As US Gaza college demonstrations grow, there are mass arrests

As US Gaza college demonstrations grow, there are mass arrests

As authorities rush to diffuse protests, anti-Gaza protests have expanded from Yale and Columbia to other US institutions.

Police proceeded to disperse a demonstration at New York University on Monday night and made many arrests in the process.

Yale had earlier in the day seen dozens of students jailed, while Columbia had canceled its in-person sessions.

Similar "encampments" have appeared at MIT, Berkeley, and other prestigious universities throughout the nation.

From the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, which sparked Israel's operation in Gaza, protests and intense discussions over the Israel-Gaza conflict and free speech have erupted on US campuses.

Students in the US claim that since then, there has been an increase in occurrences of Islamophobia and antisemitism.

President Joe Biden said that he opposed "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians" in addition to "the antisemitic protests" when questioned about the Monday university demonstrations.

White House denounces antisemitism amid rallies on college campuses

Following an appeal for help to Columbia University's downtown campus last week, which resulted in the arrest of over 100 protestors, the campaign for student protests gained significant attention.

Columbia President Baroness Shafik said in a statement released on Monday that all courses will be conducted remotely, citing instances of "intimidating and harassing behavior."

Tensions on campus, according to Lady Shafik, have been "exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who having come to campus to pursue their own agendas".

Opponents pitched tents across from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

The demonstrators at NYU are requesting that the university reveal and divest its "finances and endowments from weapons companies and manufacturers with an interest in the Israeli occupation," much as they did at several other campuses.

On Monday night, when darkness fell, police started making arrests of demonstrators.

A few hours before, officials reported that hundreds of people had congregated at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where almost fifty protestors had been detained, many of them for defying orders to disperse.

Universities such the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan, Tufts, Emerson College, and the University of California at Berkeley have also seen the establishment of protest encampments.

Two sides dig in, causing turmoil at US campuses

There have reportedly been "intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents," according to New York University authorities. The problem has tarnished the demonstrations in general.

Online footage from recent events seemed to show some demonstrators in the Columbia area endorsing the Hamas assault on Israel.

During her Monday tour of Columbia, Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Manning reported seeing demonstrators who were demanding the destruction of Israel.

Furthermore, the Hasidic organization Chabad at Columbia University said that Jewish students had been the target of insults and yelled at.

Additionally, according to reports, 300 Jewish Columbia students received a note from an on-campus rabbi cautioning them to stay off campus until things "dramatically improve."

The protesters who have made public declarations have refuted any antisemitism, claiming that the Israeli government and its allies are the target of their criticism.

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine criticized "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us" and said in a statement on Sunday that they "firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry".

In a statement, Lady Shafik claimed that Columbia has established a working committee to "try to bring this crisis to a resolution."

We are pleading with the institution to address the issue, as well as with Lady Shafik, who traveled to Capitol Hill last week to speak before a congressional committee on the university's antisemitic initiatives.

Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, joined a group of federal legislators on Monday in signing a petition demanding her resignation for what she described as a "failure to put an end to the mob of students as well as agitators calling for acts of terrorism against Jewish students."

Democratic Representatives Kathy Manning, Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, and Dan Goldman were also drawn to the demonstrations in New York.

Congressman Gottheimer threatened to make Columbia "pay the price" if the institution did not make Jewish students feel secure and welcome.

Meanwhile, Republican Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the chair of the House Education Committee, claimed in an online letter that "Columbia's continued failure to restore order and safety" constituted a violation of the terms of the federal assistance agreement and needed to be "immediately rectified."

Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots NFL club and a well-known Columbia alumni, also issued a warning in response to the demonstrations, saying he would cease funding the institution "until corrective action" was done.

However, several university faculty members have criticized Columbia for how it handled the demonstration and for contacting the police.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia sent a statement to the BBC on Monday night requesting a "urgent course correction."

The argument cited university regulations, stating that outside authorities need to intervene only in cases where there is an obvious and imminent threat to individuals, assets, or the significant operation of any university division.

"It is not evident to us how the encampment as well as protests posed such a danger, even when they were unauthorised," the statement said.

Speech by US student canceled due to Israel-Gaza hate dispute

According to Israeli estimates, the assault on southern Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, the majority of whom were civilians, and the kidnapping of 253 more.

In response, Israel declared war on Gaza in the most aggressive manner possible in an effort to destroy Hamas and liberate the captives. The fighting has claimed the lives of over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the most of them women and children, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas.

Wider protests against the Middle East's events have also taken place in the US.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have lately shut down important highways throughout the nation, limiting travel to airports including Seattle's Tacoma and Chicago's O'Hare International, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.