The Plaza of the Americas turned into a war zone Wednesday when Students for Justice in Palestine presented its own simulation of the Gaza Strip conflict.
The Gaza Strip borders Israel and Egypt, and most of its population represents Palestinian refugees, according to The New York Times. A three-week military conflict between Israel and Palestine took place in the Gaza Strip in 2009, and Israel and Egypt still enforce border blockades.
About 25 students participated posing as Israeli soldiers, Egyptian soldiers and Gazans.
The soldiers pretended to beat the Gazans with police clubs.
“It’s a visual to get people’s attention and talk to them to say, ‘Here are some of the facts with what’s going on,’” said Alex Kattan, the vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine.
José Cucalón, a civil engineering senior, portrayed a Gazan during the demonstration.
Cucalón said he did not feel the demonstration was offensive.
“This story is barely told,” Cucalón said. “It’s been silenced, so I hope that here at UF you can hear from a different perspective.”
Several students walking past the demonstration found it to be an inaccurate portrayal of what is actually happening in Israel.
Sarah Pollack, a UF freshman who visited Israel during winter break, said she found the demonstration jarring and did not feel it was right to portray the Israeli army so brutally.
Instead of the demonstration, Pollack would have preferred a forum in which both sides could present their views.
During the demonstration, Rafael Yaniz, the president of Gators for Israel, was contacted by concerned students.
“Dialogue is always on the table,” Yaniz said.
He said he is disheartened this type of rhetoric is presented on UF’s campus.
“They’re just trying to stir the pot, and I think this isn’t a good way to have an intellectual discussion about the issue,” Yaniz said. “It’s just an outlandish protest.”
