Why is a UC Berkeley computer science lecturer on hunger strike for Gaza?

On 27 August, Peyrin Kao, a University of California, Berkeley computer science lecturer, began an indefinite hunger strike in support of Gaza. This came two weeks after he began depriving himself of full meals.

Via social media, he announced that he would go on a starvation diet of 250 calories a day, reflecting the estimated average intake of a Palestinian in Gaza living under the Israeli military blockade.

After announcing his hunger strike, Kao issued a list of demands posted on Instagram for an end to this extreme protest.

First, he wants UC Berkeley to "acknowledge Israel's illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide of Palestinians in the West Bank in Gaza."

Second, he wants the administration to "acknowledge the university's role in the development of war technologies that have expanded Zionism cloud services, AI-powered surveillance, military-energy supply chains, and settlement infrastructures."

Third, he wants them to "pledge to refrain from maintaining any future material or financial relationships with the military industrial complex (including Air Force, Army, DARPA, Navy, DoD, etc.)"

And fourth, he wants the university to "institutionalise ethical standards and practices for collaborations and funding to align with the international community's framing of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL)."

Kao is not speaking for interviews, but he agreed to answer questions by email about his hunger strike. Below are his full responses.

How did you decide to go on hunger strike? Was there one moment that led to the decision? Or were there a series of moments?

Throughout the genocide, Palestinians have been constantly dehumanised by Israeli propaganda and the western mainstream media. Palestinian deaths are merely viewed as a statistic, and the horrific images of starvation have become normalised. People start to think that starvation is something that only takes place "over there."

With this hunger strike, I hope to bring the starvation here, to Berkeley, in front of my students, to remind them that the Palestinians being starved by Israel are just as human as we are. One of the people who recently starved to death in Gaza was a lecturer, just like me. That could have been me.

What has your history of activism been? How does this compare with previous actions?

I spoke out against the genocide in Gaza after a class in 2023, and that got me reprimanded by the UC Berkeley administration. I was asked not to talk about "political issues" again inside the classroom, and I haven't since then.

But in my view, it's crucial that students studying computer science or other tech-related subjects think critically about their roles in industry after graduating to make sure they are contributing to solutions to the world's problems, and not becoming cogs in the war machine.

Compared to my previous action, a hunger strike cannot be penalised by my employer because it is a personal initiative that is happening outside the classroom.

What has been your history of following the news of Gaza? Do you have a personal connection, or has your connection been from the news?

I don't have personal connections to Gaza. I'm a human being, and so are the people in Gaza, and that's enough connection to know that starving children and burning children alive in tents is morally wrong.

I would cite the May 2021 Israeli assault on Gaza as the moment I became more attuned to the Palestinian cause. I was a student at the time, and it felt very isolating to be seemingly the only person to even know about what was happening in Gaza, let alone care about my country's bipartisan support of Israeli war crimes. I feel less alone now, though.

How did you get ready, when did you start, and what has the experience of hunger strike been like so far?

I did a lot of research before undertaking this hunger strike, and I would caution others considering similar actions to consult with a medical team before undertaking such a risky action. I began reducing my caloric intake two weeks prior to the official start of my hunger strike. While my hunger strike of 250 calories per day began on 27 August, I stopped eating full meals on 13 August.

So far, the hunger strike has left me constantly fatigued. I dread having to climb stairs, walk uphill, or even to get up and use the bathroom. But I still have clean water and a bed to sleep in every night. I don't have to worry about bombs dropping on my head, or being displaced and forced to move on a moment's notice. I don't have to watch my family and loved ones starve.

Any suffering I'm feeling is a tiny fraction of what Palestinians have had to endure throughout this genocide.

What have people's reactions been? What are the challenges of explaining your decision?

I've been overwhelmed by the amount of support I've received. People have been joining me for 1-day solidarity strikes not just in Berkeley, but from other universities in California. Members of my union, the UC-AFT, have issued statements in support of my action, and many have also joined the hunger strike in 1-day fasts.

This week I received a solidarity video message from the union organizer and recent Gaza Freedom Flotilla activist Chris Smalls. We co-shared it on Instagram, and the post has been filled with hundreds of messages of support from around the world.

And I've also gotten huge support from many campus groups at Berkeley, whose members came together to be my support team. I'm a member of Berkeley Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, and their members, along with students from Students for Justice in Palestine, Students Organising for Liberation, Berkeley Young Democratic Socialists of America, and others, formed a support team to run everything from helping launch a new group called Berkeley EECS 4 Palestine, organising actions, tabling, doing social media, providing supplies, and other things to make this effort succeed.