Vanessa Soncco

The inverted red triangle is a symbol showing support for Hamas and Palestinian terrorism. It first appeared in propaganda videos produced by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during its terror attacks of October 7, 2023. The symbol was used by Hamas to signify one of their Israeli targets.

Nearly 1,200 Dartmouth alumni, faculty, staff, students, and community members signed a pro-BDS letter in May 2024 that spread hatred of Israel during its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel launched the war after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks in which Hamas murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis, injured thousands, and kidnapped hundreds.

Organized by Dartmouth Alumni for Palestine, the letter was written to show "support for Palestinian liberation and student movements against genocide on campus." It also repeatedly accused Israel of “apartheid & genocide.”

Calling for "Palestinian liberation" is a variation of “Free Palestine," a phrase and chant used to call for Israel's destruction. "Free Palestine!" was shouted during multiple deadly attacks on pro-Israel activists in 2025 in the United States.

Since Israel's founding in 1948, anti-Israel activists have accused Israel of "genocide" in an attempt to compare Jews to Nazis and delegitimize the creation of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

The letter condemned Dartmouth administration and campus police for their response to anti-Israel student protests held on campus, demanding they “discontinue the use of police & military forces” against participants.

The letter also accused Dartmouth of “complicity in the genocide of Palestinians,” demanding that Dartmouth “divest immediately from all apparatuses of Israeli apartheid.” It also called on the administration to “drop all charges and reverse all disciplinary actions” taken against protesters, as well as to give amnesty to “all students, staff, & faculty…for their past, present, and future roles in protest for Palestine.”

On May 1, 2024, anti-Israel activists and Dartmouth students and faculty gathered on Dartmouth Green for a rally to protest Israel’s war against Hamas and to set up a pro-Hamas and pro-BDS encampment.

Encampment participants demanded Dartmouth divest from companies that support Israel.

The encampment was organized by local anti-Israel activist groups including Dartmouth Palestine Solidarity Coalition (Dartmouth PSC), Dartmouth Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP Dartmouth) and Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont and New Hampshire (JVP VTNH). JVP VTNH is a chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

At the encampment, protestors chanted: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” The chant is used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel.

Encampment participants also chanted: “Divest! Don’t arrest!” and “This is what democracy looks like!”

Officers from Dartmouth’s Department of Safety and Security warned the protesters on the day of the encampment that they were “in violation of College policy” after students set up five tents on the Green.

Later that night, when the tents were still on the Green, Safety and Security, Hanover Police, Lebanon Police and New Hampshire state troopers arrested 90 students, faculty, and community members. They also dismantled the encampment and dispersed hundreds of people from the streets.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.

Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

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.