Anti-Gaza War Protests Spread across US Campuses, Prompting Urgent Response from Officials
As anti-Gaza war protests have spread from Columbia University and Yale to other universities across the United States, administrators are scrambling to defuse demonstrations. Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, which prompted Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, US campuses have been rocked by demonstrations and heated debates about the Israel-Gaza conflict and freedom of speech.
On Monday evening, police intervened to disperse a protest at New York University, arresting several individuals. Earlier in the day, dozens of students were arrested at Yale, while Columbia University canceled in-person classes.
Similar “encampments” have sprung up at Berkeley, MIT, and other top-tier colleges across the country.
Since the Hamas attack, students on both sides have reported a rise in incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
When asked about the campus protests on Monday, President Joe Biden stated that he condemned both “the antisemitic protests” and “those who fail to understand the situation faced by Palestinians.”
White House Condemns Antisemitism at College Protests
The campus protest movement came under scrutiny last week after police in New York City were dispatched to Columbia University’s campus, resulting in the arrest of over 100 demonstrators.
Columbia announced in a statement on Monday that all classes would be conducted virtually, citing incidents of “intimidating and harassing behavior” by Columbia President Baroness Shafik.
Lady Shafik stated that tensions on campus had been “exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia and have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.”
At New York University, protesters set up tents opposite the Stern School of Business. Similar to other universities, the NYU protesters are demanding that the school disclose and divest its “finances and endowments from weapons manufacturers and companies with interests in the Israeli occupation.”
As night fell on Monday, police began arresting protesters at NYU. Earlier in the day, nearly 50 protesters were arrested at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where authorities reported that hundreds had gathered and many refused to disperse when asked.
Protest encampments have also been established at the University of California, Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan, Emerson College, and Tufts.
Turmoil at US Colleges as Two Sides Dig In
Authorities at New York University reported receiving complaints of “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents,” which have overshadowed the protests across the board.
Recent videos posted online appeared to depict some protesters near Columbia University expressing support for the Hamas attack on Israel.
Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Manning, who visited Columbia on Monday, stated that she had witnessed protesters there calling for the destruction of Israel.
Moreover, the Hasidic group Chabad at Columbia University reported that Jewish students had been screamed at and subjected to harmful rhetoric.
A rabbi affiliated with the university reportedly sent a message to 300 Jewish Columbia students, advising them to avoid the campus until the situation “dramatically improves.”
Members of the protest groups who have made public statements have denied antisemitism, arguing that their criticism is solely directed towards the Israeli state and its supporters.
In a statement on Sunday, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said they “firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry” and criticised “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us”.
In a statement, Lady Shafik said a working group had been created at Columbia to “try to bring this crisis to a resolution”.
The university and Lady Shafik – who last week travelled to Capitol Hill to testify before a congressional committee on the university’s efforts to tackle antisemitism – are being urged to resolve the situation.
A group of federal lawmakers, led by New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, on Monday signed a letter asking for her to step down for what Ms Stefanik said was a “failure to put an end to the mob of students and agitators calling for acts of terrorism against Jewish students”.
The protests in New York also attracted the attention of Democrat Representatives Kathy Manning, Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer and Dan Goldman.
Congressman Gottheimer said Columbia would “pay the price” if it failed to ensure Jewish students felt welcome and safe at the university.
Meanwhile, in a letter posted online, North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx – the chair of the House Education Committee – wrote that “Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety” constituted a breach of obligations on which federal assistance was contingent and must be “immediately rectified”.
The protests also prompted Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriot NFL team and a prominent Columbia alumnus, to warn that he would stop supporting the university “until corrective action” was taken.
Some faculty members at the university, however, have faulted Columbia for its handling of the protest and for calling in the police.
In a statement sent to the BBC on Monday evening, Columbia’s own Knight First Amendment Institute called for an “urgent course correction”.
It quoted university rules to argue that outside authorities should only be involved when there was a “clear and present danger to persons, property or the substantial functioning of any division of the university”.
“It is not evident to us how the encampment and protests posed such a danger, even if they were unauthorised,” the statement said.
US Student’s Speech Cancelled in Israel-Gaza Hate Row
On October 7, the attack on southern Israel led to the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians, and the capture of 253 others as hostages, according to Israeli accounts.
In response, Israel launched its most intense war in Gaza ever, aiming to destroy Hamas and liberate the hostages. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reports that over 34,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in the conflict.
The events in the Middle East have also sparked widespread demonstrations in the United States.
Recently, pro-Palestinian protesters have blocked major roads across the country, disrupting access to airports such as Chicago’s O’Hare International and Seattle-Tacoma International, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Amidst this tense backdrop, a student’s planned speech on the Israel-Gaza conflict was recently cancelled due to concerns over potential hate-fueled reactions.
