On Tuesday afternoon, 
while 
pro-Israel 
and 
Jewish student groups held 
their annual Israel Day 
on the Diag event, about 
15 students in support of 
Palestine gathered in the 
corner of the Diag and held 
a Palestinian flag. The Diag 
Day is centered around 
the celebration of Israel, 
but dissenters arrived to 
represent Palestine. The 
event prompted a passerby 
to call the Division of 
Public Safety and Security, 
despite 
the 
gathering 
remaining peaceful.
An LSA junior, who asked 
to remain anonymous for 
fear of being placed on 
anti-Palestinian blacklists, 

said the gathering was not 
formally 
planned, 
with 
word spreading through 
group chats. He said it 
was intended to serve as a 
reminder of the Palestinian 
people and the oppression 
they have suffered.
“There 
wasn’t 
much 
mobilization to this, there’s 
no affiliation with any org 
— it’s just that we wanted 
to be here to reaffirm 
Palestine’s existence, its 
people’s 
existence, 
the 
struggle, the oppression, 
the occupation,” he said.
Information sophomore 
Sofia 
Levinson 
serves 
as the Israel community 
coordinator 
for 
the 
University 
of 
Michigan 
Hillel, a Jewish student 
group 
on 
campus, 
and 
organized 
the 
event. 

Levinson said the event 
this 
year 
highlighted 
Israeli 
elections 
and 
provided an opportunity 
for students to write their 
hopes for their futures on 
sheets of paper, which will 
be placed in the Western 
Wall in Jerusalem, a sacred 
site for Jews.
According to Levinson, 
Israel Day is a way to bring 
people together. She also 
acknowledged there are 
diverse opinions of Israel.
“We wanted to celebrate 
Israel, and we also have 
a 
table 
where 
we’re 
hoping for a better Israel 
in the future as well, 
so 
acknowledging 
that 
there are many different 
opinions 
of 
Israel,” 
Levinson said. “I think 
that any country can hope 
to improve in the future, 
so 
we 
also 
recognize 
that there is room for 
improvement.”
Despite 
this 
attempt 
to bring people together 
to celebrate Israel, many 
students 
supporting 
Palestine 
expressed 
frustration at the event.
One LSA sophomore sat 
at the side of the Diag to 
remind those celebrating 
Israel Day of the human 
rights violations against 
Palestinians. The student 
also 
asked 
to 
remain 
anonymous for fear of 
getting blacklisted.
“Never let them feel 
like there’s nothing going 
on over there,” he said. 
“They 
can 
peacefully 
put up that flag with no 
conflict at all, as if it’s 
a 
completely 
peaceful 
country 
that’s 
done 
nothing wrong. Because 
the 
human 
rights 
violations are going on 
every second, and people 
here today need to make 
that known to everyone.”

Tilly 
Shames 
is 
the 
executive director of U-M 
Hillel. Shames said she 
thinks it is positive that 
pro-Palestinian 
students 
gathered on the Diag. She 
said pro-Israel groups have 
done the same in the past.
“I 
think 
it’s 
positive 
that there are Palestinian-
identified students that are 
here, and I don’t see them 
interacting 
negatively 
with 
the 
students 
that 
are 
celebrating 
Israel,” 
Shames said. “I see them 
here to provide support for 
their peers, possibly. When 
we at Hillel see that there 
is an anti-Israel display 
on the Diag, often we will 
come so that students who 
are triggered by something 
that they see as anti-Israel, 
those students can come to 
us when they’re concerned 
or 
upset 
about 
what 
they’re seeing. I see this 
pro-Palestinian group as 
offering the same for their 
community.”
Shames said the pro-
Palestinian group did not 
disrupt 
the 
celebration, 
and she does not view the 
gathering as a protest.
DPSS received a call 
from 
a 
student 
that 
reported 
there 
was 
a 
confrontation 
between 
student groups. However, 
DPSS 
spokeswoman 
Melissa Overton said there 
did not appear to be an 
issue. 
Additionally, 
pro-
Palestinian students said 
the decision to hold Israel 
Day 
three 
days 
after 
the 
murder 
of 
several 
Palestinian 
civilians 
showed what they claim 
to be hypocrisy and a lack 
of willingness to engage in 
real dialogue.
One 
LSA 
senior, 
who 
asked 
to 
remain 
anonymous 
for 
fear 
of 

