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The official Instagram page of the UIUC Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a graphic on Instagram at 1:07 p.m. calling all protesters to the Main Quad. 

The caption of the post states “we need all to mobilize to the Main Quad near Foellinger immediately!!” 

lezhava3@dailyillini.com 

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**Many attendees, community members and organizers have elected not to be identified by name for safety reasons. Quotes published in this article were heard spoken at the event, with no attribution as a safety precaution.**

University students gathered between Alma Mater and the Illini Union on Friday morning to form an encampment as a part of their effort to call for the University to divest from weapons manufacturers for Israel. Protestors and organizers arrived at 5 a.m.

“Admin admin you’re all cowards; students have all the power,” the group chanted.

Students came in facial masks and dressed for the weather. They stood in a circular formation surrounding the encampment, with a pile of resources including food, water, blankets and other camping gear.

The University took down the Alma Cam and the Quad Cam before 8:00 a.m.

“Disclose, divest. We will not stop; we will not rest,” the group chanted.

UIPD officers and a truck from University Facilities & Services were present throughout the beginning of the encampment.

A student group member was heard calling for protesting students to stay standing with their arms linked as officers began to converse with the students.

At 8:22 a.m., an officer was heard ordering the students to “make a lane” toward the encampment. Officers then resorted to physical force and dragging off one student as the group continued to chant, “Free, free Palestine.”

“He’s done nothing!” An attendee yelled at officers as they forcibly removed the student.

“Why are you pushing him? Why are you grabbing him?”

A student leader instructed the group to not pack up the camp as UIPD and Facilities & Services employees began tearing down the encampment. Students kept their arms linked and continued to form a tighter circle.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not separate, you will be subject to trespassing,” an officer called out as Facilities & Services continued to remove tents.

“Alright, who wants to go — who wants to go to jail?” one officer was heard yelling at the student protesters.

Officers arrested one student at the event.

The protesters repeatedly called “Free, free Palestine” as officers and Facilities & Services members continued to remove banners and tents. Officers twisted protesters’ arms and used physical force to access the encampment.

“This is brutality,” a protester with a megaphone called out to the officers. “We have every right to be here! Every single right!”

Students began chants of “Whose campus? Our campus!” as officers removed the final structures within the encampment.

Officers and Facilities & Services staff members left the scene just after 8:30 a.m., leaving students in a tight-knit circle around the remainder of the resources. A student did a lap around the circle writing the Champaign County jail inmate support number on the arms of protestors as a precaution.

Police presence was completely gone from the scene at 8:41 a.m., with protesters breaking their circle to eat and rest shortly after.

As of 9:00 a.m., student protesters remained in a group eating food and drinking water by the Alma Mater statue. Two protestors mounted a banner reading “30,000 KILLED; 2 MIL STARVING; STOP $$$ WAR”

maaiken2@dailyillini.com

UPDATE: April 26, 12:54 p.m.

The Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Living announced on Instagram that the police department and University administration have given the protest group “a deadline to be off the quad.”

“I understand that this causes lots of worry and anxiety, again, nothing is guaranteed, but (UIPD and University administration) are on it,” the statement read.

Party for Socialism and Liberation Champaign-Urbana’s text newsletter later announced that the encampment would reconvene at the Alma Mater statue at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon.

“The University tried and failed to silence pro-Palestinian voices earlier today,” the statement read.

“We need as many people as possible out here for this to be a success,” the statement said.

PSL CU will be providing ponchos to guard against the inclement weather.

UPDATE: April 26, 2:30 p.m.

The Daily Illini sat down with the Executive Director of Illini Hillel at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to talk about the campus-wide tensions in regard to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza.

The Daily Illini: How do you feel about all the situations that are going on today on campus?

Erez Cohen: Well, things are very tense on campus right now. A lot of our students are very upset about what’s going on on campus starting with the protest on Wednesday during the holiday of Passover and all the way through the tents that were put up on the quad this morning. 

The DI: What is Illini Hillel doing to help students or provide support for students on campus? 

Cohen: So, Hillel has always been here for students in times of need. Going back to the early 1920s when Jewish students were not accepted in social clubs, Hillel was the social outlet for Jewish Students and that hasn’t changed on Wednesday when there was the protest on Green Street. We were celebrating the holiday anyway here, so we opened our doors to Jewish students to come and be with us and we’re doing the same now. Students can come here to seek mental health support, rabbinical counseling, just to be with other Jewish students and basically find an outlet for what’s bothering them in this situation.

The DI: Some of your students are on the quad tabling for the holidays. What sort of precautions are you taking when they are out there, especially during protests? 

Cohen: Well, we work with the students to make sure that they don’t engage with protesters and we work closely with the security forces in town to make sure that students are safe. But it is important to us that our students are showing their Jewish identity proudly without fear because this is their campus and they’re allowed to be here safely. We will continue to work to make sure that they can do that safely and proudly.

lezhava3@dailyillini.com 

lmsalas2@dailyillini.com 

**This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.**

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A violation of an order of protection was reported on the 2400 block of Springfield Avenue around 9 p.m. Monday. According to the report, the victim received unwanted calls and text messages she believed to be from her ex-husband.

Theft was reported at Walmart, 2610 N Prospect Ave., around 4 p.m. Monday. According to the report, the offender stole four cell phones from the business over the course of two weeks.

Deceptive practices were reported on the 1400 block of Briarwood Drive around 11 a.m. Monday. According to the report, the victim discovered a large amount of money had been withdrawn from her savings account without her authorization.

University

Theft was reported at Illini Union Bookstore, 809 S. Wright St., around 1:30 p.m. Monday. According to the report, the offender stole a backpack worth $87 from the bookstore. 

Theft was reported at University parking lot E-14, 1625 S. First St., overnight Saturday or Sunday. According to the report, an unknown offender stole the victim’s wallet containing $250 in cash, personal documents and bank cards from the victim’s car.

Identity theft, credit card fraud, theft and using fraudulent identification was reported at University Public Safety Building, 1110 W. Springfield Ave., around 7 p.m. Saturday. According to the report, the two offenders were first identified as wanted suspects by store security at Menards, 620 W. Town Center Blvd. after using fraudulent information to rent a vehicle from Willard Airport on June 24 and never returning the vehicle. The police recovered the stolen vehicle at Menards and later arrested the suspects after questioning.

Urbana

Deceptive practices were reported on the 1900 block of Easy Street around noon Monday. According to the report, an unknown offender told the victim money had been deposited into the victim’s account. The victim repaid the offender but later discovered no money was initially deposited.

Criminal damage to property was reported on the 1700 block of Melrose Village Circle around 8 p.m. Sunday. According to the report, an unknown offender damaged the door of the victim’s apartment. 

Criminal damage to property was reported at Chi Psi Fraternity House, 606 West Ohio St., around 10 p.m. Sunday. According to the report, an unknown offender damaged a window of the house.

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