Many students enjoyed the 60th anniversary of Israeli Independence Day, but Palestinian protesters argued it is not worth celebrating.

On one side of the King Memorial Commons, Israeli Independence Day was celebrated by a festive crowd and featured free food, belly dancing and music. On the other side, The Muslim Student Association (MSA) stood quietly with signs of protest as they handed out papers which cited various injustices Israel has committed against Palestine.

The signs had various messages such as, “60 years of oppression,” “boycott Israeli terrorism,” and “ethnic cleansing is not something to celebrate.”

“We consider Israel an apartheid nation because it has apartheid policies,” said Abdul Rafay, senior psychology major and member of MSA. “For the last 60 years Israelis have caused nothing but pain to Palestinians and Muslims in general.”

Rafay said the U.S. supports Israel by supplying them with financial aid, military arsenal and political support with disregard to the atrocities such actions cause Muslim people.

Victorya Troyansky, sophomore speech/language pathology major and member of the Hillel organization, thought the anniversary celebration went great, but wished the protesters would not distance themselves from the celebration.

“I think the protesters have a right to make their point,” Troyansky said. “I wish they would join us, but I don’t think it will happen.”

Rami Saqa, president of MSA, said he has a fundamental issue against the celebration.

“On May 14, 1948, 800,000 Palestinians were thrown out of their homes overnight,” Saqa said. “We’re here to make sure that both sides of the story are told.”

Saqa discussed many other instances of injustice and said www.ifamericansknew.org is a good place to go for facts regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict.

“We’re not here to denounce Judaism,” he said. “We’re here to educate Americans about what kinds of injustices Israelis are committing.”

While Troyanski respected the protesters’ freedom of speech, she said some of the content presented by protesters was offensive.

“I think the swastikas featured on some of the signs and calling Israel a terrorist state is a little much,” she said.