Campus protests continue in Austin
AUSTIN — It was the first pro-Palestinian protest on the University of Texas campus in Austin since clashes with police at two others resulted in dozens of arrests.
Sunday, a rally called Stand with Palestine ended without incident. But that doesn't mean the atmosphere on campus is calm and peaceful.
Chants echoed around the campus in Austin where a crowd of hundreds issued a strong rebuke of the college president and the Texas governor for supporting Israel.
One of those students previously arrested told the crowd on Sunday that it was unwarranted, saying, "They threw me in a cell by myself for more than 14 hours."
Despite a large police presence positioned around Sunday's demonstration, this one ended without incident. Still, it's been anything but a pleasant day or year for freshman Ella Shapiro.
The 19-year-old Jewish student from Plano says since October she has felt hostility all around her.
"I would say it's definitely affected my ability to focus instead of spending more time on my schoolwork," said Shapiro. "I've spent time watching the news live on campus of what's going on at my school on campus. It has scared me to leave my dorm, to go study at the library to walk. I can't even go in the tower library."
Shapiro heads home on Monday worried about what next semester will be like for her and other Jewish students.
"It makes my heart sink that it's so aggressive and that things have turned into so, so much of personal attacks versus actually protesting for a cause on campuses across America," Shapiro said.
Protestors at Sunday's rally hailed two North Texas doctors as heroes.
A Plano surgeon and a Frisco anesthesiologist just returned from Gaza where they say what they witnessed compelled them to join this protest.
"Once we got there, we treated people with wartime injuries. Heartbreakingly, a number of them were children," said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mohammed Adeel Khalil.
"We wanted to come because we really stand for this cause," said Dr. Irfan Ali, an anesthesiologist."We really wanted to encourage them because we think that they are on the right side of the history and we wanted to be part of it."
While the pro-Palestinian rally was happening, an Austin Jewish community group held a walk for solidarity at the Capitol on what is annually observed as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
About 100 pro-Israel demonstrators carried flags and showed which side they were on in a faraway conflict that continues to divide our nation.