In April 2024, students at college campuses across the US began protesting the Israeli bombing and embargo of the Palestinian ghetto of Gaza that had left tens of thousands of civilians dead and hundreds of thousands homeless and on the brink of starvation. Israel's enraged onslaught was retaliation for an attack on Jewish civilians by Palestinian Hamas fighters that killed 1100 Israelis. The scope of that retaliation has been seen by much of the world as disproportionate and by many as a genocide.

On most campuses the protest encampments have been met with police clearance operations, reminiscent of the authoritarian response to student protests of the Vietnam War. At UC Berkeley the response was tolerance and negotiation. With little impact on classes or graduation ceremonies, the encampment remained. Fiery speeches and chanting crowds existed alongside students walking to their finals, graduation photo groups, and an information table manned by orthodox Jews who decried the hatred in some speeches, but claimed to have not personally been harrassed. The scene had had more the vibe of a street fair than a battleground. [Even the main graduation ceremony, though marked with protests, was concluded civilly.]

Naomi Klien gave an impromptu talk on my first day there (I live within walking distance). I had just read her "Seder in the Streets" speech. It was an eloquent expression of the angst of the students, and of many beyond the university, that was embodied in these protests.