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[VIDEOS] US and European universities erupt with Pro-Palestinian protests, but will this last?

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Yale University: Dozens arrested during US Gaza campus protests​

Dozens of protesters have been arrested at Yale University as demonstrations against the war in Gaza rock US campuses.

Protesters occupying a square ignored multiple requests to leave, the Ivy League institution told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Columbia University students were told to attend classes virtually on Monday after over 100 arrests were made during protests there last week.

The White House has condemned alleged incidents of antisemitism at Columbia.

The ongoing protests have raised concerns about the safety of Jewish students at schools across the country.

Since the 7 October attack on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen, debates and fights about the Middle East and free speech have erupted on college campuses across the country, and tensions are now rising at major universities.

Protest "encampments" have also sprung up at other universities across the country, including the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College and Tufts.

Students on both sides say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.

At Yale, many protesters have been calling for the university to cut its investments in weapons manufacturers.

Sunday marked the third night that protesters set up tents on an encampment at Beinecke Plaza, according to student newspaper Yale Daily News.

The university said the protests grew to involve "several hundred people" over the weekend. An invitation to protesters to meet the university's investment body is said to have been declined.

Although some protesters left when asked, others ignored "multiple requests" to do so, leading to 47 arrests by campus police on Monday, the university said.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 1,500 alumni, students and parents had signed a letter in support of the ongoing demonstration there.

In New York, city police were called onto the campus of Columbia last week and arrested dozens of protesters also calling for divestment.

The daughter of Minnesota politician Ilhan Omar was among those arrested and accused of breaking security rules.

The demonstration, which also included students camping on a campus lawn, coincided with Columbia President Minouche Shafik journeying to Capitol Hill to testify before a congressional committee on the university's efforts to tackle antisemitism.

www.bbc.com

Yale University: Dozens arrested during US Gaza campus protests

Meanwhile, students at Columbia were told to stay home on the first day of the Jewish Passover holiday.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Israel Gaza: Top US colleges struggle with widening protests

Protests against the war in Gaza have spread from Columbia and Yale to other universities as officials scramble to defuse a burgeoning protest movement.

On Monday night, police moved to break up a protest at New York University and made a number of arrests.

Dozens of students were arrested at Yale earlier in the day while Columbia cancelled in-person classes.

Similar "encampments" have sprung up at Berkeley, MIT and other colleges across the country.

Demonstrations and heated debates about the Israel-Gaza war and free speech have rocked US campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

About 1,200 Israelis and foreigners - mostly civilians - were killed and 253 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded by launching its most intense ever war in Gaza with the aims of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza - most of them children and women - have been killed in the conflict, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

In the US, students on both sides say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.

When asked about the campus protests on Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned "the antisemitic protests" as well as "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".

The campus protest movement was thrust into the global spotlight last week after New York City police were called out to Columbia University's campus in the city and arrested dozens of demonstrators.

In a statement on Monday, Columbia announced that all classes would be held virtually, with Columbia President Minouche Shafik citing incidents of "intimidating and harassing behaviour".

Dr Shafik said tensions on campus had been "exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas".

At New York University, protesters set up tents across from the Stern School of Business.

As was the case in some of the other universities, the NYU protesters are calling on the school to disclose and divest its "finances and endowments from weapons manufacturers and companies with an interest in the Israeli occupation".

As night fell on Monday, police began arresting protesters there.

Hours before, nearly 50 protesters were arrested at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where demonstrations had swelled to several hundred people over the weekend.

The university said those taken into custody had ignored "multiple requests" to leave.

Protest encampments have also been established at the University of California at Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, Emerson College and Tufts.

The campus protests, however, have been marred by accusations of antisemitism.

In one example, videos posted online appeared to show some protesters near Columbia expressing support for the Hamas attack on Israel.

Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Manning, who toured Columbia on Monday, said she had seen protesters there calling for Israel's destruction.

And the Hasidic group Chabad at Columbia University said Jewish students had been screamed at and subjected to harmful rhetoric.

A rabbi affiliated with the university also reportedly sent a message to 300 Jewish Columbia students, warning them to avoid campus until the situation "dramatically improves".

Members of the protest groups have denied antisemitism, arguing that their criticism is reserved for 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 her statement, Dr Shafik said a working group had been created to "try to bring this crisis to a resolution".

The university and Dr 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.

There have also been wider demonstrations in the US over the events in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters recently blocked major roads across the country, restricting access to airports including Chicago's O'Hare International and Seattle-Tacoma International, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

BBC
 

Columbia University extends remote learning amid Gaza war protests​

Columbia University has extended remote classes at its main New York City campus for the rest of term amid tense Gaza war protests that have spread to US colleges nationwide.

The hybrid learning comes as some students have reported antisemitic harassment around Columbia's campus.

Some 133 were arrested on Monday in protests at New York University.

Dozens of arrests were also made in rallies at Yale, while Harvard has restricted access to the campus.

Gaza war protests have also cropped up at colleges in the US Midwest and on the West Coast, where one campus has been closed.

Nine students were arrested in Minneapolis on Tuesday morning as they attempted to set up a protest camp in front of a library on the University of Minnesota campus.

On Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned both "the antisemitic protests" as well as "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".

Columbia provost Angela Olinto announced students would have the option of attending classes remotely at the Ivy League institution's main Morningside Campus until the last day of classes on 29 April.

"Safety is our highest priority," she said in an email on Monday night.

Jewish students have expressed concern about antisemitism on and around Columbia's campus.

One student filed an NYPD hate crime report on Monday saying that he had been hit in the head with a rock while carrying an Israeli flag, the New York Post reported.

Shai Davidai, a Columbia University professor who has been outspoken about his support for Israel, said he was banned from campus and his ID was "deactivated".

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said they "firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry" and disavowed "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us".


Columbia University President Nemat Shafik said tensions on campus had been "exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas".

Dr Shafik last week defended her efforts to tackle antisemitism on campus as she testified to a US congressional committee.

Also last week New York City police arrested more than 100 people amid Gaza war demonstrations on Columbia's campus, including the daughter of Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

www.bbc.com

Columbia University extends remote learning amid Gaza war protests

The hybrid learning comes amid reports of antisemitic harassment around Columbia University.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
I hope these protests make some impact towards ending the War in Gaza.
 
House speaker Mike Johnson heckled by protesters in tense campus visit

The leader of the US House of Representatives was heckled in a tense visit to Columbia University as protests against the war in Gaza continue to spread across US campuses.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Columbia officials had lost control of the situation.

He called on university president Nemat Shafik to step down.

In Texas and California, police confronted campus protesters and made dozens of arrests.

At Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators also called for Ms Shafik's resignation over police action there against the protests.

Mr Johnson held a news conference at Columbia along with other Republican lawmakers on Wednesday afternoon after briefly meeting Ms Shafik.

The House Speaker dismissed suggestions that the protests were legally protected free speech. He said that Columbia had not acted to restore order on campus and had failed to protect Jewish students amid concerns about antisemitism on and around campus.

"This is dangerous," Mr Johnson said. "We respect free speech, we respect diversity of ideas, but there is a way to do that in a lawful manner and that's not what this is."

"My message to the students inside the encampment is go back to class and stop the nonsense," he said.

The protesters, some of whom were just steps away from the podium behind a metal barrier, yelled and heckled him throughout his remarks, including chants of: "We can't hear you."

Mr Johnson also raised the possibility of National Guard troops being called in - something New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she had no plans to do.

Students at the Ivy League university in Manhattan set up a protest encampment a week ago.

On 18 April, the university asked New York city police to clear the camp, and officers arrested about 100 people.

Protesters later returned to the area with more tents and placards.

