PNN – In explaining the protests of American students against the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, predicting the continuation of these protests, he said: “The young American generation is protesting the sovereignty of this country.”
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian resistance groups launched the Al-Aqsa storm operation from Gaza against the positions of the Israeli regime. After November 24, 2023, a four-day temporary ceasefire was established between Israel and Hamas, or the pause for the exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel. This pause lasted seven days and finally ended (December 1, 2023) and the Zionist regime resumed attacks on Gaza.
On May 6, 2024, the Zionist regime’s war cabinet approved the ground attack on the city of Rafah, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, despite international opposition. And the army of this regime occupied the Palestinian part of the Rafah crossing in the east of this city, and in this way, Rafah witnessed heavy Israeli airstrikes and shelling in all its areas, including residential areas. And this regime closed the only gate of the Palestinians of Gaza to the world by attacking the Rafah crossing.
Since the beginning of the direct and military conflict between the Zionist regime and Hamas forces, more than 35 thousand people of Gaza have been martyred, of which more than 70% are women and children. The crimes of the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip, which every day have new dimensions in the media, ranging from hospital attacks to war crimes, have depressed and depressed the conscious people all over the world and forced them to react. And since then, the streets of many cities in different countries have been the scene of demonstrations and protests against the governments to confront the inhuman actions of this regime and marches in support of the people of Gaza and their resistance.
Since April 18, American universities have been the scene of serious protests by American students against the actions of the Zionist regime, as well as holding sit-ins in solidarity with the people of Gaza and supporting Palestine. They also wanted the presidents of their universities to publicly support the ceasefire in Gaza, to stop investing and cooperating with Zionist companies and supplying weapons to the army of this regime, and to cut academic ties with this regime. The student movement in America has inspired similar protests in universities in England and Europe and other countries, including India and Lebanon.
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Will the student movement be able to change the American political culture?
But these protests have been confronted by the American police and since then 2,400 students have been arrested in 50 universities.
We have discussed with Mehdi Badpa about the reason why American students are sensitive to the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza, as well as the importance of protests by student movements and the possibility of this movement spreading to other sections of the American society and the international community.
He is a university lecturer and the general director of cultural and social affairs support of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and as the secretary of the Islamic Society of Ferdowsi University students, a member of the Central Council of the Union of Islamic Students Society in 1985 and the head of the cultural unit of that union, as well as a member of the Islamic Society of Students Union and the student activist has been active so far. Also, he has numerous executive, cultural, social and student records, including the management of Imam Khomeini’s (RA) Foundation for Explanation of Thoughts in universities and the directorship of Astan Quds Razavi Scientific Communications and Cooperation Department.
The formation of the biggest protests against the Israeli regime
Regarding why the student protest movement in America has been revived in support of the people of Gaza, Badpa said, considering that there have been various conflicts in the world before, but the student protest movement has not reacted strongly to it and stated: The recent student uprising in support of Palestine in America and Europe is the biggest protest against the Israeli regime in the heart of the West since the establishment of this fake regime, and after years of student movement in America and Europe, this time it has been launched against this regime.
He added: The reason for the spread of this movement is the amount of crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli regime, the United States and their allies in the small area of ​​Gaza. The killing of more than 34,000 people, most of whom are women and children, the wounding of nearly 80,000 people, the siege and starvation of all these people on the one hand, and on the other hand, the censorship of the Western media, which claimed to reflect the correct news, and deception and hypocrisy of human rights in the West all led to the production of a generation that protested and opposed America’s slogans and policies.
The General Director of Cultural and Social Affairs Support of the Ministry of Science continued: The recent global uprising in support of Palestine actually shows the spread of the Al-Aqsa storm to the heart of America and Europe. The outburst of global anger and the reawakening of the student movement in America and Europe, which for a few weeks has become the trial of the criminal leaders of the Israeli regime and hypocritical American politicians in the world’s major universities. Maybe the occupying regime of Israel captured a part of Gaza; But Gaza awakened and conquered the soul and pure nature of the free people of the world, and from the heart of Al-Aqsa storm, Al-Ahrar storm came out, which shows that the western propaganda media could not stop the awakening of the conscience of the nations.