STUDE NTS SHARE DE I IDE A S

ON THE DAILY: SNL OFFERS ‘U’ MUG SHOT

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: HEALTH SERVICE TO OFFER 
FREE, ANONYMOUS AIDS TESTING

Over 
the 
weekend, 
a 
University 
of 
Michigan 
mug was spotted on the 
late night television show 

“Saturday Night Live.”
The March 30 episode 
was hosted by Sandra Oh. 
The University mug made its 
special appearance during a 
skit in which cast members, 
featuring cast member Kate 

McKinnon, along with Oh, 
sat together around a table 
in an office kitchen setting. 
The mug was placed in front 
of McKinnon, and remained 
visible during the entirety 
of the skit.

Though 
neither 
the 
mug 
nor 
the 
University 
received any special shout 
out, questions have been 
raised regarding the reason 
behind featuring the maize 
and blue prop on the show.

April 2, 1987
In response to rising concern, 
University Health Service will 
offer 
anonymous 
testing 
for 
acquired 
immune 
deficiency 
syndrome beginning next week.
Health Service Director Caesar 
Briefer said that, with anonymous 
testing, he expects the number of 
AIDS tests the service administers 
to increase dramatically. 

Currently, Health Service tests 
about 30 people a week.
Health Service developed the 
anonymous testing service to 
remove some of the fear of being 
identified with a high-risk group 
for AIDS. 
“There’s clearly a fair amount 
of sensitivity regarding this issue,” 
Briefer said.
AIDS testing at Health Service 

includes two blood tests which 
screen for the AIDS antibody. 
The testing is free for students but 
costs $35 for others. 
Students will have to identify 
themselves for the anonymous 
testing by showing an ID card 
or by putting the card in a cover 
which would show their eligibility 
but hide their name.
Anonymous testing is used in 

many clinics, Briefer said, but is 
not available in Washtenaw
County or through most health 
services. 
Fourteen people are infected 
with the AIDS virus in Washtenaw 
County, including one University 
student, according to Briefer.
Briefer said the anonymous 
testing program has been in the 
works for months. 

2A — Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News

KELSEY PEASE/Daily
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plans to better shape the future of the University in Rackham Assembly Hll Tuesday evening.

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Diag event celebrating Israel Day 
draws pro-Palestinian students

Annual commemoration of declaration of Israeli statehood prompts opposition

AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Reporter 

ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter

blacklists, 
called 
the 
decision “unconscionable.”
“The state of Israel killed 
four Palestinians — three 
of them were under the 
age of 18,” she said. “They 
did that on Saturday, and 
today is Tuesday, and we’re 
celebrating the state that 
murdered four people just 
a few days ago… So even 
though I understand that 
this is an annual event, the 
audacity for them to still 
organize this event within 
that context, when Israel 
and IDF (Israel Defense 
Forces) 
soldiers 
have 
been killing paramedics, 
children, 
amputees, 
people 
with 
disabilities, 
mothers, 
just 
blatantly 
and so aggressively within 
the 
past 
year 
is 
just 
unconscionable to me.”
Another pro-Palestinian 
student, a recent University 
alum 
who 
identifies 
as 
Jewish and asked to remain 

anonymous 
for 
fear 
of 
blacklists, said he believes 
the event worked to silence 
Palestinians.
“Obviously 
you 
have 
to book the Diag well in 
advance — I don’t blame 
(Israel 
Day 
organizers) 
for coming out today, I 
just think it’s a little bit 
hypocritical, 
because 
when 
SAFE 
(Students 
Allied for Freedom and 
Equality) has events on the 
Diag, basically whenever 
SAFE does anything, that 
side calls them out for 
insensitivity or brings up 
recent events, that in some 
cases 
happened 
weeks 
beforehand,” he said. “So, 
for (Israel Day organizers) 
to be here so soon after 
four civilians were killed, it 
just shows that’s not really 
what they care about. They 
don’t care about sensitivity 
— they care about silencing 
Palestinians.”

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