University officials are now negotiating with protest leaders over the size of the camp and talks are expected to continue into Thursday.

Students have also been allowed to choose to attend classes online due to safety concerns.

Page Fortna, a professor of political science at Columbia, told the BBC she had seen a number of "highly objectionable" incidents during the protests, including an Israeli flag being ripped from a student's hand, and "extremely problematic" comments.

However, Ms Fortna added that she had seen no physical violence against Jewish students on campus and she called accusations of widespread antisemitism being made by Mr Johnson and other Republican lawmakers "exaggerated"."There's a real difference in the tone of the conversation outside the gates, and what's actually happening on campus," she said.

In interviews this week, some demonstrators argued that incidents of harassment of Jewish students had been rare and blown out of proportion by those opposed to their demands.

New York police and school officials have also said "outside agitators" stirred up the protests.

Outside the campus on Wednesday, a masked protester stood on a street corner shouting antisemitic slurs and abuse at students.Several protest camp supporters quickly confronted him, telling him that his remarks "cheapened" their efforts. "This is really detrimental to the movement," said Caroline Daisy, a Baltimore native who came to New York to support the protesters.

"This is not an antisemitic movement but outside protesters are a different story sometimes."

On Wednesday, several Jewish students expressed concerns about a threatening campus environment.

Guy Sela, an Israeli Columbia student - and a veteran of the Israel Defence Forces - told the BBC he believed "every Israeli Jewish student" at the university had faced "at least one antisemitic act", whether verbal or physical, since the protest began.

"I've been threatened here, called names like murderer, butcher and rapist, just because I was born in Israel," he said.

Jonathan Swill, a 27-year old master's student from New Jersey, told the BBC he was moving to Israel after graduation, having turned down a place in a doctoral programme at Columbia. "I just can't stay here anymore," he said. "This place is uncomfortable for me. Every time I wake up, I dread having to come to campus. I don't know when I'm going to have things thrown at me."

Protests against Israel's war in Gaza spread across the country after the police arrests at the encampment at Columbia:

  • Police pushed back protesters at the University of Texas in Austin. Texas Governor Gregg Abbott posted on X on Wednesday afternoon: "Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses". About 20 people were arrested, according to local authorities
  • Police also confronted protesters at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Access to campus has been restricted following acts of vandalism and confrontations, according to a statement from the provost office
  • Two students were arrested after a protest at Ohio State University in Columbus
  • After attempts to keep them out, protesters set up a camp at Harvard University on Wednesday afternoon, and camps were also reported at other Boston-area universities including MIT, Tufts and Emerson
  • At the University of California, Berkeley, a camp was set up in Sproul Plaza, a regular site of anti-war and free speech protests. School authorities indicated they would tolerate the camp as long as it did not interfere with university operations
  • Camps were also reported at a number of other universities including the New School in Florida, the University of Michigan and the University of Rochester in New York state,
Activists have been calling for universities to "divest from genocide" and to stop investing large school endowments in companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other industries supporting Israel's war in Gaza.

Israel strongly denies any suggestion that it is committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, though the International Court of Justice has said the accusation was "plausible".

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and taking 253 others back to Gaza as hostages.

More than 34,180 people - most of them children and women - have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

BBC
 

US college protests: Hundreds more arrested across US in Gaza campus protests​


Police have arrested hundreds more protesters in locations across the US, as protests against the war in Gaza intensify across university campuses.

Some 108 arrests were made at Emerson College, Boston police told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Earlier, 93 people at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles were taken into custody on trespassing charges.

Protesters and police also clashed at the University of Texas in Austin.

Authorities said 34 people were arrested there too.

Universities across the US have seen a growing number of students walk out of class or try to set up encampments to protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The latest arrests follow others at Columbia, Yale and New York University.
The arrests at USC were made as students gathered in Alumni Park - where the university's main-stage graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place next month.

Police officers in riot gear cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the centre of the campus, preventing demonstrators from gathering.

Students received a 10-minute warning from police helicopters to disperse. Those who refused, were arrested on trespassing charges.

The protest was reported to have been largely peaceful at first, but then turned tense with the continued police presence.

As police tried to detain one woman, protesters threw water bottles at them and chanted, "Let her go!"

Protesters gathered around the officers, drowning out their warnings with "free Palestine" chants. Students, some wearing kaffiyehs were holding "liberated zone" signs, banging drums.

Elsewhere in the country, Boston police told CBS that three officers had been injured in the action in that city - one of them seriously, though their condition was not life-threatening. No protesters were hurt, police added.

Students are said to have been camping out since Sunday, allegedly ignoring warnings to leave.

Emerson College has not yet commented on the arrests. In a previous statement, it said it supported the right to peaceful protests - while urging activists to comply with the law.

Chaotic scenes at University of Texas​

Earlier, there were chaotic scenes on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin as hundreds of local and state police on horseback, holding batons, dispersed protesters.

Governor Greg Abbott deployed the National Guard to stop the demonstrators from marching through campus, saying, they "belong in jail".

Social media footage shows officers pushing into the crowd, while warning demonstrators on loudspeakers to leave the premises or face arrest.

"I command you in the name of the people of the state of Texas to disperse," the announcement said.

Thirty-four people were arrested, officials said.

A photographer for Fox News 7 Austin was seen falling to the ground with his camera while surrounded by riot police. The US outlet later confirmed that the cameraman was arrested.

Other protesters were seen bundled to the ground by riot police. But soon afterwards around 300 demonstrators regrouped, sat on the grass under the school's iconic clock tower and chanted "free Palestine".

Protests against Israel's war in Gaza have spread across the country after more than 100 people were arrested at New York City's Columbia University a week ago, after police tried to clear an encampment.

Protesters at Columbia heckled the visiting Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, earlier on Wednesday.

The entire campus had been adorned by dozens of Palestinian flags and placards with slogans such as "real Americans stand with Gaza", "demilitarise education" and "there are no universities left in Gaza".

Last week, USC cancelled outside speakers for this year's graduation ceremony, following controversy surrounding the cancellation of the university's valedictorian speech, due to be given by Muslim student Asna Tabassum.

The university said her speech should not go ahead due to security concerns, after complaints that her social media presence was antisemitic.

Ms Tabassum said she was the target of "a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice".

Elsewhere across the US, protest tents have sprung up including at Columbia University, the University of California - Berkeley, Yale, Emerson and the University of Michigan.

Pro-Israel and Jewish groups claimed some protests included antisemitic elements and said they did not feel safe as a result.

At the Columbia University campus in New York City, several Jewish students expressed concerns about a threatening campus environment.

But other demonstrators argued that incidents of harassment of Jewish students had been rare and blown out of proportion by those opposed to their demands.

Activists have been calling for universities to "divest from genocide" and to stop investing large school endowments in companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other industries supporting Israel's war in Gaza.

Israel strongly denies any suggestion that it is committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, though the International Court of Justice has said the accusation was "plausible".

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and taking 253 others back to Gaza as hostages.

More than 34,305 people - most of them children and women - have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

www.bbc.com

US college protests: Hundreds more arrested across US in Gaza campus protests

Police clear student encampments in Boston and Los Angeles - and demonstrators clash with police in Austin.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
These kinds of protests are getting more and more intense. WIll they help Palestine though?

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California college cancels grad ceremony amid protests over Israel's war in Gaza

The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles has cancelled its main graduation ceremony on 10 May, citing safety measures.

The move comes amid protests that have erupted on dozens of campuses across the US over the Israel-Gaza war.

At Atlanta's Emory University, 28 demonstrators were arrested on Thursday after refusing to leave.

In New York City, Columbia University dropped a Thursday night deadline for an end the encampment on its campus.

