On Saturday, October 3, members of Boston Students for Justice in
Palestine attended the Bernie Sanders rally with a sign that read “Will
Ya #‎FeelTheBern 4 Palestine?”. We held our sign quietly and
respectfully in the overflow area, and did not block any of the rally
screenings or walkways. We received a warm welcome from surrounding
Bernie supporters and rally participants, many of whom also carried
signs.

Within minutes of arriving, we were approached by police
and venue staff and told that the Bernie Sanders campaign team requested
we take down our sign (see video). To our knowledge, no other
individuals were asked to do the same. After we were told to take our
sign down, we began filming our interaction with police and staff. We
were immediately given a verbal trespass order and threatened with
arrest.

We understand that in American politics, the mere mention
of “Palestine” often stirs controversy, but polls show that a growing
and increasingly diverse segment of the American population sympathizes
with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality. This is
especially true of young people like us. These numbers will only grow as
more Americans become aware of Israeli human rights abuses and
discriminatory policies and recognize that supporting Palestinian
freedom, justice and equality is a progressive value.

We have
discussed the incident with Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, who
expressed regret about how we were treated and acknowledged that our
sign was “appropriate” and “in the spirit of many other signs there.” We
are eager to engage in a dialogue about inclusivity and the elevation
of under-represented voices. Sanders speaks up for those hurt by low
wages, gender inequality, school tuition, corporate power, and climate
change. Recently, he released a broad policy platform to address
systemic racism. We want him to also speak up for those hurt by US
foreign policy and military aid: we want him to speak up on Palestine.
We hope that Sanders and other presidential candidates will seriously
consider our government’s role in Israel's human rights abuses as they
shape their foreign policy platform.