On Thursday, May 2, approximately 60 students gathered to hold a brief student-led walkout, advocating for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East and to call for justice for everyone who has been harmed by the conflict, specifically calling for students to stand in solidarity with Palestine. 

This walkout – affiliated with walkouts taking place simultaneously at Stevenson, Lake Forest, and Warren High Schools – was in response to the recent conflicts in the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Junior Jana Abdelrahman began the walkout with a speech discussing the impacts of the conflict on Palestinian citizens. “From October 7 to April 26, 34,000 Palestinians have been murdered, with more than 14,000 of them being children,” Abdelrahman said in her speech. “The blockade and restrictions imposed on the region have created a humanitarian catastrophe, leaving countless people struggling to access even the most basic necessities of life.”

Abdelrahman also commented on the involvement of the Israeli government in the humanitarian crisis in her speech.

“It is important to know the Israeli government’s unjustified violence is not limited to Gaza,” she said. “Innocent children and civilians among communities in the West Bank have also been killed. I… am not from Palestine, but I will not stand complicit in what the International Court of Justice calls a genocide.”

Following her speech, Abdelrahman clarified that the walkout was not a reason to promote anti-Semitism on campus. 

“Speaking against injustice is not anti-Semitism,” she said. “Asking for the protection of human rights… [and] requesting an immediate end for these brutal attacks on Palestinian civilians is not anti-Semitism. Genocidal actions cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world. It is nothing but human to support [a ceasefire].”

Senior Mai Asad gave another speech after Abdelrahman, calling for students to recognize the humanity of the citizens of Gaza. 

“We are here today as human beings to recognize that people like us somewhere else are not, and have not, been treated as such,” Asad said in her speech. “For people who are now being murdered and expelled by an entity that our nation stands so firmly with… We walk out for all those subject to this unintelligible abuse… We walk out for children, who in 2024, are carrying the remains of their families in their backpacks.

“I as a Palestinian am not disposable. Neither my people, nor my rights, are disposable. I, as a Palestinian, should have the right to return to the land [where] my ancestors grew olive trees… I am not just another number in the headlines, and I am not just a lump of flesh under the rubble that was my home. I insist on life, as do all of us, by the thousands, by the millions.

“We walk out today because Palestinians should not need to insist on life. We walk out today because the Palestinian right to life does not undermine any other people’s right to life.”

Following Asad’s speech, the students held a two minute period of silence to acknowledge the people of Gaza before concluding the walkout. According to Asad, “every second will represent 283 people who have been killed as of recently, [of which] 108 are children.”

Abdelrahman stated in an interview that the motivation was inspired by the want to create awareness surrounding the conflict.

“I noticed how a lot of people in Libertyville don’t know [the details of] what’s going on,” Abdelrahman said. “They just know that there is a conflict in the Middle East. By organizing this walkout, we share the message that this is not acceptable, and that it is a genocide.”

Abdelrahman also stated there are still many things that students can do safely to recognize the current circumstances and advocate for their thoughts on the conflict.

“Raising awareness is important,” she said. “Continue to discuss what is happening. Contact your local congressmen and people in power and ask for a ceasefire. And [if it is something that helps you], regardless of religion, pray for peace.”