In a statement, USC said it would "not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families and friends" to its campus.

On Wednesday, police arrested at least 93 people at the campus for trespassing, and ordered the dismantling of an encampment.

USC announced earlier this month that Muslim student Asna Tabassum would no longer be permitted to deliver a speech as valedictorian due to unspecified security threats.

Demonstrators at Emory said they were supporting Palestinians but also voicing their objection to a police training centre in Atlanta.

Plans for the centre have been controversial locally and the project has been dubbed "Cop City" by opponents.

Emory's police force said protesters had "pushed past" officers protecting the area set up for commencement on Thursday morning.

The force acknowledged that chemical irritants had been released as part of crowd control measures, though they said the step had been taken after some members of the crowd threw "objects" at officers.Atlanta Police also confirmed using chemical irritants but denied reports they had fired rubber bullets at protesters.

One protester shown on video being detained by police identified herself as Noelle McAfee, chair of Emory's philosophy department.

Ms McAfee said she was observing what she described as a peaceful protest when police began to move in and the protesters started to march.

"It went from a peaceful protest to mayhem in the matter of a minute," she said. She said she had frozen and been quickly detained.

The latest wave of campus protests began after officials at Columbia University called in police to clear a new protest encampment and more than 100 people were arrested.

Activists have been calling for universities to "divest from genocide" and to stop investing large school endowments in companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other industries supporting Israel's war in Gaza.

Israel is currently facing a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice alleging that it is committing genocide against the Palestinians, an accusation Israel has rejected as "baseless".

Chisato Mimura, a law student and protest leader at Yale University in Connecticut, told the BBC that activists were upset at President Joe Biden as well as their school officials for "quite literally funding and equipping the weapons used in genocide".

"What they're doing is completely putting their full weight behind it," she said. "We are well aware of the prominent role they are playing."

Some of the protests on US campuses have been accused of antisemitism. A number of Jewish students have said they have felt unsafe at Columbia and at other universities, although other Jewish students have joined the demonstrations.

At Columbia, where the wave of campus protests began last week, the university administration had given protesters a Thursday night deadline to agree a deal to end the disruption.

Spokesperson Ben Chang said that, if no agreement was reached, "we will have to consider options for restoring calm to campus".

However, in a statement late on Thursday, the university announced it had dropped the deadline, saying that "talks have shown progress" and would continue.

Earlier on Thursday, Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar visited the campus. Her daughter, Isra Hirsi, was one of the protesters cleared from the university by police last week.

"This is a movement that started with only 70 students," Ms Omar told the BBC. "And because Columbia University decided to crack down on them and violate their First Amendment [rights], this has now spread nationally and internationally."

In other recent developments:

  • In Syracuse, New York, President Biden was greeted by around 100 protesters with signs reading "Genocide Joe" and other slogans as he attended an official event
  • A camp was set up at Northwestern University near Chicago, where school officials moved to limit the use of tents. Police were on campus and ordered protesters to leave, but no arrests were reported
  • Organisers of the Uncommitted movement, which has encouraged Democratic primary voters to reject President Biden, said that they would join the student activists camping at the University of Michigan
  • Students at Georgetown University, George Washington University and American University protested in Washington DC
  • Brandeis University in Boston, where one-third of the student body is Jewish, said it would extend its transfer deadline to accommodate students who felt targeted and attacked at other schools
  • California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt said its campus could remain closed until next week because of protesters occupying buildings
  • Other campuses to see protests and encampments include Harvard, Brown, MIT and Indiana University
The war began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and taking 253 others back to Gaza as hostages.

More than 34,180 people - most of them children and women - have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

BBC
 
FearlessRoar said:
This protest is impactful but it will not last longer
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Can you explain who the protestors are protesting against?

I get that they want to stop war in Gaza, every sane person wants that, however, when they protest to stop the war who do they protest against?
 
Superb stuff, hope it grows even bigger with more unis/colleges taking part.

Just waiting for the andh bhakts to come in and stink up the thread. :cautious:
 
big_gamer007 said:
Can you explain who the protestors are protesting against?

I get that they want to stop war in Gaza, every sane person wants that, however, when they protest to stop the war who do they protest against?
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My cousin's son is in there protesting at Purdue. They're protesting US support for Israel (say vetoing recognition of the Palestinian state) and also asking for University endowments not to be invested in Arms companies.
 
Red-Indian said:
My cousin's son is in there protesting at Purdue. They're protesting US support for Israel (say vetoing recognition of the Palestinian state) and also asking for University endowments not to be invested in Arms companies.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, they are asking their own government for specific points.

However, I would have thought if they do want the war to stop wouldn’t the first step be to protest against Hamas to release the hostages?
I find there are two groups, pro Palestinian and pro Israelis.

The pro Palestinians refuse to acknowledge the wrong doings of Hamas and their usual diversion tactic when asked point blank whether they condemn Hamas is to blame Israel for the atrocities they have committed.

The pro Israeli group is the same, they bring in ancient history and generally put blame on Hamas instead of acknowledging the innocent lives claimed by the actions of their state.

Unless both the groups start condemning the wrong actions, irrespective of who committed them, there won’t be any peace anytime soon.
 
Red-Indian said:
My cousin's son is in there protesting at Purdue. They're protesting US support for Israel (say vetoing recognition of the Palestinian state) and also asking for University endowments not to be invested in Arms companies.
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Hah, good luck with that. What will happen is that the Jewish billionaires will pull their donations & stop recruiting from these colleges. You know how this will end.
 
Jewish student at University of California, Santa Barbara says she feels uncomfortable going on campus amid protest

A Jewish student at the University of California, Santa Barbara said she felt uncomfortable going on campus Thursday amid a protest that had formed at her school.

In a phone interview with CNN, Tessa Veksler, who is the student body president at UCSB, described a protest that has taken over the student resource building at the university.

“They've just taken over one building and they're doing it indoors,” she said.

Veksler said there are lectures given at the encampment, food being passed out and chants that mirror what is being said at other universities.

“It's not necessarily even a concern about what they're discussing, and I've already heard of the antisemitic things that are going down,” she said. “But it's about the fact that it's a university property and that students are being denied access because they're not able to be in that space and the fact that there are students that have to stay away from the whole area.”

Veksler lives off campus and did not go to the university Thursday because she said she is fearful and uncomfortable. She explained that fellow students and administrators have described the situation on campus to her.

“I asked the administration what they're going to do about it and they did not respond to me,” she said. “It's not only being tolerated, I believe it's being endorsed by, by those higher up, I believe that we've had so many opportunities to create clear boundaries and we haven't done that.”

Veksler said that since October 7, she’s been “getting personally targeted and harassed.” She added that she recently defeated impeachment efforts and indicated that she is not backing down.

CNN
 
Mockingbird said:
Hah, good luck with that. What will happen is that the Jewish billionaires will pull their donations & stop recruiting from these colleges. You know how this will end.
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The day students stop protesting for humanitarian causes is the day I'll be really scared for humanity. Since ancient history, students - especially at universities have been a major force for change. Right or wrong, well thought out or misguided, they should be out there protesting if they believe in their cause. This is a cause easy to believe in - whether you believe Israel is right to invade Palestinian territories or not, I hope most folks deplore the excessive use of force and lack of effort to avoid civilian casualties.

Purdue and most other Ivy league colleges have very little to fear from Jewish billionaires pulling donations. Purdue has $3.6B in endowments. It's in the Top 20 in the world for that.
 
