On Tuesday evening, about 100 community and student activists — including approximately 50 Brown students led by the Brown Divest Coalition — gathered in front of Senator Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office to support Lebanon following recent Israeli military attacks on the country to target Hezbollah.
Throughout the Israel-Hamas war, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire. Tensions escalated last week as Israel weaponized exploding pagers to target Hezbollah, killing and injuring at least 32 people, including civilians, according to the BBC. On Monday, Israeli military attacks killed nearly 560 people and injured 1,800 in Lebanon, AP News and the New York Times reported.
Mica Maltzman ’25, a BDC spokesperson, believes Israel’s actions in Lebanon increase the “urgency” and “relevance” of the divestment campaign on campus.
“Whether in Gaza, the West Bank or Lebanon, our University has continued to profit off of this death,” Maltzman said. “It’s time to end this investment.”
“As we march down today, I want you to remember that we have to stand together to dismantle the systems of oppression that exist,” Arman Deendar ’25 said at the BDC rally. “We stand in our fight for liberation.”
Student activists repeatedly chanted “shame” in response to statements about Israel’s actions in Lebanon. As the group marched down College Hill to join the downtown rally, some students chanted “from Palestine to Lebanon, Israel will soon be gone.”
“We’re here today to join with the broader Providence community and make our voices heard,” Maltzman said.
The rally in front of Reed’s office was led by organizers from the Rhode Island Party for Socialism and Liberation, better known as PSL. Speakers at the R.I. PSL rally represented several local activist groups including the Palestinian Feminist Collective and Falasteen Diaspora United R.I.
“The attack on Lebanon is a continuation of the attack on Palestine,” said Jair Perez, an organizer at PSL.
Perez said that PSL wants Reed and the United States government to stop providing aid to Israel. He noted that Reed accepts donations from the Electric Boat Corp, a weapons manufacturer.
“We must demand that our government stop all aid for the regime committing genocide in Gaza and launching terrorist attacks into Lebanon,” said Peter Sentz, an organizer with PSL.
Eli Hadley, another PSL organizer, described Vice President Kamala Harris as a “liar” and criticized her claims of working toward a ceasefire, noting that the Biden-Harris administration sent troops into the region following the attacks on Lebanon.
Hadley and other organizers called for the complete withdrawal of American troops from Lebanon and surrounding areas.
Loubna Qutami, a representative from the Palestinian Feminist Collective, spoke about the history of Israeli actions in Lebanon, arguing that Israel’s current attacks stem from years of prior involvement in the region.
The Providence Police Department was present near the rally for its duration. By the time the rally ended, nine police officers and five police vehicles were present. Officers directed protesters to stay out of the street.
After a man began chanting at the protesters, a rally attendee yelled at the man, “come here so I can beat you up.” A few minutes later, the man approached the protesters, at which point the police escorted him away.
“My hope is that (the protest) brings more people into the struggle, and more people see U.S. imperialism as a primary contradiction in the world,” Perez said.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Mica Maltzman '25's statement addressed the crowd. Maltzman's was speaking to The Herald.
Ciara Meyer is a Senior Staff Writer covering the Beyond Brown beat. She is from Saratoga Springs, New York and plans on concentrating in Statistics and English nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
Sophia Wotman is a Senior Staff Writer covering the Affinity & Activism beat under University News. She is a junior from Long Island, New York concentrating in Political Science with a focus on women’s rights. She is a jazz trumpet player, and you’ll often find her performing on campus and around Providence.
