- Nationwide student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza persist
- Confrontations and arrests at prestigious US universities amid demonstrations
- Disagreement over free speech and anti-Semitism concerns in universities
Despite dozens of protesters being arrested at esteemed academic institutions such as Emory University in Georgia, Boston’s Emerson College, and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), student protesters in the United States have vowed to continue their demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza.
As the nationwide demonstrations intensified on Thursday, hundreds of students from universities throughout the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, gathered at George Washington University.
Patty Culhane of Al Jazeera reported that a substantial police presence was observed in the vicinity of the university. Students began to speculate that these forces might be employed to disperse the demonstrators by Thursday evening.
Students at Columbia University in New York, where the demonstrations originated a week prior, pledged to continue even as the university administration imposed a midnight clearance deadline for the encampment.
The university administration has stated that the sit-in must end, and House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested sending in the National Guard on Wednesday from the campus.
Additionally, police officers entered the Emory University campus in Atlanta, where they used tear gas and tasers on protesting students before arresting demonstrators.
In the interim, USC announced on Thursday that it would cancel its primary commencement ceremony in response to the administration’s decision to cancel a pro-Palestinian student’s speech.
On Wednesday, arrests were made in Austin, Boston, and Los Angeles. Concurrently, students from Brown University and Harvard University on the East Coast established encampments in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, defying threats of action.
The movement urges universities to sever financial ties with Israel and divest from companies that, according to it, support Israel’s ruthless war in Gaza. Israeli assaults on the besieged enclave have claimed the lives of a minimum of 34,262 Palestinians since October 7, when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel, resulting in 1,139 deaths and the capture of dozens.
Despite the predominantly deferential and peaceful nature of the student-led demonstrations, numerous universities have reacted forcefully in response to the accusations of anti-Semitism.
On Wednesday, the most significant demonstration occurred at UT Austin, where numerous students organized a strike and proceeded to the main lawn of the campus to establish a camp. However, the university dispatched local and state police to disperse the masses after announcing that it would “not tolerate disruptions.”
Hundreds of officers, some mounted, arrived at the location. They charged the masses while brandishing batons and arrested several students by force.
At least thirty-four individuals were arrested, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, stated that the demonstrators “belong in jail” and that expulsion was warranted for any students who participated in the “hateful, anti-Semitic demonstrations.”
Jewish history professor at UT Austin Jeremi Suri said that the protests contained “nothing anti-Semitic.”
“These students simply chanted ‘Palestine free!'” he explained. “They made no threats with their words.” I observed the police—the state police, the campus police, and the municipal police—an army of officers nearly the size of the student group—as they stood and yelled. A few minutes later, this group of police stormed into the student population and began isolating individuals who had firearms, with many bearing rifles.
In Los Angeles, USC, students’ attempts to establish an encampment were similarly met with coercion.
As students tore down tents, campus security engaged in combat with them; subsequently, as helicopters hovered overhead, dozens of police officers carrying batons and donning helmets moved in to apprehend the demonstrators. Andrew Guzman, provost of USC, issued a campus-wide email in which he claimed that protesters had “endangered the safety of our offices and campus community.” This prompted the subsequent crackdown.
However, Rob Reynolds of Al Jazeera, reporting from the university, stated that “this demonstration against the Israeli invasion of Gaza was completely nonviolent.”
“There were no incidents of harassment or confrontation among the students,” he stated.
Reynolds reported that some of the students subsequently mounted an arm-linked sit-in.
“Protesting students are being individually restrained with zip ties, led away by Los Angeles police officers, and placed under arrest before being transported to a vehicle located on campus.” “They did not resist arrest, and there was no evidence of police violence,” he further stated.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, approximately 93 individuals were detained in the vicinity of the USC campus.
According to university law professor Jody Armour, authorities were employing allegations of anti-Semitism to quell the demonstrations.
“There are many intergenerational Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, Catholics including myself, and Protestants congregating here. Anti-Semitism should be despised and combated by all. However, expressing opposition to Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, which the United Nations has deemed possibly genocide, does not automatically equate to anti-Semitism. Such opposition should not be used as a justification for legitimate demonstrations; rather, it should be prohibited.
Conversely, hundreds of Harvard University students established an independent encampment at Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, notwithstanding the university’s closure of the area and threat of “disciplinary action” against those who pitched tents without prior authorization. The students who were in protest demanded that the university cease its investment in Israel and revoke the suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, a pro-Palestine organization.
Comparable occurrences transpired at Brown University, situated in Providence, Rhode Island.
By Wednesday afternoon, students had reportedly erected forty tents, according to The New York Times, despite the university threatening “proceedings” against them if they did not vacate.
In the interim, officials and students at Columbia University in New York maintained a precarious truce.
The university, which last week dispatched police to disperse a protest camp that resulted in the arrest of over a hundred students, is presently engaged in discussions with the students regarding the dismantling of the encampment. By extending the deadline for dispersal by an additional 48 hours, the university has prevented another confrontation.
“Take a step towards financial freedom – claim your free Webull shares now!”
In support of Jewish students amidst anti-Semitic concerns, Johnson, the Republican speaker of the US House, also visited the campus. He urged Nemat Shafik, the president of Columbia, to tender her resignation “if she is unable to restore order to this disorder.” Johnson, addressing the media from the library steps adjacent to the encampment, stated, “There comes a time when the National Guard will be called upon to intervene if this situation is not swiftly contained and if these threats and intimidation continue.”
The individual declared their intention to urge US President Joe Biden to “take action” and cautioned that the demonstrations “target Jewish students in the United States.”
It appeared that nearby protesters paid little heed.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia who, despite not dwelling in the camp, was involved in negotiations with the university administration regarding the protests, expressed regret that this peaceful movement is receiving no attention and that politicians are deflecting attention from the real issues. “This constitutes both academic and free speech.”
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden supported free speech.
She told reporters, “The president believes that free speech, debate, and nondiscrimination on college campuses are essential.”
