On Wednesday, a group of masked protesters gathered at Columbia University’s main library. They handed out flyers and put up banners in honor of Bassel al-Araj, a Palestinian activist. The protesters, who are believed to be connected to a radical group called Unity of Fields, even renamed the library’s reading room to “The Basel Al-Araj Popular University.
Read More: Dozens of Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested at Columbia University Library
The protesters gave out pamphlets describing al-Araj as a “militant intellectual.” However, some of the information in the flyers was incorrect, including a misspelling of his name. The flyers said, “Basil was an intellectual, a militant intellectual, to the point where ‘The Militant Intellectual’ is always understood to refer to him specifically.
Who Was Bassel al-Araj?
- Bassel al-Araj was a Palestinian activist and writer, known for his role in protests against the Israeli occupation.
- He was involved in peaceful protests against Israel’s separation wall and the expansion of settlements, as reported by Al Jazeera.
- In April 2016, al-Araj and five others were arrested by the Palestinian Authority. They were accused of possessing unlicensed weapons and planning attacks on Israeli targets. While in detention, al-Araj and the others went on a hunger strike, saying they were tortured. Nine days later, they were released without being formally charged.
- After his release, al-Araj went into hiding. In March 2017, Israeli forces tracked him down in Ramallah and killed him during a raid. Israel said he was part of a terrorist group planning attacks.
