Live updates: Students in Iowa City, University of Iowa lead protests supporting Palestinians

A day of organized Israel-Hamas war protests is planned in Iowa City Friday, beginning with a demonstration outside of City High School, followed by a three-day rally on the University of Iowa campus.

The demonstrations take place as student-led protests and encampments have swept across college campuses in America, with participants calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for their respective universities to stop investing endowment money in Israel, among other demands.

This week, protestors at a rally at Iowa State University on May 1 demanded the school cut financial ties with companies that profit from the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers of the three-day demonstration on the Pentacrest in Iowa City said they are not planning an encampment, and that they are "standing in solidarity" with other student protests — which have been the sites of increasingly hostile confrontations between protestors and police resulting in hundreds of arrests and injuries — and to facilitate “education and cultural exchange.”

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said Friday on an episode of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS that she's a big believer in the 1st Amendment and the right to peacefully protest.

“When there is a line crossed, of course, and we start damaging property, things like that, I think that's a conversation we need to have about what is the way to peacefully protest, get your point across without going into something that is going to cause the cops to get involved,” she said. “I also think that sometimes when the cops get involved, they're there a little too soon and they're not always considering what the students are trying to do and say.”

Konfrst, a professor at Drake University, said she’s proud of students across the country who are making their voices heard.

“Let's just make sure that the protests are peaceful,” she said. “These students have every right, and almost a responsibility, to call out their government when they disagree. And as long as they're doing that peacefully, I think that college campuses need to let them do that.”

The demonstration, which is planned from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, is said to include musical performances, artist demonstrations, and areas for prayer and study.

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7 p.m.: First day of University of Iowa protest comes to an end

The crowds, blankets, signs, food and tents have cleared out and demonstrators are dispersing here on the Pentacrest after the first of three days of protests.

On Saturday, events will include divestment training, "Know Your Rights" training, a poetry circle and more. The second day of events are expected to run from noon to 7 p.m. in the same spot near Clinton Street on the Pentacrest.

6:30 p.m.: Jewish students join demonstration, call for equality

A small group of Jewish people surrounded the Anne Frank sapling around 5 p.m. on Friday evening, two days into Jewish Heritage Month, for Iowa Hillel's Our Roots: A Celebration of Jewish Heritage, a celebration Hillel had organized since September, motivated by desire to bring attention to the Anne Frank tree on campus.

“We really want to exemplify and celebrate the Jewish presence that we have in Iowa City and University of Iowa's campus,” sophomore student Jillian Arnold said.

“The thing I think is really beautiful about the event is that in one way we're reflecting on Anne, but we're also looking to the future,” Kirsten Kumpf Baele said. “We're looking at the present and to the future and how Jewish students, non Jewish students are learning from each other.”

Kumpf Baele is the director of the Anne Frank Initiative and was one of the advocates who helped bring the Anne Frank sapling — just one of 13 saplings across the country — to the University of Iowa campus. She said the gathering was meant to continue to amplify the “community-facing” nature of the organization.

A few hundred feet away, an hour later the area Jewish Voice for Peace organization undertook a Shabbat, breaking bread and singing songs alongside the pro-Palestinian demonstration.

They sang one song that an organizer described as demonstrative of the equality of the world, retorting that everyone deserves freedom, housing and a safe space. The song goes, “Where you go I will go, beloved, For your people are my people, your devine my devine.”

It was the final act on the first of three scheduled days of protest in solidarity with students who have advocated for the same cause in encampments and protests across the country.

6:10 p.m.: Students, alumni make their voices heard

Avi Lapchick, a graduating senior, spent the last day of the spring semester at the Pentacrest dawning a protest sign that said “Jews for a ceasefire,” and emphasized the distinction between Zionism and Judaism.

“This is a genocide that is happening in the name of Judaism, and I will not stand for it,” Lapchick said. “I am against Zionism, and that is why I am here today, and making the distinction between the two is important.”

Ashlyn Watson, who graduated from the University of Iowa last spring and saw community togetherness through protests as a student, believes it is more important than ever to elevate student voices.

“Since I came to Iowa, there’s been so many impactful moments of togetherness, in forms of protest, and coming together as a community,” Watson said. “There’s so much strength in university students and communities that often goes overlooked … It’s a peaceful event for us to come together for conversations, and I think students have more impact than people give them credit for.”

