- US college protests: Hundreds arrested amid Israel-Palestine conflict escalation
- Demonstrations spread nationwide after police clear encampment at Columbia University
- Antisemitism concerns rise; calls for divestment from Israel gain traction
As demonstrations against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalate on college campuses, law enforcement has apprehended hundreds of additional demonstrators all over the United States.
Boston police reported 108 arrests at Emerson College.
A total of 93 individuals were apprehended earlier today at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles on suspicion of trespassing.
Police and protesters engaged in a confrontation at the University of Texas at Austin.
Additionally, authorities reported that 34 individuals were apprehended there.
An increasing number of students at universities throughout the United States have attempted to establish encampments or boycott classes in opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Following previous arrests at Columbia, Yale, and New York University, this one follows suit.
The apprehensions occurred at USC amid a gathering of students in Alumni Park, the venue designated for the university’s main-stage commencement ceremony the following month.
At the heart of the campus, police officers clad in assault gear dispersed a pro-Palestinian encampment, thereby preventing the accumulation of protesters.
Police helicopters issued a ten-minute warning to the students to disperse. Individuals who declined were apprehended on accusations of trespassing.
It was reported that the demonstration began mainly peacefully, but quickly became tense as the police presence persisted.
Protesters hurled water bottles at police as they attempted to detain one woman, while they chanted, “Let her go!”
Protesters gathered around the officers and chanted “free Palestine” to drown out their caution. While banging drums, students, some of whom were donning kaffiyehs, carried “liberated zone” signs.
Boston police informed CBS that three officers were injured in the violence in that city, one of whom was critically injured but otherwise not in a life-threatening condition. Additionally, no demonstrators were injured, according to police.
Since allegedly Sunday, students have been camping out despite being warned to vacate.
On the arrests, Emerson College has not yet issued a statement. It previously issued a statement in which it endorsed the right to nonviolent demonstrations but urged participants to abide by the law.
Scenes of chaos at the University of Texas
Ancestral scenes had previously unfolded on the University of Texas at Austin campus as hundreds of state and local police officers mounted on horses and wielding batons dispersed demonstrators.
Governor Greg Abbott utilized the National Guard to halt the marching protesters across campus, claiming that they deserved to be incarcerated.
Social media footage depicts officers forcibly entering the crowd while issuing admonitions to protesters via loudspeakers to vacate the area or confront legal consequences.
“In the name of the people of the state of Texas, I command you to disperse,” read the announcement.
34 individuals were apprehended, according to officials.
A Fox News 7 Austin photographer was observed clutching his camera as he was surrounded by riot police and collapsing to the ground. The American news organization subsequently verified that the cameraman had been apprehended.
Additional demonstrators were observed being forcibly dragged to the ground by assault officers. Approximately 300 protestors regrouped shortly thereafter, sat on the lawn beneath the school’s renowned clock tower, and continued to chant “free Palestine.”
Protests escalate following arrests in Columbia.
Protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have spread across the nation since police attempted to clear an encampment at Columbia University in New York City a week ago, where over a hundred individuals were detained.
Earlier on Wednesday, the visiting Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, was met with heckling from protesters in Columbia.
Dozens of Palestinian flags and banners bearing pro-Palestinecnism anthems and slogans including “Demilitarise education,” “Authentic Americans Stand with Gaza,” and “There are no more universities in Gaza” covered the entire campus.
Last week, in response to the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the university’s valedictorian address, which was scheduled to be delivered by Muslim student Asna Tabassum, USC canceled external speakers for this year’s commencement ceremony.
The university ruled that her speech could not proceed due to security concerns following allegations that she maintained an antisemitic social media presence.
Ms. Tabassum claimed that “a campaign of hatred intended to silence my voice” had been directed at her.
Protest shelters have also materialized at Yale, Emerson, Columbia University, the University of California–Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, among other institutions in the United States.
Pro-Israel and Jewish organizations asserted that certain demonstrations contained antisemitic elements and that, as a consequence, they did not feel secure.
Several Jewish students on the Columbia University campus in New York City voiced apprehensions regarding the campus atmosphere, which they perceived as perilous.
Conversely, some protestors contended that instances of mistreatment towards Jewish students were infrequent and exaggerated by those who opposed their causes.
Universities have been urged by activists to “divest from genocide” and cease allocating substantial school endowments to corporations engaged in weapons production and other sectors that provide support to Israel’s Gaza conflict.
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However, the International Court of Justice has deemed the indictment “plausible” despite Israel’s vehement denial of any genocide allegations in the Palestinian enclave.
On October 7, gunmen commanded by Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people (mostly civilians) and the captivity of 253 others back to Gaza.
Since then, over 34,305 people have been slain in Gaza, the majority of whom are women and children, according to the health ministry of Hamas, which operates in the territory.
