Protests against the war in Gaza from Columbia and Yale University have spread to other US universities, prompting officials to address the growing movement. On the evening of Monday, the 22nd of April, police broke up a protest at Columbia University, arresting several people, while earlier in the day dozens of students were arrested at Yale University, with similar protests taking place at other campuses across the country, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
In the US, students on both sides say there has been an increase in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents.
At several US universities, protesters called on schools to go public and refuse “funding and subsidies from arms manufacturers and companies interested in Israel’s occupation”.
Last week, the campus protest movement gained worldwide attention after New York police arrested more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.
Columbia University said in a statement on Monday that all classes would be held remotely
due to incidents of intimidation and mobbing, and its president Minouche Shafik said that tensions on campus had been “exploited and intensified by individuals not affiliated with Columbia University who have come to campus to carry out their own agendas”.
The protests also prompted Columbia University’s largest donor, Robert Kraft, to warn that he would stop supporting the university “until corrective action is taken”.
At Columbia University, protesters set up tents opposite the Stern School of Business. On Monday evening, police began to detain protesters there. The university said that those detained had ignored “numerous requests” to leave the area.
An New York police spokesman said the arrests were made after the university asked police to control the violations, but the total number of arrests and charges would not be known until later.
#NOW ENCAMPMENT RAIDED – Massive Police Presence REMOVE TENTS, Mass Arrests at NYU “Liberated Zone”.
Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 [email protected] to license pic.twitter.com/itqDUq7YN2
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) April 23, 2024
Demonstrators wrestled with police officers and shouted: “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest.”
On Monday, nearly 50 protesters were arrested at Yale University after demonstrators blocked traffic around its campus.
The campus protests have been overshadowed by accusations of anti-Semitism,
with some protesters near the Columbia campus expressing support for Hamas’ attack on Israel, calling for Israel’s destruction, offensive rhetoric directed at Jewish students, and Jewish students at Columbia was reportedly warned to avoid the campus until the situation “drastically improves”.
The protest groups deny the accusations of anti-Semitism, stressing that their criticism is directed against the State of Israel and its supporters.
Asked about Monday’s protests on campus, US President Joe Biden said he condemned “anti-Semitic protests” and “those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians”.
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine criticised Biden’s statement, pointing out that some of the organisers are Jewish and that news sources have focused
on “inciters who do not represent us”, saying that they “strongly reject any form of hatred or bigotry”.
Protest camps have also been set up at the University of California at Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan, Emerson College and Tufts University.
Also read: Israeli military intelligence chief resigns over the 7th of October attack
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