Pro-Palestinian organizations call for an apology from Texas State President Kelly Damphousse and condemn GA-44

By Felicity Guajardo  

Co-Director of News and Culture  

Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at TXST and Palestine Solidarity Committee at TXST organized a press conference today calling for President Damphousse to apologize for associating pro-Palestine phrases with antisemitism, at the Stallions statue.  

President Damphousse attended a memorial on Oct. 14 honoring victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack one year later, hosted by the

Chabad Jewish Center. Damphousse referenced phrases that were spray painted on campus as antisemitic which read “Viva Palestine” and “Hands off Lebanon” according to the press conference.  

The press conference started at 12 p.m. with opening remarks by moderator, Amanda Moshfeghyeganeh, rejecting the notion that pro-Palestine speech and slogans represent antisemitism.  

“Punishing the advocacy for Palestinian human rights and criticism of an act of genocide is both Islamophobic and antisemitic and in no way protects our Jewish students and educators from antisemitism,” Moshfeghyeganeh said. “We call upon President Damphousse to retract his statements and to ensure the safety of all students.” 

Allen Dominguez, co-chair of YDSA at TXST, read a statement on behalf of many student groups saying that the phrases that Damphousse referred to as acts of vandalism do not harm Jewish community members.  

“The phrases ‘Viva Palestina’, ‘Hands off Lebanon’ and ‘glory to our martyrs’ in no way reflect hostility towards members of our Jewish community at home or abroad, but rather rebuke the ongoing genocide and aggression committed by Israel against the Palestinian and Lebanese people,” Dominguez said.  

Dominguez also spoke about Executive Order GA-44 by Governor Greg Abbott which directed all Texas higher education institutions to amend the free speech policy to include punishment for antisemitic speech.  

“The executive order was released under the guise of addressing antisemitism, however, in actuality, this state censorship is meant to deny Palestinian members of our community the rights to call for freedom from occupation and genocide, as well as deny the First Amendment rights of students, staff, and faculty to stand in solidarity with them,” Dominguez said.  

Daniel Gamez-Gomez, student organizer for Palestine Solidarity Committee at TXST, also read statements on behalf of members of Jewish Voice for Peace-Austin.  

A statement on behalf of Elaine Cohen, said that the danger of Jewish students does not fall on pro-Palestinian protestors.  

“Sadly, there are Jewish students who have yet to come to the realization that it is the actions of the State of Israel that puts them in danger, not the students who courageously protest the ethnic cleansing and war crimes of Israel. The voracious arms dealers who profit from the materials of destruction are the true aggressors here,” Gamez-Gomez said on behalf of Cohen.  

More statements were read on behalf of Joshua Scholar, a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace-Austin and Alyssa Garza, San Marcos City Councilwoman Seat #3 both calling President Damphousse to retract his statements.  

At the point of publication for this article we have not received a statement from Jewish Bobcats at TXST, but we have reached out for comments. We will update this article if one is made.