Hundreds of high school and college students plan to walk out to end U.S. aid to Israel

Students at over two dozen high schools and colleges in the Puget Sound region, along with others across Washington, say they plan to walk out of class Tuesday morning to protest Israel’s war against Hamas.

They are demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel, the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. 

“Students refuse to let their community’s tax dollars fund an incessant war machine oiled with the blood of Palestinian people,” wrote the WA Students For Palestine group in a news release. 

The group also says it’s in support of the existence of one state of Palestine. 

Across the country, pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have disrupted classes, raised tensions with administrators and led to standoffs with police and student arrests.

Solly Kane, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, urged parents and educators to speak to their kids about the line between peaceful protests and free expression, and when such protests could be interpreted as antisemitism. 

Tuesday is the first full day of Passover, the weeklong Jewish commemoration of the deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.

A student representative of the Washington Revolutionary Student Union said when students chose April 23 for the walkout, they didn’t realize the date fell on Passover. The student said the group does not tolerate antisemitism or hate speech.

At Seattle Public Schools, students are filling out a civic engagement activity form to receive an excused absence for not being in school. 

The list of schools planning walkouts includes high schools in Seattle, Redmond, Olympia, Issaquah, Bellevue, Highline and Woodinville, and many area colleges and universities. However, a spokesperson for an activist group at the University of Washington Seattle said UW’s Seattle campus is not participating in the walkout; instead, it’s supporting walkouts at high schools.