An estimated 100 students walked out of the Stanford University graduation on Sunday and marched to a “people’s commencement” outdoor address by Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel activist graduate of Columbia University whose U.S. deportation case is pending.
“Shout out to all the graduates who walked out today,” the group wrote on Instagram, sharing footage that showed students in caps and gowns carrying Palestinian flags and holding signs that read: “Apartheid runs on Google.”
The group walked out of the commencement speech at Stanford Stadium given by Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
“Today, Sundar Pichai was met with the sight of hundreds of students who showed they could not be allured anymore with the talk of a dollar or rapidly expanding AI,” the Stanford chapter of SJP stated. “We know about the crimes of Google in collaborating with Israel, ICE and companies like Palantir.”
Khalil, delivering his speech, said to students: “My crime was literally speaking out against Israeli genocide in Gaza. My crime was refusing to stay silent.”
The group is listed as a recognized student organization affiliated with the university’s Markaz Resource Center, which serves Muslim students on campus.
Mohammad Subeh, a physician who received the Markaz Resource Center’s alumni award in 2025, also spoke at the SJP gathering.
