The Encampments (2025)
The Encampments: “What Is Freedom Worth If You Can’t Condemn Genocide?” - Linda Sarsour
Watching The Encampments with Community
I was invited to see The Encampments with Hawai‘i for Palestine, and it ended up being one of the most meaningful film screenings I’ve attended in a while. Watching the documentary surrounded by people who understand what’s happening in Palestine created a powerful sense of solidarity. The Encampments, a new documentary currently screening in theaters. What made the experience so special was not just the film itself, but being surrounded by people who deeply understand and care about the liberation of Palestine. It was one of those films and feelings you get after going to a movie or an event and you know that you part of something bigger — it was a moment of collective reflection and connection.
A Spark That Lit a National Movement
The Encampments follows the student-led protest movement that began at Columbia University in Spring 2024. Students, including organizers like Maya Abdallah, Jamal Joseph, and Mahmoud Khalil, called on the administration to divest university funds from Israel and to offer transparency around how tuition dollars are invested. When their demands went unanswered, they set up a tent encampment—an act of peaceful protest that drew attention from across the country. What started as a single protest sparked a national movement—uniting campuses during a time of growing friction between students and university leadership.
What began with Columbia students quickly grew into something historic. Student protests spread to 45 out of 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 140 campuses across the country hosted encampments, sit-ins, walkouts, or building occupations. From major public universities like UCLA, UT Austin, and the University of Michigan to smaller private campuses, students across the nation joined the call for divestment, ceasefire, and freedom for Palestine.
Feeling Burned Out by the News Cycle
I’ll be honest—when I first heard about this documentary, I hesitated. I’ve felt emotionally maxed out on Palestine coverage. Every app I open—Instagram, TikTok, Twitter—is filled with updates, takes, and trauma. I feel like I know everything, and yet I still feel helpless. Sometimes I can’t even bring myself to share posts because the grief is too heavy. I worried this film would just add to that weight.
Why The Encampments Felt Different - Solidarity Over Spectacle
But The Encampments isn’t about passive grief or information overload. It’s about action, community, and shared struggle. The Encampments is different. It doesn’t overwhelm. It connects. It reminds us that even in a time of mass confusion and conflict, there is strength in shared struggle. It’s about building community, not just amplifying facts. The film created a space where no one had to argue for Palestinian freedom — it was understood. No debates, no devil’s advocates. That clarity is rare, and powerful.
It reminded me that I’m not alone in how I feel—and that there’s still power in showing up, even when it feels like nothing is changing. If anything, I recommend going with a group. DM your local Palestine solidarity organization and organize a screening together. Existing in that kind of space is healing.
Learning from the Past, Acting in the Present
The film draws a powerful line between the present-day protests and the historic 1968 anti-Vietnam War demonstrations at Columbia University. Then, just as now, students occupied Hamilton Hall to protest the university's complicity in violence abroad. In 2024, the hall was renamed Hind Hall in memory of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. The echoes of the past are clear—and so are the lessons.
While university administrations once promised to never again authorize police force against peaceful protestors, Columbia violated those commitments by allowing the NYPD to raid student encampments. Protestors had gathered peacefully in designated spaces, yet were met with demands to evacuate the grounds claiming use of hate speech. The real hate speech? It came from pro-Israel bystanders shouting threats — yet the students calling for divestment were the ones punished. The pattern is clear: when students demand justice, institutions often respond with repression.
ICE and the Question of "Legal" Surveillance
The film takes on new urgency in light of recent events—namely, the detainment of Mahmoud Khalil by ICE and the growing reports on social media of law enforcement targeting pro-Palestine voices beyond college campuses, using surveillance and profiling tactics. Khalil, one of the student leaders featured in the documentary, has been detained by ICE in a move that raises serious concerns about how federal agencies are responding to pro-Palestinian activism.
Where was this level of accountability for the January 6th insurrection offenders?
As disturbing as it is, ICE’s actions are—under current U.S. law—completely legal. The agency has the authority to search a citizen’s phone without a warrant at U.S. borders and, in certain cases, to legally surveil protestors and organizers. The film brings these fears into sharp focus, exposing how university and political leaders rely on outdated tactics and unethical laws to suppress voices speaking out against genocide.
This isn’t just a legal issue—it’s a moral one. Should legality be the only measure of what’s right? When government agencies can lawfully target individuals for their political beliefs, it forces us to question the ethics of the system itself. These tactics don’t just raise red flags about civil liberties— they undermine the very foundations of democracy and free expression.
Final Thoughts: What Can We Do?
I used to love documentaries, but lately, I’ve had to take a step back. Too many left me emotionally flooded, overwhelmed with information, and unsure what to do next. The Encampments is not one of those films—it felt different. It’s a call to action, a story of resilience, and an invitation to come together.
It doesn’t just inform—it connects, empowers, and asks you to be part of something. As Linda Sarsour has said:
“What is freedom of speech worth if you cannot condemn genocide?”
If you watch it, don’t watch it alone. Go with a local Palestine solidarity group, or organize a group of friends who want to do more than just bear witness. This isn’t just a film—it’s part of a movement.
And that movement is growing.
Directed by: Kei Pritsker and Michael T Workman
Distributed by: Watermelon Pictures