5:30 p.m.: Iowans reflect on why they joined University of Iowa protest

Amanda Augsburger is a University of Iowa alumni living in the Quad Cities and came to Iowa City for the protest. Since October, Augsburger has been telling her children, who are seven and nine, about the ongoing conflict and asked if they could attend a rally.

“When we told them what was happening in Gaza, they became passionate about it,” Augsburger said. “When we heard about this, we decided it would be a good place to bring them because it seemed very well organized and a safe place for them.”

Augsburger emphasized the importance of educating her children and teaching empathy regarding world issues.

“I want them to grow up to be citizens of the world and care about other people,” Augsburger said. “I think that you care about other people by knowing what’s going on, and if there are kids in Gaza who are dying, if there are kids whose lives are torn apart, the least I can do is help my kids make a better world.”

Iowa City resident Cori Hoffmann was attending her first Israel-Hamas war protest on Friday.

“We’re all just out here to show support with all oppressed peoples and to show that we won’t be silenced or intimidated,” Hoffmann said.

She emphasized the importance of the large group — which peaked around 150 people — showing up and said protests across the country helped inspire her to come out on Friday afternoon.

“We’ve been seeing that, this past week, people across the country are coming together, letting their voices be heard, and disrupting the systems in this country and in our universities,” Hoffmann said.

4 p.m.: High school students join Pentacrest protest

Iowa City West High School sophomore Shahd Suleiman gave a speech during a planned Israel-Hamas war protest at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the heart of the Pentacrest. He spoke of the various demands the  Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine have for the University of Iowa administration.

“We demand an end to the silence that disenfranchises Palestinian students,” Suleiman. “We demand an end to the university in partnership with companies of more bloodshed.

We demand change and justice. We stand with the rights of Palestinian people for their right to their homes that were stolen.”

3:30 p.m.: Israel-Hamas war protesters gather at the Pentacrest

More than 100 protestors — including students from Iowa City High, Iowans for Palestine and members of the Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine rally — gathered on the Pentacrest at 3:30 p.m. on Friday to protest the Israel-Hamas War.

Iowans for Palestine have held regular Friday afternoon rallies since the Israel-Hamas wore began in October 2023. In one chant, a group leader chanted “Israel bombs, USA pays,” and the group retorted, “How many kids have you killed today?”

Other chants included, “1, 2, 3, 4, Occupation no more, 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel’s a racist state,” and “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes.”Demonstrators held signs in red and green, which read, “Stop aiding genocide,” “Water, food, safety for Palestine,” “Jews say: Ceasefire now,” and “This is a war on children.”An organizer called out University of Iowa faculty by name, including President Barbara Wilson, saying that “the students of the University of Iowa are watching and waiting” and the UI is “complicit” in Palestinian deaths because of its partnership with Collins Aerospace.

2:30 p.m.: Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine issue demands

Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine organizers have created a list of eight demands for the University of Iowa.

Some of them include:

• An immediate end to all U.S. military funding to Israel.

• That the University of Iowa fully divest from weapons manufacturers which arm Israel.

• The dissolution of the University of Iowa Police Department.

• The university, the Carver College of Medicine, and the UIHC "make a statement in support" of a ceasefire.

2 p.m.: Prepping to protest

Block art and protest poster-making were the two main art events at Friday's anti-Israel-Hamas war demonstration. Students and community members made block prints on paper and fabric with phrases and symbols that have become synonymous with the movement.

Some participants made posters that read “Free Palestine” and “My heart is in Palestine.”

1 p.m.: UI professor mediates Israel-Hamas war discussion

University of Iowa professor Lisa Heineman opened Friday's activities by facilitating a listening and conversation session. Heineman teaches courses on Germany, Europe, gender and human rights and was brought in specifically to facilitate conversation.The group discussed antisemitism vs. anti-Zionism, the University of Iowa's fiscal involvement and proximity to military corporations, and connections between the job market and the Israel-Hamas war. The group swelled to around 75, then some peeled off after the 30-minute session came to an end.

Around 40 participants stuck around for food and arts and crafts sessions. They shared a lunch comprised of salads, kebabs, Capri Suns, cookies, watermelon and bananas.

12:30 p.m.: Student organizers at University of Iowa protest discuss divestment. What does that mean?

Among the demands of Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine is for the University of Iowa to “fully divest from weapons manufacturers” that produce weapons provided to Israel.

