Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted on college campuses around the United States of America, and authorities are attempting—and often failing—to diffuse the situation.
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped over 200 more, tensions on US college campuses have increased. Over 34,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s military attack on Gaza, according to the Israeli health ministry.
From October 7 onward, reports of antisemitic incidents have increased nationwide and especially on college campuses. Additionally, Islamophobia is on the rise. These tensions have been heightened by the current upsurge in protests, which has forced administration to determine when free speech on campus exceeds a boundary and becomes dangerous.
Numerous schools have alerted the police to demonstrators, resulting in hundreds of people being taken into custody on various campuses.
When Did The Present Dispute Begin?
When Columbia University‘s president, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, testified before a House committee last week regarding the university’s response to allegations of antisemitism on campus, the atmosphere on campus became more heated. Simultaneously, a pro-Palestinian demonstration got underway on campus.
In a letter made public by the university after her testimony, Shafik asked that individuals who were camped out on the South Lawn of the school and were trespassing and “in violation of the University’s rules and policies” be removed by the New York City Police Department. Law enforcement reported that more than 100 persons had been taken into custody.
In response to what they see as the university’s “continued investments in organizations who benefit from Israeli apartheid in massacre, and the military rule of Palestine,” Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of over 100 organizations led by students and including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, organized the encampments news release.
Where Else Is This Incorporated?
Similar encampments and protests, along with arrests, have occurred on other college campuses since last Thursday.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley, pro-Palestinian camps have been established. About 100 protestors were detained by police on Wednesday at the University of Southern California after they were given a dispersal order.
Despite demands to leave, at least forty-five protestors stayed Tuesday morning. Yale University police arrested them on Monday and charged them with criminal trespassing.
A pro-Palestinian student organisation was suspended by Harvard Yard and school officials for allegedly breaking rules.
In the meantime, nine persons were taken into custody on Tuesday at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus for setting up an illegal encampment.
According to a statement released by the institution on Tuesday, workers, professors, and students at the institution of New Mexico peacefully demonstrated on Monday in favor of Gaza.
The Boston Police Department reports that during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Wednesday at Emerson College in Boston, over a hundred individuals were taken into custody.
What Are Their Demands?
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia declared that until the university grants their demands—which include cutting off relations with Israeli academic institutions and pledging to “completely divest” its funds from Israeli-affiliated businesses—they will not leave.
Similar demands are being made by demonstrators at other campuses, who want colleges to cut their ties to businesses that provide Israel with arms, construction equipment, technology services, and other goods.
This week, Columbia officials issued a warning about the encampment’s violations of school policies, but they did not specify any disciplinary measures. Officials refuted claims made by demonstrators that the school had threatened to deploy the National Guard to assist in dismantling the pro-Palestinian demonstration camp.
Jewish Response
This week marked the start of Passover, a significant Jewish festival, which alarmed several Jewish students who had heard antisemitic remarks during some of the demonstrations. Columbia officials announced that beginning Monday, students would be allowed to attend classes and possibly even take examinations virtually due to the tight atmosphere.
Rabbi Elie Buechler, a rabbi connected to Columbia University’s Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, “strongly” advised a group of approximately 300 primarily Orthodox Jewish students via WhatsApp to stay at home, raising concerns about student safety.
Recent events at Columbia University “have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety,” according to Buechler’s letter.
According to an email from Brian Cohen, the executive director of the center, there will be police present at the Kraft Centre, a Jewish cultural center shared by Columbia and Barnard, during Passover. Beginning on Monday, campus public safety will offer walking escorts to and from the building.
The university’s Chabad Jewish organization announced on Facebook that they have added more protection to keep students safe throughout Passover. Despite being “horrified by what we witnessed last night on and near Columbia’s campus,” they said that they would nonetheless celebrate Passover on campus.
