20 | JUNE 6 • 2024 
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round 150 high school 
students at Ann 
Arbor’s Skyline High 
School participated in a “Walk 
Out for Palestine” on May 20. 
A smaller group of students at 
Pioneer High School also par-
ticipated on their campus.
The protest appears to have 
been organized through an 
Instagram account called @
eagles_against_g3n0c1d3_ that 
was created in early May. The 
account posted various social 
media messages to garner sup-
port for the event. One post 
outlined rules for the protest, 
emphasizing “absolutely no 
antisemitic slogans, symbols 
or statements” and stating that 
“nobody who does not attend 
Skyline High School may attend 
the campus protest.
”
Videos and photos from the 
event, posted on Instagram, 
show students chanting “Israel 
bombs, USA pays. How many 
kids have we killed today?” 
Participants held signs reading 

“ceasefire now,
” “free Palestine” 
and “invest in healthcare not in 
warfare.
”
Several students delivered 
speeches during the walkout. 
One student equated the Israel-
Hamas war with the Holocaust, 
saying, “When Germany was 
trying to wipe out the Jews, 
America stood by and did 
nothing. Look where it got us. 
Six million Jews killed. This is 
the same thing. We are killing 
people because of something 
they cannot control. Because 
they live somewhere. And that 
is not right. They are killing 
people for no reason.
”
Another speaker declared, 
“Israel is committing a geno-
cide! 35,000 Palestinians have 
been murdered by Israel!” 
One student addressed those 
attending just to get out of class, 
saying, “I know some of you 
are here to skip class. Shame on 
you!”
Some hecklers could be 
heard on the videos; they were 

quickly shut down by others 
yelling, “Shut up!”
One Jewish student, who 
requested to remain anony-
mous, expressed that some 
of their friends participated 
“mostly to skip class,
” but was 
concerned that they didn’t 
understand the impact of the 
protest on Jewish students. 
Another student, who said 
they are not Jewish, expressed 
that they found it disruptive 
when their classmates walked 
out during instruction time. 
This student, who asked to 
remain anonymous, felt that the 
protest took away from learning 
time.
“This kind of event is dis-
tressing for those who support 
Israel and are appalled by 
Hamas’ terror attack,
” Rabbi 
Asher Lopatin, director of 
community relations at the 
Jewish Federation of Greater 
Ann Arbor, wrote in an email. 
“We wish that those protesting 
would call for a release of hos-
tages held by Hamas. 
“We call on the district to 
ensure that such protests do 
not include hate speech and 
that protesters are respectful of 

the rights of others who have 
differing views to express them-
selves.
” 
Lopatin added that part of 
his role is organizing parents 
to work with the schools “to 
ensure they focus on educating 
students instead of letting divi-
sive world issues lead to educa-
tional chaos.
”
Ann Arbor Public Schools 
Director of Communications 
Andrew Cluley confirmed that 
teachers were instructed to stay 
“content neutral.
” Teachers were 
told to remain in class unless 
the entire class participated in 
the protest. Those not teaching 
during the protest were asked 
to ensure student safety by 
walking at the back of the 
walkout.
Cluley also confirmed that 
no formal instruction on the 
Israel-Hamas war has been 
provided to students. 
Ann Arbor Public Schools 
has posted guidelines for 
student-led protests. AAPS says 
it supports student free speech 
but states that any protest must 
not disrupt classwork or cause 
significant disorder. 
The district aims to ensure 
a structured and supervised 
environment for all students, 
whether they participate in the 
protest or not. 

Students at two Ann Arbor high 
schools walk out during class.

‘Walk 
Out for 
Palestine’

OUR COMMUNITY

LEFT: Students at Skyline High 
School at their May 20 protest.
ABOVE: The flyer for the 
walkout at Skyline High School, 
“Protest to Divest.”

LAURA PASEK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

