Anti-Israel protests led by students and the ensuing counter-protests caused turmoil at several northeastern US universities in the past week. Tensions escalated, leading to arrests.
At Beinecke Plaza at Yale University on Friday night, protesters known as Occupy Beinecke demanded transparency about the university's investments in military weapons manufacturers. Despite university officials' requests to leave voluntarily, protesters remained over the weekend. Eventually, Yale police arrested approximately 60 individuals, as reported by The New York Times.
Yale's president, Peter Salvey, stated that 47 of the arrested protesters were students at the university.
The Occupy Beinecke movement persisted, stating on social media, 'Yale, you have intimidated us, criminalized us, militarized our campus and failed to accept our demands… We will not stop, we will not rest until we have disclosure and divestment.' wrote Similar protests have occurred at various other universities, including the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College, Tufts University, and Columbia University.
Last week at Columbia University in New York City, student protesters established a tent encampment with a red spray-painted sign that read 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' according to the NYT.
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik wrote in a letter to the community, 'The current encampment violates all of the new policies, severely disrupts campus life, and creates a harassing and intimidating environment for many of our students.'
When the protesters refused to voluntarily dismantle the encampment, Shafik sent in the campus police, who dismantled the camps and arrested around 100 students. However, the protests persisted, and more tents appeared on the campus within hours.
Jewish students attempting to leave the campus over the weekend encountered antisemitic remarks urging them to 'return to Poland,' as reported by a social media post from David Lederer.
The protests, primarily in support of Palestine, have involved instances of demonstrators directing various antisemitic remarks at Jewish students and faculty. These actions have raised widespread concern among local and national officials and within the Columbia community. chants David Lederer posted early Sunday morning, 'For 4 days the pro-Hamas mob [at] Columbia has taken over our campus. No one bothered them. Saturday night, we went out with Israeli flags for one hour. They stole our flag and attempted to burn it, my brother was assaulted, and Jewish students were splashed with water. Public safety was nowhere to be found. Columbia has lost its campus.' Shafik expressed sorrow over the events unfolding at the campus in a statement released early Monday. He urged non-resident students to refrain from visiting the campus amid the ongoing tensions. “Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm,” Shafik said. “To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday.”
The choice to use remote learning shows that the university's leaders are under more and more pressure to deal with increasing antisemitism and make sure their students are safe.
'There have been too many examples of frightening and bullying behavior on our campus in recent days. Antisemitic language, like any other language used to harm and scare people, is not okay, and we will take appropriate action. We encourage those affected to report these incidents through university channels,' Shafik stated.
The harassment of Jewish students led to further criticism from various sources, including the White House and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. statement 'While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation against Jewish students and the Jewish community are clearly antisemitic, unacceptable and dangerous,'
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, according to NYT.
'I am shocked and disgusted by the antisemitism being expressed at and around Columbia University,' Adams said in a
on Sunday, according to ABC News. 'I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any reported violations of the law. Rest assured, the NYPD will not hesitate to arrest anyone found breaking the law.'
Student-led protests against Israel and counter-protests caused trouble at several northeastern United States university campuses over the past week.
“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous,” said Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, per NYT.
“I am horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus,” Adams said in a statement on Sunday, per ABC News. “I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law that is reported. Rest assured, the NYPD will not hesitate to arrest anyone who is found to be breaking the law.”
