SIUE professor hospitalized after police brutality amid protests
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Steve Tamari, alongside his wife Sandra, are among those arrested at the pro-Palestine encampment on campus at Washington University.
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Stickers and Palestinian flags cover a statue of George Washington at an encampment by students at George Washington University on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP)
After being beaten by police during Washington University's pro-Palestinian protest in Missouri, Steve Tamari, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville attending the protest, remains hospitalized.
Megan Green, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, confirmed on X, "This professor is in the hospital due to his injuries. The only violence that happened on Saturday was by police at the behest of Washington University administration."
Tamari, alongside his wife Sandra, were among those arrested at the Gaza encampment on campus, calling for the university to divest from Boeing as a result of "Israel's" genocidal campaign in Gaza.
Read next: Protesters violently clash at UCLA, encampment deemed illegal
Sandra Tamari took to X to say, "Everything that occurred on Saturday is documented and clear for those who wish to see," attaching a video showing her husband wearing a yellow jacket.
I was arrested at the Gaza encampment at Washington University in St. Louis on Sat. My husband, a 65-year old full professor at S Illinois Univ Edwardsville, was brutally beaten by police. Here is the video of his arrest. He's wearing the yellow jacket. https://t.co/Oq83JcParj
— Sandra Tamari (@SandraTamari1) April 29, 2024
Violence against students
Washington University in St. Louis used violence against its own students, faculty, staff, and the community to maintain its "complicity in genocide," she continued, adding, "We are undeterred and St Louis will continue to rise up for Palestine."
Tamari is suffering multiple broken ribs and a broken hand, and it is reported that a doctor told him he is lucky to be alive.
Media reports state that 100 people were arrested on campus Saturday.
It is worth noting that Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was among those arrested at the university on Saturday and stated that following her arrest, she was charged with assaulting a police officer.
She relayed that the university students invited her to join the protest, and before her arrest, she posted a video on X saying, "We’re going to stand here in line with the students who are standing for democracy, standing up for human rights, standing up to end genocide."
Another video was circulated on social media of a confrontation between protesters, including Stein, and police who shoved a bike into her.
Police shove a bike against 73-year-old Presidential Candidate Jill Stein before dragging her out of the Washington State University student encampment and arresting her pic.twitter.com/9FJZV8l2bx
— Mnar Adley (@MnarMuh) April 28, 2024
“I think it’s a really bad look for the university,” Stein told news outlet KSDK. “This is about freedom of speech, and not just any old freedom of speech, but freedom of speech on a very critical issue that needs debate and dialogue.”
Stein took part in the protests to also support students, urging the University to stop all its investments in Boeing, because it has contracts with the Israeli occupation forces and Israeli security industries.
It has been confirmed, in better light, that Brown University reached a deal with students to consider divesting from "Israel" in exchange for ending the encampment for Gaza on campus.
This marks the first major move by an elite American university amid increasing Gaza solidarity encampments around the US on college campuses.