Students are supposed to “study” and then expected to go on to be either entrepreneurs, innovators or hardworking tax paying citizens. Not protestors who waste time and create nuisance for others. Good decision. Let governments/ armies/ diplomats handle these conflicts. Obviously there are enough forums for people to voice annd express anger , frustration on things you feel are wrong. . Give these students a small warning, if they don’t get it still then give them the “treatment”. Also I look at my pictures or people I know pictures’ as a student, we look like an actual college going kid. Most of the protesters I see in Media look like old Chachas and Khaalas. I don’t even know what they are studying lol.So there is that.
 
Local.Dada said:
Students are supposed to “study” and then expected to go on to be either entrepreneurs, innovators or hardworking tax paying citizens. Not protestors who waste time and create nuisance for others. Good decision. Let governments/ armies/ diplomats handle these conflicts. Obviously there are enough forums for people to voice annd express anger , frustration on things you feel are wrong. . Give these students a small warning, if they don’t get it still then give them the “treatment”. Also I look at my pictures or people I know pictures’ as a student, we look like an actual college going kid. Most of the protesters I see in Media look like old Chachas and Khaalas. I don’t even know what they are studying lol.So there is that.
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What did you study?
 
Red-Indian said:
The day students stop protesting for humanitarian causes is the day I'll be really scared for humanity. Since ancient history, students - especially at universities have been a major force for change. Right or wrong, well thought out or misguided, they should be out there protesting if they believe in their cause. This is a cause easy to believe in - whether you believe Israel is right to invade Palestinian territories or not, I hope most folks deplore the excessive use of force and lack of effort to avoid civilian casualties.

Purdue and most other Ivy league colleges have very little to fear from Jewish billionaires pulling donations. Purdue has $3.6B in endowments. It's in the Top 20 in the world for that.
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Your posts are always spot on.
 
sf
Local.Dada said:
Students are supposed to “study” and then expected to go on to be either entrepreneurs, innovators or hardworking tax paying citizens. Not protestors who waste time and create nuisance for others. Good decision. Let governments/ armies/ diplomats handle these conflicts. Obviously there are enough forums for people to voice annd express anger , frustration on things you feel are wrong. . Give these students a small warning, if they don’t get it still then give them the “treatment”. Also I look at my pictures or people I know pictures’ as a student, we look like an actual college going kid. Most of the protesters I see in Media look like old Chachas and Khaalas. I don’t even know what they are studying lol.So there is that.
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You wouldn't have your precious Modi if the only thing students were doing was studying for engineering or CA. He emerged as a student activist as did the majority of politicians in India. Potentially India wouldn't have freedom if students stuck to studying and trying to enter the British Raj Civil service. University Students are the fountainhead of politics the world over.
 
Red-Indian said:
The day students stop protesting for humanitarian causes is the day I'll be really scared for humanity. Since ancient history, students - especially at universities have been a major force for change. Right or wrong, well thought out or misguided, they should be out there protesting if they believe in their cause. This is a cause easy to believe in - whether you believe Israel is right to invade Palestinian territories or not, I hope most folks deplore the excessive use of force and lack of effort to avoid civilian casualties.

Purdue and most other Ivy league colleges have very little to fear from Jewish billionaires pulling donations. Purdue has $3.6B in endowments. It's in the Top 20 in the world for that.
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Well said ! There's also another point to make.

We've heard much handwringing from the press and various politicians about lack of free speech on university campuses. Yet when students exercise their freedom of speech to criticise Israel's military campaign in Gaza, they are condemned as troublemakers. The Republicans have even called for the deployment of troops to quash the protests.

You cannot condition freedom of speech on its alignment with your political philosophies. If there's protesters in favour of Israel's campaign, they're equally entitled to the right to speak despite my disagreements with them.

And if a place of learning isn't a place for the free exchange of views, then where is ?
 
Red-Indian said:
The day students stop protesting for humanitarian causes is the day I'll be really scared for humanity. Since ancient history, students - especially at universities have been a major force for change. Right or wrong, well thought out or misguided, they should be out there protesting if they believe in their cause. This is a cause easy to believe in - whether you believe Israel is right to invade Palestinian territories or not, I hope most folks deplore the excessive use of force and lack of effort to avoid civilian casualties.

Purdue and most other Ivy league colleges have very little to fear from Jewish billionaires pulling donations. Purdue has $3.6B in endowments. It's in the Top 20 in the world for that.
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I agree but their opinion on Hamas specifically is too radical..
 
Mockingbird said:
Hah, good luck with that. What will happen is that the Jewish billionaires will pull their donations & stop recruiting from these colleges. You know how this will end.
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this is a classic anti-Semitic trope
 
Local.Dada said:
Students are supposed to “study” and then expected to go on to be either entrepreneurs, innovators or hardworking tax paying citizens. Not protestors who waste time and create nuisance for others. Good decision. Let governments/ armies/ diplomats handle these conflicts. Obviously there are enough forums for people to voice annd express anger , frustration on things you feel are wrong. . Give these students a small warning, if they don’t get it still then give them the “treatment”. Also I look at my pictures or people I know pictures’ as a student, we look like an actual college going kid. Most of the protesters I see in Media look like old Chachas and Khaalas. I don’t even know what they are studying lol.So there is that.
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That is true but US student protests have always been on right side of history, yes some of them are clueless about Hamas but majority have their heart in the right place.
As a tax paying citizen I don’t see why so much of tax money goes to Ukraine and Israel, Israel esp coz they are the aggressor.
 
JaDed said:
I agree but their opinion on Hamas specifically is too radical..
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Whose? There's no central voice speaking for the students. There's a multitude of chaotic voices - radical, moderate and yes crazy. You can choose which ones you want to hear. If you're listening to Fox News, they'll amplify the crazies. All my nephew and his friends are asking for on the other hand, is for US involvement to be restricted to purely humanitarian aid. Nothing else - no weapons, no cash etc. That is definitely not a radical ask.
 
Red-Indian said:
Whose? There's no central voice speaking for the students. There's a multitude of chaotic voices - radical, moderate and yes crazy. You can choose which ones you want to hear. If you're listening to Fox News, they'll amplify the crazies. All my nephew and his friends are asking for on the other hand, is for US involvement to be restricted to purely humanitarian aid. Nothing else - no weapons, no cash etc. That is definitely not a radical ask.
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That’s a perfect ask even as a tax paying citizen.

There is a central voice in government though and thats the quad.
 
Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities faced violent police intervention, raising questions over free speech rights. Similar movements in Germany were also suppressed.
 

Students occupy Paris's Sciences Po university in pro-Palestinian protest​


The pro-Palestinian protest at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, came two days after police broke up a separate demonstration at one of the university’s amphitheaters.

On Friday, scores of protesters occupied a central campus building and dozens of others blocked its entrance with trash cans, wooden platforms and a bicycle. Protesters gathered at the building’s windows chanted slogans and hung placards reading “We are all Palestinians,” in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.

Later Friday, pro-Israeli protesters arrived to face off with the pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the entrance of the famous school, which counts President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its many famous alumni.

Some of the pro-Israeli demonstrators carried photos of people held hostage by Hamas in Gaza and called for their release.

Riot police with shields stepped in to separate the opposing groups who together numbered about 200 people.

The Gaza war is sharply divisive in France, which has the largest populations of Muslims and Jews in western Europe. France initially sought to ban pro-Palestinian demonstrations after Hamas' surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. Antisemitism has surged.

On Wednesday evening, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a Sciences Po amphitheater. Most agreed to leave after discussions with management but a small group of students remained. They were removed by police later that night, according to French media reports.

The university administration closed all university buildings and moved classes online Friday. It said in a statement it “strongly condemns these student actions which prevent the proper functioning of the institution and penalize Sciences Po students, teachers and employees.”

The statement said about 60 protesters were inside the occupied building and that administrators were meeting with a student delegation “to try to find a way out of this situation through dialogue.”

