The following statement was issued today by the CUNY 28 at their press conference outside the courthouse where 8 of the CUNY 28 continue to face unjust charges for their participation in the student encampment for Palestine. As CUNY for Palestine writes, “On 4/30, hundreds across the city were arrested at protests and Gaza solidarity encampments. While the charges have been dropped for most, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, CUNY, and the NYPD continue to pursue the heaviest charges for 8 of the now CUNY 28. In addition to the previously known 22, there were 6 additional comrades arrested that same night also facing felony charges. We’ve since connected with the 6 other comrades who were brutalized and arrested that night at CCNY, but who were isolated by the bureaucracy of the carceral machine and are also facing heavy and unjust charges.
TELL CUNY TO MEET THE 5 DEMANDS. DROP THE CHARGES FOR ALL OF THE CUNY 28. FREE PALESTINE.”
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network stands in full solidarity with the CUNY 28 and join the demands to drop the charges. As we noted previously, ”
Escalating to end a genocide is not a crime — indeed, it is a duty, particularly in the heart of the imperial core, at a moment when the resistance forces of the region, from Palestine to Yemen to Lebanon to Iraq and beyond, are on the front lines sacrificing and fighting for the protection and liberation of humanity. We must all make clear that the raids and arrests will not intimidate our movement nor cause us to de-escalate our tactics and methods of struggle, but will only lead us to greater unity, resistance and confrontation, to end the genocide and for a free Palestine from the river to the sea.
The strong and principled statement of the CUNY 28 is below:
As of today, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been martyred over the last ten months. This is a continuation of 76 years of the genocidal ambitions of the zionist state, a continuation of the Nakba. These numbers do not account for the countless thousands missing under the rubble in Gaza. An entire population is being starved, while over 20,000 are held hostage in the West Bank.
Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq continue to answer to the Palestinian call by confronting the zionist entity, smashing all illusions of the occupation’s invincibility while they deal with the entity’s outbursts. “The Axis of Resistance bears its responsibility not only in supporting Gaza but in doing more to serve the primary goal, which is stopping the aggression in all its forms.”
The fight is not just in solidarity, but in resisting assimilation to the colonial project. The CUNY 28 attempted to answer the call made by the steadfast Palestinian resistance to escalate from within the belly of the beast. We resist with Gaza.
Since October 7th, numerous CUNY administrations have issued disingenuous statements about anti-Semitism on campus, yet they remain silent on the ongoing genocide. Instead, CUNY actively represses and condemns any support of the Palestinian right to self-determination and liberation, contributing to the widespread racist dehumanization of Palestinians.
As the zionist entity continues its destruction of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank—and as the United States maintains its genocidal hegemony from Palestine to Harlem—the working-class people of the world escalate. An encampment should not normalize the institution—it should disrupt it, dismantle it and abolish it.
The occupation of buildings by students and outside agitators symbolizes reclaiming space and disrupting normal operations to draw attention to injustices and to force institutions to address the demands of protestors.
The night of the CUNY raid, “public safety” brutalized protesters. CUNY “public safety” are the pigs! The pigs are the IOF! Anyone that chooses to play the role of a pig is the enemy. A principled encampment should never collaborate with the pigs.
Since the violent escalation by CUNY and the pigs, all 22 agitators were charged with 3rd degree felony burglary—a clear representation of state repression against those of us who choose to act against genocide. At the same time, the CUNY Board of Trustees introduced a resolution to spend 4 million dollars on a private security firm that advertises its services to pigs and zionist-trained “experts” to spy on pro-Palestine protesters.
CUNY agitators spent more time in custody than Columbia protesters, and are still facing higher charges and continued backlash. The narrative of “good” vs. “bad” protester is a narrative pushed by the state to divide our efforts along class and racial contentions, but in reality the fight against the same enemy unites us.
We will not be intimidated into silence by the state.
Eight of the 22 have decided to resist this blatant state reprisal. We will not be bullied into silence by any court, nor Alvin Bragg and his many zionist donors. More than 90% of people serving time in federal prisons right now accepted coercive plea bargains instead of going to trial. The judicial system is built on mass-incarceration, capitalizing off of modern prison labor, which is just another form of slavery.
We are fighting our charges, not only because we do not recognize the state’s claim to authority over our actions, but also because we believe that challenging these charges is a necessary stand against an unjust system that seeks to silence dissent and criminalize resistance. It is hypocritical of the state to criminalize property damage at a protest, while signing lucrative contracts to destroy entire communities.
We are not just fighting for a Free Palestine but for the liberation of all. We fight for ourselves and our communities. Palestine is everywhere.
Remember, “we are all outside agitators.” Whether we are fighting in Atlanta, New York City, Sudan, or Palestine, the enemy remains the same. The zionist entity escalates, so does the Palestinian Resistance. The pigs and institutions escalate, so do the agitators of the world!
