[News] Student waves Palestinian flag, refuses to shake US Sec of State's hand during graduation

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220523-student-waves-palestinian-flag-refuses-to-shake-us-sec-of-states-hand-during-graduation/>
Student waves Palestinian flag, refuses to shake US Sec of State's hand
during graduation
May 23, 2022
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[image: image.png]

Palestinian student Nooran Alhamdan refused to shake hands with US
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during her graduation ceremony from
Georgetown University in Washington. Alhamdan, who studied at the Centre
for Contemporary Arab Studies in Georgetown, raised the Palestinian flag,
and refused to shake hands with Blinken while on stage, in protest over
Washington's position on Israel and the killing of Shireen Abu Aqleh by the
Apartheid State.

Israel assassinated Abu Akleh
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220511-israel-shoots-dead-al-jazeera-journalist-during-invasion-of-jenin/>
while
she was covering the occupation army's storming of Jenin refugee camp. Abu
Akleh was wearing a flak jacket clearly displaying the word "press" and had
a helmet on, however a sniper bullet entered her head from her ear, killing
her. Colleagues around her were also shot at when they tried to rescue her
at the scene.

After initially denying that it was responsible for the killing, the
Israeli military identified a soldier's rifle that it said may have been
used to kill Abu Akleh.

*READ: Israel will not investigate killing of Palestinian journalist
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220519-israel-will-not-investigate-killing-of-palestinian-journalist/>*

"Myself & my classmates in Arab Studies honored the legacy of Shireen Abu
Aqleh during Anthony Blinken's commencement address" said Alhamdan in a
tweet sharing a video from the graduation ceremony. "We demand an
independent investigation & an end to American aid to Israel now. I relayed
these demands to Blinken personally & refused to shake his hand."

Alhamdan revealed that at the end of commencement Blinken came up to her
personally and said "I hear you," to which the graduate research fellow for
the Middle East Institute said she "reiterated that an independent
investigation and accountability for Israel were necessary. He [Blinken]
walked away when I told him to cut all American aid to the Israeli
military."

Alhamdan shared photos of her peers carrying posters honouring Abu Aqleh
and sent out a defiant tweet. "They have the tanks, we have the clocks,"
said Alhamdan commenting on a motto taught to her by one of her professors
at Georgetown. "I am proud to have refused your handshake and to have
reminded you of our existence".
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