Protesters released balloons and set off several hand-held alarms during a pro-Palestine demonstration at the University of York today.
The disruption occurred in the Ron Cooke Hub at around midday, during the university’s Grad Jobs and Placements Fair.
Protesters by-passed security and shouted “free Palestine” before swiftly exiting the building.
The alarms raised continued to disrupt the flow of the fair for up to 45 minutes, with the volume of noise making the course of events difficult to continue. After nearly one hour, one alarm died, and the other quietened down, but continued to make noise for the duration of the fair.
A member of the Careers team at York, who was helping run the fair, witnessed the whole protest. He described the protesters, saying: “They were masked, covering most of their face.
“They ran past security into the main hall.” After describing how they released several balloons with alarms attached, he added: “They shouted “free Palestine” then quickly ran out.”
The staff member informed The York Tab of previous efforts to protest in the same building the day before, when the Grad Fair was also running. He added that there is designated space for protests, usually outside the buildings.
An information booklet was handed to all employers stationed at the fair. One section warned about the possibility of protests. Under this section, it said: “Students at the University of York have a right to protest, but not to cause obstructions through noise.
“Our Campus Safety team will be supporting the fair.
“They have been trained to respond in case of any disturbance.”
Red, black and green balloons were released, representing those on the Palestinian flag.
Although no Israeli companies attended the event, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy said: “We hope that part of the disruptive demonstration was also for the release of hostages held by… Hamas.”
The disruption to this event marks the “No Business as Usual” incentive. This is part of the Shut it Down for Palestine scheme, which believes: “There can be no business as usual while a genocide occurs in real time.”
Featured image via google maps
