Maya Nell Murungi Burke

On June 5, 2024, 12 anti-Israel and anti-America protesters were arrested at Stanford’s pro-Hamas encampment, titled: “People's University for Palestine.”

They were arrested for breaking into an administrative building that housed the offices of Stanford's president and provost. The protesters barricaded themselves in the building and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Liberate Stanford, an autonomous group of Stanford students, organized the takeover of the president's office.

Before breaking into the building, arrestees left graffiti throughout Stanford’s Main Quad that said: "Death 2 US," “F**k Amerikkka” and “Kill Cops.” The perpetrators also spray-painted the building they invaded with anti-Israel messages.

One law enforcement officer was injured when Stanford's Department of Public Safety, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Palo Alto Police Department responded to the incident.

Cell phone data from all the arrestees revealed detailed communication about the planning and execution of the building takeover, including a "DO-IT-YOURSELF OCCUPATION GUIDE.” The guide included the statement: “Vandalism? Occupying a space removes the space from the capitalist landscape. A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition..."

On April 10, 2025, the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office charged the arrestees with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass. If convicted, they would face imprisonment and restitution.

There were over 200 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.

Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.