeli military said on Monday it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, in a sign it may be planning a ground assault in response to the devastating weekend attacks by Hamas gunmen.
Israel’s air attacks – the worst in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians – also hit ‘premises of the UN relief and works agency, UNRWA (U.N. Palestinian refugee agency),’ a U.N. rights office statement said, adding that civilians were among the dead and injured.
![Stanford University students hung bedsheets bearing slogans defending Hamas](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/18/76381741-12615673-image-m-58_1696960565421.jpg)
Stanford University students hung bedsheets bearing slogans defending Hamas
![Israeli media said 900 people were killed in the attacks and most were civilians, while nearly 700 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials, with entire districts flattened (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/18/76344653-12615673-image-a-61_1696960659162.jpg)
Israeli media said 900 people were killed in the attacks and most were civilians, while nearly 700 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials, with entire districts flattened (pictured)
Netanyahu vowed to take ‘mighty revenge’ after the Hamas attack left its streets strewn with bodies.
Israeli media said 900 people were killed in the attacks and most were civilians, while nearly 700 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials, with entire districts flattened.
The United Nations said more than 180,000 Gazans had been made homeless, many huddling on streets or in schools.
At the morgue in Gaza’s Khan Younis hospital, bodies were laid on the ground on stretchers with names written on their bellies. Medics called for relatives to pick up bodies quickly because there was no more space for the dead.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva criticized Turk’s statement. ‘He cannot bring himself to condemn those who carried out the (Hamas) attacks as terrorists,’ it said.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk