On their first day back to school, a group of students at Sonoma State University (SSU) in California set up a mock Israeli army checkpoint on campus to “spread awareness about the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.”

In a video shared on social media this weekend, students wearing camouflage, military vests and bicycle helmets and carrying cardboard guns and handheld metal detectors can be seen stopping fellow student protesters, some of whom are dressed as Palestinians pretending to be harassed. The cosplaying “soldiers” emulating members of the IDF can be heard demanding to see ID’s and work permits from fellow students.

A student protester dressed as an Israeli soldier carries a cardboard gun on the first day of school at Sonoma State University in California.

A member of SSU Students for Justice in Palestine, Albert Levine, told local media outlet The Press Democrat (PD) that the demonstration was meant to make people reflect on how Palestinians are hurting.

“We don't want to make people uncomfortable, but we want people to be uncomfortable with the idea of what we're paying for overseas with our tax dollars,” he said.

According to PD, one student who participated in the demonstration was a Palestinian and former resident of Gaza who arrived in the US just a month before the October 7 massacre. He told PD that he had been through such Israeli checkpoints in real life and called the experience “the scariest moment of my life.”

Last spring, SSU was one of many universities across the US whose students held Anti-Israel Palestine encampments to demand their school divest from donors that support Israel and boycott Israeli universities.

Student protesters play out a mock Israeli checkpoint scenario at Sonoma State University.

The latest protest comes on the heels of a new set of guidelines restricting demonstrations that can take place on campus with and without university approval. SSU is part of the California State University system, which on 15 August adopted a new policy called “Time, Place and Manner” that outlines specific rules around campus demonstrations, including a ban on overnight encampments such as those held in the spring.

Demonstrators will also now need a university official’s written permission for signs, banners and chalking, and while face coverings are permitted for those complying with university policies, masks or disguises are prohibited when demonstrators wear them “with the intent of intimidating and harassing any person or group, or for the purpose of evading or escaping discovery, recognition, or identification in the commission of violations of applicable University policy or local, state, or federal laws.”

According to PD, Levine said he believes the new policy is specifically targeting pro-Palestine student demonstrations, especially with regards to its mention of encampments.

When asked if he believes the policy will make protests more difficult, Levine said, “Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's the intended goal, right?”

SSU Student Affairs associate vice president Ryan Henne met with members of the SSU Students for Justice in Palestine group last week to “go over the updated policy,” according to PD, highlighting sections that may be overlooked in order “to make sure that if and when folks were to demonstrate that they're making sure they… don't get themselves in trouble.”

The group is reportedly waiting on a meeting with SSU administration and recently appointed interim president Emily F. Cutrer, who announced the new policy to students and staff members on Friday.