At the beginning of May, we asked the Drew community to help us raise money to go towards keffiyehs for Drew students. We are happy to report that we were able to raise $1,800 in under two weeks! With the help of the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC), we purchased 200 keffiyehs to be distributed amongst peers. About half of these keffiyehs were gifted to graduating seniors who chose to wear them during their graduation ceremony, which coincidentally fell on World Keffiyeh Day. Remaining keffiyehs have been entrusted to SJP for future fundraising and programming.

Symbols of Palestinian solidarity from graduating seniors at Drew University’s CLA Graduation on May 11, 2024 / Image Credit: Drew University

We want to thank our community for coming together in a short amount of time to help students show their support for Palestine on such an important day. The act of wearing a keffiyeh at graduation is not just an act of solidarity with Palestine, but a visual reminder to the University of the student body’s disapproval of the U.S. funded genocide in Gaza. Despite the horrors that have unfolded in Palestine since October 2023, Drew continues to turn a blind eye to genocide, going as far as inviting Zionist actor James Van Der Beek to give a commencement speech in which he compared raising toddlers to terrorism.

We are in complete solidarity with the Palestinian people resisting decades of occupation, apartheid, and genocide. As alumni, we will continue to support student organizers and those in the Drew community committed to a world of collective liberation. To get involved, send us an email at drewuajp@gmail.com or fill out our committee sign up form.