UW Protesters Celebrate Hamas & Occupy Campus Building

Anti-Israel protesters at the University of Washington occupied an engineering building, praised Hamas, and declared a “student Intifada” amid escalating campus tensions

News and social media reports have emerged showing anti-Israel protesters at the University of Washington in Seattle who took over the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, barricaded entrances, renamed it “Shaban al-Dalou” and declared the action part of a wider “student Intifada.” The incident began on the evening of May 5, organized by a group calling itself Super UW, and follows months of escalating rhetoric on campus that includes chants in support of Hamas, distribution of flyers created by Hamas’s media office, and sales of shirts glorifying the October 7 massacre in Israel.

Campus Disruptions and Mayhem from Protesters

Roughly a dozen masked protestors reportedly moved into the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) on the UW campus just before it closed, stacking furniture to block access points and hanging. Outside, more supporters gathered, playing music and chanting. The group claimed the action was a response to UW’s ongoing financial and research ties with Boeing, a major defense contractor that has donated tens of millions of dollars to the university over the last century. Other disruptions on campus included large dumpster fires and police officers forcibly removing protestors from the premises. Over a dozen of the protesters were reportedly handcuffed.

Masked protesters reportedly occupying UW’s engineering building and barricade entrances with furniture during anti-Israel demonstration. Credit: UW Jewish Alumni on X

Rhetoric of Hamas Glorification

The building occupation is the latest and most visible phase of a months-long pattern. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which over 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds taken hostage, activists on campus have escalated their rhetoric. At recent demonstrations, students chanted slogans such as “Yahya Sinwar, we’re proud of you” and “Intifada revolution.” Shirts reading “A Flood is Coming,” a reference to Hamas’s name for the October 7 attack, were sold on campus until administrators shut them down — not due to the message, but because sales were unauthorized.

Flyers distributed at protests bear the name of the “Hamas Media Office.” When these materials were presented to UW President Ana Mari Cauce, she reportedly cited the First Amendment as a barrier to taking content-based disciplinary action.

Flyers produced by the Hamas Media Office distributed by anti-Israel protesters on the UW campus: Credit Sigal Buchman in Ynet

Jewish Students Say Threats Are Being Ignored

Jewish students and staff have described a hostile environment where antisemitism is often dismissed or excused. Sigal Buchman, who works with Hillel International to monitor antisemitism on campus, said complaints about harassment and intimidation went largely unaddressed prior to President Trump’s return to office. She described incidents where students were targeted for wearing Jewish symbols and a classroom exchange in which Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi architect of the Holocaust, was defended by a peer without response from the professor.

Student Marni Merritt published an essay detailing her experiences since October 7, saying she no longer feels safe at the university she once loved. “I was abandoned by my peers and by my university’s leadership,” she wrote.

Protesters Publish Manifesto Celebrating Oct 7 Massacre

In their manifesto, the group behind the building takeover celebrates the October 7 attack as a “heroic victory,” accuses the university of being complicit in genocide through its partnership with Boeing, and demands that all ties with the company be severed. The document calls for transforming the engineering building into a community-run educational space and insists on full amnesty for all protesters, including those not affiliated with UW. It frames the action as part of a global struggle against “Zionism, imperialism, and the US war machine,” and urges students to resist their roles in what it describes as “AI-powered genocide.”

Credit: @thestustustudio on X

University Hesitates as Alumni Express Outrage

Despite clear references to Hamas and repeated calls for violent resistance, the university has not publicly condemned the ideology behind the protests. President Cauce even faced personal threats in November 2024, including vandalism of her home and a physical confrontation that left her injured.

The manifesto issued by the protestors concludes with a quote from Georges Abdallah, a convicted terrorist and former militant member of U.S. designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Quoting Abdallah, the statement declares “Together, and only together, comrades, we will win.” By invoking Abdallah, the group signaled that its goals extend beyond student protest. Its statement aligns with the rhetoric of militant movements that endorse political violence and view the U.S. as a legitimate target of resistance.