"Let’s make sure that we are learning and preparing ourselves to push the university to follow our demands,” said Clara Reynen, the Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine’s media liaison, during a land acknowledgment Friday. “I want us all by the end of this weekend to be able to talk about why divestment is important. Why disclosure is important. We can achieve more together as a unified front."

Divesting is “when a business sells off its subsidiaries, investments or other assets for a financial, ethical or political objective,” according to the dictionary from the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Generally, Israel-Hamas war student protesters across America are seeking to put an end to their schools' investment of their endowments, the pool of money a college has and tries to grow through investments. Some of the biggest university endowments in the country total nearly $50 billion and comprise thousands of funds.

The protesters opposed to Israel's military attacks in Gaza say they want their schools to stop funneling endowment money to Israeli companies and other businesses, like weapons manufacturers, that profit from the war in Gaza.

The Iowa Board of Regents said the state's three public universities ? the University of Iowa as well as Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa ? do not have direct investments in Israel or companies working directly with Israel, according to senior communications director Josh Lehman.

12 p.m.: Three-day demonstration at the University of Iowa begins

A group of about 50 students gathered on the University of Iowa Pentacrest shortly after noon on Friday, jumpstarting the first of three days demonstrating “solidarity” with encampments across college campuses in the nation.

Free speech signs dotted campus entrances near the Old Capitol Building, outlining what is permitted and forbidden demonstration and protest activity.

Iowans for Palestine, which have met each Friday afternoon since the outset of the Israel-Hamas war in October, will meet on the east side of the Pentacrest as usual Friday.

City High students who began holding a demonstration of their own Friday morning are also expected to visit the Pentacrest in the afternoon.

A small group of Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine organizers trickled in just before noon, carrying snacks and games.

The rally's May 3 schedule is as follows:

• Set Up and Land Acknowledgement — 12 p.m.

• Opening Discussion with Lisa Heineman — 12:15 p.m.

• Dhuhr Prayer — 1 p.m.

• Art Build — 1:20 p.m.

• Iowans for Palestine Protest — 3:30 p.m.

• Asr Prayer — 5 p.m.

• Jewish Voice for Peace Student-Led Shabbat — 6 p.m.

• Tear Down — 7 p.m.

11 a.m.: ‘We are doing this for the people in Palestine’: Iowa City student organizers share purpose for demonstration

About 15 students stood on the front lawn of City High School Friday morning. They hung signs that read, "End U.S. Aid to Israel" and "Stop bombing children."

The student-led group City Students for Palestine on Instagram, spent the past few weeks organizing the strike. They said they are standing with students and calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The City High group said they worked with University of Iowa students to organize "The People's High School for Palestine," which coincides with the University of Iowa weekend-long gathering, "People's University for Palestine" on the Pentacrest.

"This specific action is in support of those in Palestine and against the Israeli government," said City Students for Palestine organizer and City High senior Penelope Wilmoth. "We are doing this for the people in Palestine and need to focus on that. It's good to talk about free speech and student rights, but this is for the people in Palestine."

The group anticipated more students and community members would show up throughout the day, including Palestinian students from West High School, who are scheduled to lead discussions.

“We just don't think you can see what's going on in Gaza and the West Bank and stay silent and not say a thing," said fellow City Students for Palestine organizer and City High senior Kalea Seaton. "The main thing that we're trying to do is to get more support and just awareness for what's going on. And then get people involved because of the way that change is going to come and get the movement to grow."

More: Iowa City student group prepares for weekend Israel-Hamas war rally on Pentacrest

8:55 a.m.: City High School students who participate in organized demonstration to be marked with unexcused absence

A student group at Iowa City High School organized a strike from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Friday, May 3, encouraging students and community members to join them "in solidarity with students at Columbia University and across the country in standing up for the human rights of all Palestinians and denouncing the US-funded genocide."

About a dozen participants were setting up the demonstration outside the high school before 9 a.m. The students plan to head to the Pentacrest at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

High school administration acknowledged a “student walkout” and that “students have the right to participate in organized protests,” in principal John Bacon's email to the City High Community on Thursday, May 2.

In the email obtained by the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Bacon said that students who leave class to attend the demonstration will be marked with an unexcused absence unless parents excuse it by notifying the school.

Students who return to school after participating will have to check in at the main office.

More: Why are college students protesting across US for Palestinians? What about in Iowa?

Iowa City Press-Citizen reporters Jessica Rish, Julia Hansen and Ryan Hansen contributed to this article.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Israel-Hamas war protests reach Iowa City, University of Iowa