Louise, a protester, said the students' actions were inspired by similar demonstrations at New York's Columbia University and other U.S. campuses.

“But our solidarity remains first and foremost with the Palestinian people,” she said. She spoke on condition that only her first name be used over concerns of repercussions.

Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war have been digging in at Columbia University, one of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Connecticut.

Hundreds of students and even some professors have been arrested across the U.S., sometimes amid struggles with police.

www.france24.com

Students occupy Paris's Sciences Po university in pro-Palestinian protest

Students in Paris inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States blocked access to a campus building at a prestigious French university Friday, prompting administrators to move…
www.france24.com www.france24.com
 
Pelosi urges Gaza campus protesters to target Hamas as well as Israel

Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has urged protesters on college campuses to protest against Hamas' behaviour as well as Israel's conduct of the Gaza war.

Hundreds of people have been arrested on dozens of campuses across the US, where protests and encampments have sprung up in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Ms Pelosi, who is a close ally of US President Joe Biden, told the BBC there was "complete justification" for speaking out about the growing humanitarian crisis there and the impact on civilians of Israel's bombardment was almost "unforgiveable".

She has also criticised the actions of the Israeli government while arguing it has a right to self-defence, and is no fan of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, she said she wanted the demonstrators to reflect on their tactics and also condemn Hamas's actions on 7 October.

"We would like to see some of that enthusiasm recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation that did a barbaric thing in Israel," she said.

Ms Pelosi had her speech at the Oxford Union in the UK interrupted by protesters on Thursday night. Demonstrators also dumped manure outside her own home in California.

"I've said to those [protesters]...do you care about what Hamas has done, do you care about what happened in Israel, would you not, if that happened here would we not have a response?"

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and taking 253 others back to Gaza as hostages.

Since then, at least 34,356 people - most of them children and women - have been killed in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The UN has warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe and Israel has faced accusations of limiting the amount of aid reaching civilians by land.

Activists in the US have been calling for universities to "divest from genocide" and to stop investing large school endowments in companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other industries supporting Israel's war in Gaza.

Israel is currently facing a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice alleging that it is committing genocide against the Palestinians, an accusation Israel has rejected as "baseless".

She said such protests on college campuses were a "way of life" in the US and that there was "complete justification" for objecting to what has been happening.

"What's happening in Gaza challenges the consciousness of the world," she said.

Some of the protesters on US campuses have been accused of antisemitism. A number of Jewish students have said they have felt unsafe at Columbia and at other universities, although other Jewish students have joined the demonstrations.

Ms Pelosi said protesters needed to think about their tactics, asking: "What is their message, what is their purpose?"

She rejected the suggestion from the current leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, that the National Guard should be sent in to deal with the protests.

Universities have brought in police to force students to leave but some are negotiating with the demonstrators and say these talks are showing progress.

BBC
 
Displaced Gazans in Rafah write on their tents words of gratitude to university students in the US organizing encampments and protests demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine.

"Thank you students in solidarity with Gaza. Your message has reached. Thank you students [in] Columbia. Thank you students."

Another tent said: "Thank you students. Thank you, Columbia. Thank you. Thank you."

Other tents said: "Thank you, American universities."
"Thank you for Columbia."

A man who was interviewed said:

"Of course, we wrote these messages of thanks to the students who supported us on our tents because we were not able to write them on the walls of our homes, because they are destroyed walls; they are walls bombed on top of our heads. So we wrote them on our tents that protect us from heat and cold."
 
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White House urges ‘peaceful’ pro-Palestinian campus protests after hundreds arrested​


The White House insisted Sunday that pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US universities in recent weeks must remain peaceful, after police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses over the weekend.

“We certainly respect the right of peaceful protests,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC’s “This Week.”

But, he added, “we absolutely condemn the antisemitism language that we’ve heard of late and certainly condemn all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there.”

The wave of demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York but they have since spread rapidly across the country.

While peace has prevailed in many campuses, the number of protesters detained -- at times by police in riot gear using chemical irritants and tasers -- is rising fast.

They include 100 at Northeastern University in Boston, 80 at Washington University in St Louis, 72 at Arizona State University and 23 at Indiana University.

Among those arrested at Washington University was Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who faulted police for aggressive tactics she said provoked the sort of trouble they are meant to quell.

“This is about freedom of speech ... on a very critical issue,” she told CNN shortly before her arrest Saturday. “And there they are, sending in the riot police and basically creating a riot.”

College administrators have struggled to find the best response, caught between the need to respect free-speech rights and the imperative of containing inflammatory and sometimes violently antisemitic calls by protesters.

At the University of Southern California, school officials late Saturday closed the main campus to the public after pro-Palestinian groups again set up an encampment that had been cleared earlier, the school announced on X.

With final exams coming in the next few weeks, some campuses -- including the Humboldt campus of California State Polytechnic University, have closed and instructed students to complete their classes online.

The activists behind the campus protests -- not all of them students -- are calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, and want colleges to sever ties with Israel.

Hamas militants staged an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 that left around 1,200 people dead, according to Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also took roughly 250 people hostage. Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,454 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.

 
Mockingbird said:
Hah, good luck with that. What will happen is that the Jewish billionaires will pull their donations & stop recruiting from these colleges. You know how this will end.
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Could be the students are protesting against just that: being unwitting parts of a zionist agenda which they never voted for.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Could be the students are protesting against just that: being unwitting parts of a zionist agenda which they never voted for.
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They never voted for it now, but ultimately they will benefit from it. Almost all corporations in America are Jewish owned - be it finance or IT. Very stupid and shortsighted on their part if they think they can go against the grain here.

There is a reason many don’t take student politics seriously- most are leftist in their student days in a cocooned environment, only to turn right when they grow older & have to live in real world.
 
US university demonstrators stand strong in face of police action

At 7am on Thursday, minutes after a fifth-year PhD student at Princeton University’s economics department stepped on campus, he was arrested and detained in a holding cell.

His crime? Being at the site of a protest camp, set up by students demanding the university divest from organisations and companies facilitating or profiting from Israel’s ongoing atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza.

The student, a US national of Pakistani origin, told Dawn that he was held by the university police, detained in a holding cell and charged with trespassing.

“[It] felt quite surreal,” he said about the charge, given that he was a university student and had the right to be present on campus at the time.

“Out of 100 people at the protest, only two of us were arrested, both of us of South Asian ethnicity.”

He said the protesters want the varsity to divest from entities such as G4S (a UK-based security company) and the Department of Defence.

Most colleges and universities in the US have endowment funds to support the expenses incurred in teaching, research, student aid, and other services. They mostly comprise money donated to the university.

According to the American Council on Education, a US-based nonprofit association for higher education, these funds are usually invested for long-term returns.

Princeton’s endowment fund was $34.1 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.

According to the student, there was “no financial transparency at all” regarding the university’s investments from its endowment.

He said the protesters making these demands come from diverse backgrounds — White, Jews, Arabs, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Muslims.

The stated goal of the protest was simple: to force the university to “disclose, divest and disassociate with organisations enabling the assault on Palestinian lives”.

Nationwide protests

Over the past few weeks, similar protests have been held in universities around the US, resulting in heated discussion over the right to free speech and the political discourse on university campuses.

In some universities, the administration called in police and security forces to dislodge protesting students. AFP reported that over the weekend, around 275 people were arrested on four campuses, at times by police in riot gear using chemical irritants and tasers.

Source: Dawn News
 
Mockingbird said:
They never voted for it now, but ultimately they will benefit from it. Almost all corporations in America are Jewish owned - be it finance or IT. Very stupid and shortsighted on their part if they think they can go against the grain here.