Protesting students and professors are not from the same spectrum
The Director General of Cultural and Social Affairs Support of the Ministry of Science added: In the definitions of the student movement, it is considered one of the important issues of sociology, which means the collective, optional, voluntary and directed action of students to create political-social change and transformation. A transformation that can be at the level of thought rather than the transformation of the social, political, and economic system. This type of movement, with its special characteristics, has played a role as the most effective activities for protests and creating changes in various fields in its not very long history. Activists of the student movement have a specific direction and certain goals, which slowly turned into a regular and coherent movement, moving towards goals and ideals under a dominant discourse.
He continued: In the recent uprising of American and European students, the important thing is that the protesting students and professors are not from the same spectrum and race and even from the same religion. Muslims, Christians and even Jews came forward against Israel’s crimes. Even the spokesmen of some of these anti-Israel student gatherings were Jewish students. These students have humanitarian and social political concerns. At the same time, the gatherings of these days in America are becoming more inflamed with threats that the ruling system of America has taken serious measures and threats against universities, professors and students, contrary to the claim of freedom of expression and the claim of protecting human rights.
Badpa said: These students in the university and the so-called political are out of politics; That is, at the same time that they consider themselves obliged to take a stand and even though they are students of the best universities in America and maybe they belong to political and power-dependent families in America; But this young generation of Americans are protesting against the government and do not depend on power. They are not only protesting in support of Palestine and the crime of the Israeli regime in the genocide in Gaza; Rather, they complain about the support of their universities against this regime and demand that the universities be acquitted of supporting this regime materially and spiritually.
Protests continue
Badpa also said about whether there is a possibility of this protest movement spreading to other sections of the society: These student protests will continue until a few weeks later and even after the semester break of American universities and will become more passionate. Because the American statesmen do not give a convincing answer to the students, on the contrary, they are responsible for the crimes of the Israeli regime in the Gaza issue, and this movement will continue until this process is stopped. Although the passionate activities and protests in the student movement are short-lived, the evidence shows that we have not yet reached the peak of this movement.
He emphasized: There is a possibility of the protest movement spreading to other sections of the American society, of course, the American government and their media suppress any news in this regard; But the interest of generation Z/Z and young Americans to know more about Islam and Iran is a topic that we should not easily ignore. During the protests of the last few weeks, American students chanted “Death to Israel”. Emphasizing the correct Farsi pronunciation of this slogan, or passionate congregational prayers in recent gatherings and the support of non-Muslim students in forming a human chain to support congregational prayers in front of the American police, even some Iranian professors in American universities reported that students in some classes asked a lesson about Imam Khomeini (RA) and demanded to know more from him.
The student movement brought its message to the world
The Director General of Cultural and Social Affairs Support of the Ministry of Science raised the question of how much content and prepared material we produced and prepared for American and European students and young people about Imam Rahel’s thoughts and answered: Really, little has been done in this field. Of course, the thoughts of Imam Khomeini (RA) are the line of pure Islam. Calling for the global unity of the oppressed against the palace dwellers, against the pharaohs of the time, calling for brotherhood and supporting the oppressed. Therefore, I have to remind all the cultural activists of what the supreme leader said in his meeting with students a few years ago, that young students and student organizations should be up-to-date, familiar with the news of the world, and have a correct understanding and analysis of international events and trends.
Badpa reminded: Those who are familiar with history, especially the history of the World War, know that the story of the siege of Stalingrad, about which books have been written and movies have been made, is less valuable than the resistance of Gaza for more than six months. The biggest global crime is happening in Gaza in front of the eyes of the world and in front of the highest human resistance. The issues of these days in Palestine proved to every awakened conscience that every drop of martyrs’ blood becomes a source of awakening for people all over the world.