Campus Protesters Spotted Wearing Hamas Headbands–What We Know

Photos thought to have been taken at recent pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. University campuses show two people wearing Hamas headbands among the crowds.

The first appears to be someone wearing a Hamas headband and a face covering, purportedly taken at Stanford University in California. The second image shows another person wearing what looks like a Hamas headband and waving a flag, supposedly at Washington University in St. Louis.

Students at universities across the United States have established protest camps to demonstrate against the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza. The movement began earlier this month after police made 100 arrests at a protest camp at Columbia University.

Since then, movements have cropped up across the country, standing in solidarity with the Columbia protesters and against the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack on southern Israel killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking several hundred more back into Gaza as hostages. In response, the Israeli military launched a major air and ground operation in Gaza which resulted in over 34,000 deaths according to the territory's Hamas-controlled health ministry.

The protests have been driven in part by peaceful ends, with students demanding a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza. They are also fighting for their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel.

However, Jewish students on campuses say they have faced harassment and antisemitic comments that have made them feel unsafe. And the images of two protesters at separate universities wearing what appears to be pro-Hamas attire are a concern.

Newsweek has found out more.

What do these images show?

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @sentdefender, posted on April 29, viewed 505,700 times, showed what appeared to be someone wearing a Hamas headband and a face covering. The post said the picture was taken at the "Demonstration Encampment on the Campus of Stanford University in California."

The headband includes what looks like the Hamas emblem, representing the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem crossed with two swords. Hamas fighters wear green headbands with white text, as is the same in the photo.

Based on Google Maps data, the photo does appear to have been taken next to the White Plaza on the university's campus, where protests have been organized.

We do not know who the person in the photo is, including whether they are a student or a university employee. Newsweek has contacted Stanford University media representatives via email for comment.

A letter signed by University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez said that while it welcomed "the peaceful expression of diverse viewpoints at Stanford" its University policy prohibited "overnight camping" and "disruptions of classes and university events."

'Outsiders were present'

It also claimed that supporters of a march held on Thursday had "encouraged people from other communities well beyond Stanford to come to our campus to participate in these activities."

Newsweek attempted to contact Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine (SAAP), a coalition group helping to organize protests at the university, via Instagram.

The second photo, posted on X by user @StopAntisemites, on April 28, viewed 162,200 times, shows another person wearing what looks like a Hamas headband and waving a flag.

User @StopAntisemites claimed the picture was taken at Washington University in St. Louis. Based on Google Maps data, it does appear it was taken at the university campus, outside of Rebstock Hall and Busch Laboratory.

It is unclear whether the headband includes the Hamas emblem, but it does include what looks like the Shahada, an Islamic declaration of faith in one God and His messenger, with green cloth and white text.

While terrorist organizations have used the Shahada, including Hamas, it has no political connection and is also present on other flags, such as the flag of Saudi Arabia.

Evocative headgear

Whatever the intention of the wearer, based on the picture alone it is evocative of the headbands worn by Hamas fighters.

The post on X also says the person in the photo is holding an ISIS flag. However, looking at the writing on the flag, it appears to be Islamic calligraphy for "Allahu Akbar" or God is Great.

The Islamic State flag contains the beginning of the Shahada while the lower part is dominated by a white circular shape called the seal of Muhammad. This is not the same as the flag being carried in the photo.

Again, we do not know who the person in the photo is including whether they are a student or an employee of the university.

A spokesperson for Washington University in St. Louis did not mention the person wearing the headband in its response to Newsweek. It instead provided a statement issued on Saturday, following protests at the weekend.

'Outside troublemakers'

It stated that on Saturday a large group of individuals entered the campus "with the intention of causing a significant disruption to the university." This included students, employees, and "many individuals not affiliated with the university."

"It quickly became clear through the words and actions of this group that they did not have good intentions on our campus and that this demonstration had the potential to get out of control and become dangerous," it read.

"When the group began to set up a camp in violation of university policy, we made the decision to tell everyone present that they needed to leave."

One hundred individuals, including 23 students and four employees, were arrested. All face charges of trespassing. Others may be charged with resisting arrest and assault, including for injuring police officers.

Dark day

Chancellor Andrew Martin called the protest a "dark day, sad day" and that while the university supported "free expression" he said the events of Saturday were "not peaceful."

Martin said the majority of the group was not affiliated with the university, that some protesters behaved "aggressively," tried to break into buildings or deface property, and that there were chants "that many in our community find threatening and antisemitic."

He added: "To be crystal clear, we will not permit students and faculty, and we certainly will not permit outside interests, to take over Washington University property to establish encampments to promote any political or social agenda."

Newsweek has contacted two of the protest groups that publicized the rally—Resist WashU and Solidarity Coalition STL/Metro East— via email and Instagram respectively for comment.

Flag for concern

These two cases are not the only incidents where provocative emblems have been worn or shown at pro-Palestinian college campuses this month. The flag of Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government, was displayed at a pro-Palestinian protest at Princeton University last week.

On Thursday, Myles McKnight, a former Princeton student, shared a photo on X, formerly Twitter, showing demonstrators with the banner of the Shi'ite armed militia and political movement based in southern Lebanon. "At @Princeton, Hezbollah flags," the post said.

According to the Daily Princetonian, the independent student-run newspaper at the university, organizers of the protest at the college said that they asked the flag to be put away immediately after recognizing it.