There is a reason many don’t take student politics seriously- most are leftist in their student days in a cocooned environment, only to turn right when they grow older & have to live in real world.
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Not everything is about self-interest, while that is always a highly motivating factor as it is designed to be, the world also needs people who allow their conscience to overrule their own desires, that is how evil is ultimately denied free reign.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Not everything is about self-interest, while that is always a highly motivating factor as it is designed to be, the world also needs people who allow their conscience to overrule their own desires, that is how evil is ultimately denied free reign.
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But these students have not allowed their conscience to completely overrule their desires & accept the consequences of it, have they? They demand no repercussions, no arrest from the city. Tomorrow if the Jewish companies stop recruiting them, they will be first to cry foul. You can’t have it both.
 

Iran slams US crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protests​


Iran on Monday criticized a police crackdown in the United States against university students protesting against the rising death toll from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

“The American government has practically ignored its human rights obligations and respect for the principles of democracy that they profess,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

Tehran “does not at all accept the violent police and military behavior aimed at the academic atmosphere and student demands,” he said.

American universities have been rocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, triggering campus clashes with police and the arrest of some 275 people over the weekend.

The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread across the country.

In Iran, hundreds of people demonstrated in Tehran and other cities on Sunday in solidarity with the US demonstrations.

The Gaza war broke out after the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel which killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Tehran backs Hamas, but has denied any direct involvement in the attack.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 34,488 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

“What we have seen in American universities in recent days is an awakening of the world community and world public opinion towards the Palestinian issue,” Kanani said.

“It is not possible to silence the loud voices of protesters against this crime and genocide through police action and violent policies.”

 
Red-Indian said:
The day students stop protesting for humanitarian causes is the day I'll be really scared for humanity. Since ancient history, students - especially at universities have been a major force for change. Right or wrong, well thought out or misguided, they should be out there protesting if they believe in their cause. This is a cause easy to believe in - whether you believe Israel is right to invade Palestinian territories or not, I hope most folks deplore the excessive use of force and lack of effort to avoid civilian casualties.

Purdue and most other Ivy league colleges have very little to fear from Jewish billionaires pulling donations. Purdue has $3.6B in endowments. It's in the Top 20 in the world for that.
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And where do you think that the Purdue endowments came from? Most of the endowments come from Alumni contributions or donations. In most American universities that is Jewish origin & has funded research & scholarships to these very students who are now saying that they want a say in how that is being invested. How about these students stop being hypocrites & tell the universities to return the endowments and their own grants/scholarships/financial aid?
 
Mockingbird said:
And where do you think that the Purdue endowments came from? Most of the endowments come from Alumni contributions or donations. In most American universities that is Jewish origin & has funded research & scholarships to these very students who are now saying that they want a say in how that is being invested. How about these students stop being hypocrites & tell the universities to return the endowments and their own grants/scholarships/financial aid?
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Dude, you're obsessed with Jewish donations and influence. Are you one of those "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" tinfoil hat guys?

In actual reality, as many Jewish philanthropists don't care about the state of Israel as the ones that do. They definitely care less than you about preventing American students protesting against Israeli atrocities in Gaza

- Tom Steyer is the Jewish origin guy with probably the highest amount of donations in this cycle. He donates based on 'Green' and 'Liberal' causes and has also given heaps to Stanford. Has never expressed an opinion on Isreal.
- Michael Bloomberg has donated hundreds of million to defeat Trump. Has shown zero interest in supporting Israeli causes

Of course there are weirdos like Miriam Adelson and Donald Sussman but most rich American Jewish origin folks are as American as Apple Pie and have interests other than Israel. Just like most Indian origin i.e. second or third generation Indians have little interest in India. Have you ever heard Kamala Harris or Niki Haley express support for India?

In summary, students protesting on American campuses don't and shouldn't care in the least about notional future Jewish donations not coming to their campus. None of the old donations came from Israel either. They came from Americans.
 
Red-Indian said:
Dude, you're obsessed with Jewish donations and influence. Are you one of those "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" tinfoil hat guys?

In actual reality, as many Jewish philanthropists don't care about the state of Israel as the ones that do. They definitely care less than you about preventing American students protesting against Israeli atrocities in Gaza

- Tom Steyer is the Jewish origin guy with probably the highest amount of donations in this cycle. He donates based on 'Green' and 'Liberal' causes and has also given heaps to Stanford. Has never expressed an opinion on Isreal.
- Michael Bloomberg has donated hundreds of million to defeat Trump. Has shown zero interest in supporting Israeli causes

Of course there are weirdos like Miriam Adelson and Donald Sussman but most rich American Jewish origin folks are as American as Apple Pie and have interests other than Israel. Just like most Indian origin i.e. second or third generation Indians have little interest in India. Have you ever heard Kamala Harris or Niki Haley express support for India?

In summary, students protesting on American campuses don't and shouldn't care in the least about notional future Jewish donations not coming to their campus. None of the old donations came from Israel either. They came from Americans.
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Look, I work in NYC finance & live in a fairly well off Jewish dominated suburb and let me tell you this - no other community in the US is more nationalist to their country of origin than the Jewish one. You must be delusional to think that the majority Jewish think of themselves as only American - even if they do not openly express it as such. I am not saying that the students should not express themselves but to think that they can demand that there will be no repercussions is stupid. Already there are stories that protesting students have been thrown out of campus or their financial aid has been withdrawn. It’s easy to rebel when you have no skin in the game, let’s see how long they hold on to their beliefs when real world hits them hard.
 
These students are joined by professional protestors and anti-social elements, Antifa and BLM. Most of the students are snowflakes anyway.
 

Columbia University threatens suspension over pro-Palestinian protests​

Columbia University, a prestigious Ivy League school in the United States, has announced that its negotiations with student protesters has fallen through, opening up the potential for severe consequences for those involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.

“Since Wednesday, a small group of academic leaders has been in constructive dialogue with student organizers to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment,” Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik wrote in a statement on Monday.

“Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement.”

The statement came on the same day that the New York City-based university issued a new deadline for the encampment to disperse: 2pm local time (18:00 GMT).

But the latest deadline came and went, with protesters bracing themselves for the possibility of consequences as their push for a ceasefire in Gaza stretched into its second week.

“The current unauthorized encampment and disruption on Columbia University’s campus is creating an unwelcoming environment for members of our community,” university administrators wrote in Monday’s notice for the encampment to disperse.

Citing violations of multiple university policies — including vandalism and harassment — the university threatened to suspend the students involved in the protest, which involves dozens of tents pitched on the university lawn.

“If you do not leave by 2 p.m., you will be suspended pending further investigation,” the notice explained, adding that campus identification cards would be deactivated and students would be barred from attending classes or completing the spring semester.

The deadline, however, is the latest in a string over the past week, with Columbia University largely failing to follow through with its threatened punishments.

Student groups greeted the expired deadline with defiance, pledging to continue their activism on behalf of the Palestinian civilians harmed by Israel’s war in Gaza.

“WE WILL NOT STOP, WE WILL NOT REST!!” one group, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, wrote on social media. “We will continue until our demands are met. We will not be intimidated.”

www.aljazeera.com

Columbia University threatens suspension over pro-Palestinian protests

Administrators said student protesters would be suspended if they didn’t disperse the encampment on the university lawn.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
US is cracking down on students, hopefully the Canadian and Americans don’t lecture Asia on protests anymore considering how they dealt with Truckers and Student protests.
 
US campus protests: Rival Gaza protest groups clash at UCLA

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as demonstrations over the war in Gaza continue across US campuses.

Nationwide rallies - during which there have been hundreds of arrests - showed no sign of stopping over the weekend.

At UCLA "physical altercations broke out" after a barrier separating the two sides was breached, an official said.

The White House has insisted that demonstrations must remain peaceful.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC that the US government respects the right of protesters demonstrating over the Israel-Gaza war.

But he condemned antisemitic incidents that have been reported, as well as "all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there".

At UCLA, a pro-Palestinian encampment has grown in size in recent days, as has a group of pro-Israeli counter-protesters.

The Israeli American Council (IAC) organised the counter-protest. It recently said it had "profound concern" over the antisemitism reported elsewhere, including at Columbia University in New York City.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters who spoke to the BBC there sought to distance themselves from antisemitic incidents. In some cases they have blamed outside agitators.

A group of 21 Democratic members of Congress has called on Columbia to end what they call the "unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus", in a letter obtained by Axios. Similar calls for action had largely come from the Republican side of the political divide.

In a fresh statement on Monday, Columbia head Dr Minouche Shafik said "alternative internal options to end this crisis" were under discussion, after talks between protest organisers and the university failed to result in a deal.

At least some of the protesters involved in the disturbances at UCLA appeared to have come from outside the university, the Reuters news agency reported.

The two groups remained peaceful until Sunday, when campus police with batons separated them as they pushed and shoved each other, and traded punches.

It was not immediately clear which group broke through the barrier between them.

"We are heartbroken about the violence that broke out," the university said, adding that additional security measures had been introduced.

Tensions flared at US universities after the 7 October Hamas attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed in Israel, and the retaliatory Israeli military assault that has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza.

In the last fortnight, a nationwide uprising has emerged which university officials and law enforcement have struggled to contain. They have blamed outside groups for infiltrating the demos.

The movement seems to have been emboldened by the arrest of more than 100 protesters at Columbia after police were called to clear an encampment.

Hundreds of people have since been arrested in locations across the US - many of whom had pitched their own tents on university grounds.

The protests have also spread to Canada, with a pro-Palestinian camp of about 20 tents now installed in the grounds of Montreal's McGill University.

Activists in both countries are demanding a ceasefire in the conflict, and that their universities - many with massive endowments - cut their financial ties, or divest, from Israel.

They say that companies doing business in or with the nation of Israel are complicit in its ongoing war on Gaza - and so are institutions that invest in those companies.

Officials in the US have also scrambled to tackle alleged incidents of antisemitism, with a number of Jewish students voicing fears for their safety.

At several campuses, they have spoken of incidents ranging from chants and signs supporting Hamas - a proscribed terror group in the US - to physical altercations and perceived threats.

Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, reported "virulent antisemitic slurs" in a statement on Saturday that accused "professional organisers with no affiliation to Northeastern" of infiltrating a student protest.

More than 100 people were detained, it added.

In other recent developments:

  • Among hundreds of other activists arrested over the weekend was Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who was detained with dozens of others at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. The university said they had been asked to leave "multiple times". Ms Stein told local media that the arrests were a "really bad look" for the institution
  • Protesters at Yale University set up a new encampment after a previous one was cleared by police, the student newspaper reported
  • California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, has become the latest institution to request that students switch to virtual classes
  • More than a dozen students were arrested at University of Georgia, Athens, on Monday morning
SOURCE: BBC
 
Anti-Israel protesters take over Columbia University academic building in latest campus chaos

Dozens of anti-Israel protesters broke into an academic building at Columbia University and took it over early Tuesday morning – hours after the school began suspending students who refused to vacate their encampment.

Footage posted on social media shows numerous protesters milling about inside Hamilton Hall with some placing wooden chairs and tables in front of the doors to block others from entering shortly before 1 a.m.

Another shocking video shows a hammer-wielding demonstrator inside the building smash two windows of an exterior door and place what appears to be a bike lock around the door’s handles.

According to the Columbia Daily Spectator, the student newspaper, the rogue group who made it inside tossed their belongings on the floor and then immediately began working to barricade themselves inside the building located along the South Lawn, which has been the scene of the school’s anti-Israel encampment for over a week.

The protesters even covered security cameras inside Hamilton Hall with tape and black trash bags, according to the newspaper.

“Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation has got to go,” protesters outside the building can be heard chanting during the wild scene, according to footage posted to X by an independent news blog.

When the group barged into the building, several campus facilities workers were still inside.

The protesters removed some of the barricades to let them out. One of the workers yelled, “They held me hostage” as he left the building and smacked somebody’s camera, according to the student newspaper.

Hundreds of others gathered outside the building and some linked arms to form a human chain blocking the entrance.

“We will not leave until Columbia meets every one of our demands,” the protesters said in a directed chant.

Four protesters wearing masks over their heads lowered a banner reading “Hind’s Hall” from a window overlooking the crowd who cheered its unraveling, according to a clip posted to X.

The apparent renaming was in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza alongside the two paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society who tried to rescue her in January.

The child was inside a vehicle that had allegedly been hit by Israeli gunfire. She called for help as she was trapped inside alongside her relative’s bodies, but the ambulance was bombed as it was “just meters” from reaching the vehicle, the Red Crescent said in a statement at the time.

The little girl’s body was found 12 days later in the car riddled with bullet holes.

After the banner was unraveled, the group at Columbia then broke out into chants of “Free Palestine,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Columbia, you will see – Palestine is almost free.”

SOURCE: NEWYORK POST
 
Mockingbird said:
But these students have not allowed their conscience to completely overrule their desires & accept the consequences of it, have they? They demand no repercussions, no arrest from the city. Tomorrow if the Jewish companies stop recruiting them, they will be first to cry foul. You can’t have it both.
Click to expand...

I didn't know there were Jewish companies. Can you name any significant ones?
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I didn't know there were Jewish companies. Can you name any significant ones?
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Depends on what your definition is. A company owned by a powerful Jewish person or family or a company that caters to a certain demographic like maybe selling religious items, books etc related to Jewish religion/ culture. I am giving this answer on common sense and if I want to find out examples i would use Google. Common sense and Google could have avoided that question and potentially a few more I see repeated again and again just to get a reaction.
 
Local.Dada said:
Depends on what your definition is. A company owned by a powerful Jewish person or family or a company that caters to a certain demographic like maybe selling religious items, books etc related to Jewish religion/ culture. I am giving this answer on common sense and if I want to find out examples i would use Google. Common sense and Google could have avoided that question and potentially a few more I see repeated again and again just to get a reaction.
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So does that mean because a Pakistani bought an English football club it becomes a Pakistani club?
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
So does that mean because a Pakistani bought an English football club it becomes a Pakistani club?
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If the Pakistani has enough clout in the decision making and he is pushing for Pakistani narrative within the organization. Sure, it can be. Again a common sense question that you are wasting time on.
 
Local.Dada said:
If the Pakistani has enough clout in the decision making and he is pushing for Pakistani narrative within the organization. Sure, it can be. Again a common sense question that you are wasting time on.
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I think it's you who is showing lack of common sense. Not every multinational business in the world is run according to the religion of the owners or biggest shareholders. They may or may not support a state or religion, that is a different matter, but the businesses themselves are usually run for profit first and foremost.

Which multinational company is a Jewish one as per your claim?
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I think it's you who is showing lack of common sense. Not every multinational business in the world is run according to the religion of the owners or biggest shareholders. They may or may not support a state or religion, that is a different matter, but the businesses themselves are usually run for profit first and foremost.

Which multinational company is a Jewish one as per your claim?
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Why are 2 bit jobless Palestine protestors (not demeaning the ones with legit grievances) want to ban McDonalds and KFC?


You tell me? Do you think it’s stupid then? First you need to explain what your take is because apart from asking provocative or irritating questions usually that go nowhere I haven’t see what your take is? It doesn’t make you look smart nor are you really triggering Indians, it’s annoying I will give you that so if that’s on purpose you have achieved it. Congrats lol
 
Local.Dada said:
Why are 2 bit jobless Palestine protestors (not demeaning the ones with legit grievances) want to ban McDonalds and KFC?


You tell me? Do you think it’s stupid then? First you need to explain what your take is because apart from asking provocative or irritating questions usually that go nowhere I haven’t see what your take is? It doesn’t make you look smart nor are you really triggering Indians, it’s annoying I will give you that so if that’s on purpose you have achieved it. Congrats lol
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You said Jewish companies won't hire students who protested against Israeli atrocities. I just asked which major companies were Jewish as I wasn't aware there was any set up along religious principles. I don't think Google, McDonalds or KFC describe themselves as such.
 
Mockingbird said:
Look, I work in NYC finance & live in a fairly well off Jewish dominated suburb and let me tell you this - no other community in the US is more nationalist to their country of origin than the Jewish one. You must be delusional to think that the majority Jewish think of themselves as only American - even if they do not openly express it as such. I am not saying that the students should not express themselves but to think that they can demand that there will be no repercussions is stupid. Already there are stories that protesting students have been thrown out of campus or their financial aid has been withdrawn. It’s easy to rebel when you have no skin in the game, let’s see how long they hold on to their beliefs when real world hits them hard.
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I'm not sure you realise it but you come off pretty anti-semitic. Do you have actual examples of folks being fired from Jewish owned companies, evicted from Jewish owned properties etc. for protesting against Israel or are all of these just fantasies in your head? I gave you specific examples of Jewish political donors who donate millions of dollars but don't donate to any Israeli related cause. How do you square your perception of American Jews being obsessed with Israel with the actual fact that 71% of Jews identify as Liberal/Democrat (Pew Research) and disapprove of Trump who was virtually willing to marry Netanyahu and have his children? Of course American Jews have some affinity for Israel but to label them nationalist to Israel is just falling back on old discredited tropes.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
You said Jewish companies won't hire students who protested against Israeli atrocities. I just asked which major companies were Jewish as I wasn't aware there was any set up along religious principles. I don't think Google, McDonalds or KFC describe themselves as such.
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I am with you there that they are multi national brands that transcend such things. I was just telling you the perspective of people who call these Jewish companies. May have to do with founder, investors, political contributions etc etc. if you are calling out the fools who create rucks about boycotting these and associating them with Isreal-Gaza conflict etc and taking it to the next level, yes we have no disagreement.
On the same page there 👍
 
Suddenly Unis are talking about rules and regulations, guess it goes out of toss when same protests happen in other countries.

Students should keep continuing just to make sure America knows what economic protests with narrative mean.
 
JaDed said:
Suddenly Unis are talking about rules and regulations, guess it goes out of toss when same protests happen in other countries.
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There are million hypocrisies in every side of this conflict if you look at it as a neutral. So, at least universities are waking up before they totally become irrelevant in self-defense deserves some credit.
 
Local.Dada said:
There are million hypocrisies in every side of this conflict if you look at it as a neutral. So, at least universities are waking up before they totally become irrelevant in self-defense deserves some credit.
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I have come to believe I don’t have a dog in the fight, I would had had an opinion if my tax money was going to them.

They can do anything.
 
Red-Indian said:
I'm not sure you realise it but you come off pretty anti-semitic. Do you have actual examples of folks being fired from Jewish owned companies, evicted from Jewish owned properties etc. for protesting against Israel or are all of these just fantasies in your head? I gave you specific examples of Jewish political donors who donate millions of dollars but don't donate to any Israeli related cause. How do you square your perception of American Jews being obsessed with Israel with the actual fact that 71% of Jews identify as Liberal/Democrat (Pew Research) and disapprove of Trump who was virtually willing to marry Netanyahu and have his children? Of course American Jews have some affinity for Israel but to label them nationalist to Israel is just falling back on old discredited tropes.
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Huh, how does this make me anti-semetic and also that makes me wonder if you really understand anti-semitism? In fact I am saying that most people I work / live in my town support Israel’s stance openly or passively and they consider these pro-Palestine protests as anti-Semitic (which is also the stance most US universities are taking). There is a difference between freedom of speech & violent protests, which is what happened in Google office or now at Columbia University or even at my Alma-mater Stern. And coming back to your data, Jews supporting a political candidate is separate from taking a pro-Israel stand in the conflict. I could be pro-Congress and still back Article 370 or UCC implementation repeal in India. Not sure what you are going on about.
 
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Mockingbird said:
Huh, how does this make me anti-semetic and also that makes me wonder if you really understand anti-semitism? In fact I am saying that most people I work/live in my town support Israel’s stance openly or passively and they consider these pro-Palestine protests as anti-Semitic (which is also the stance most US universities are taking). There is a difference between freedom of speech & violent protests, which is what happened in Google office or now at Columbia University or even at my Alma-mater Stern. And coming back to your data, Jews supporting a political candidate is separate from taking a pro-Israel stand in the conflict. I could be pro-Congress and still back Article 370 or UCC implementation repeal in India. Not sure what you are going on about.
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And just to add, I have no issues if people protest in a peaceful manner- I draw a line at forcibly stopping classes or violently breaking into somebody’s office. Also, I never said that offices would fire people for peacefully protesting but they do have a right to not recruit people identified with these protests. They too have a right to take a stand.
 
Local.Dada said:
There are million hypocrisies in every side of this conflict if you look at it as a neutral. So, at least universities are waking up before they totally become irrelevant in self-defense deserves some credit.
Click to expand...
There is no hypocrisy in standing up against Genocide by American students.
There was no hypocrisy in protesting against segragation by American students.
There was no hypocrisy in protesting against Vietnam war by American students.
There was no Hypocrisy in protesting against Iraq war by American students.

Historically universities tried their best to dismantle and discredit protest with narrative and force but as documented historical fact, they were wrong to go against it and they've always failed.

Hypocrite are those who are trying to justify force against peaceful protest that was guaranteed by the first amendment of the US constitution.

Let's not try Anti-semite this and that, because that narrative isn't being bought anymore.

Happy to see that American, including vast majority of Jews and from all background are protesting against the killing of innocent and stringing few words to displaying their own hypocrisy.
 
I don't think some desis who have grown up in the subcontinent understand the part student protests have played in western democracies. It is what actually separates the west from the east for better or for worse. Young people are not scared to challenge the establishment or rock the boat to protest against genocide.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I don't think some desis who have grown up in the subcontinent understand the part student protests have played in western democracies. It is what actually separates the west from the east for better or for worse. Young people are not scared to challenge the establishment or rock the boat to protest against genocide.
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Student protests literally led to fall of Indira Gandhi in India inspite of decent economy , green revolution and 1971 heroics

Every elected leader hates student politics, because students have a tunnel view on idealism
 
HalBass9 said:
There is no hypocrisy in standing up against Genocide by American students.
There was no hypocrisy in protesting against segragation by American students.
There was no hypocrisy in protesting against Vietnam war by American students.
There was no Hypocrisy in protesting against Iraq war by American students.

Historically universities tried their best to dismantle and discredit protest with narrative and force but as documented historical fact, they were wrong to go against it and they've always failed.

Hypocrite are those who are trying to justify force against peaceful protest that was guaranteed by the first amendment of the US constitution.

Let's not try Anti-semite this and that, because that narrative isn't being bought anymore.

Happy to see that American, including vast majority of Jews and from all background are protesting against the killing of innocent and stringing few words to displaying their own hypocrisy.
Click to expand...
and not trying to string few words to display their own hypocrisy.
 
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