Protests spread across the USA, more than 1,000 arrested: understand the pro-Palestine movement at American universities | World

More of 1,000 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested in the last two weeks at American universities in several states such as Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey, some after clashes with police.

Promising to eradicate Hamas, Israel killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.

Israel and its supporters have called the university protests anti-Semitic, while Israel’s critics say the country uses such allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making anti-Semitic comments or violent threats, protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

On the Columbia campus, protesters first set up a camp nearly two weeks ago. The school sent police to clear the tents the next day, arresting more than 100 people. The students, however, returned and inspired a wave of similar camps across the country.

Negotiations between the protesters and the university have been paralyzed in recent days and the institution set a deadline for the activists to leave the camp on Monday afternoon (29) or they would be suspended.

Instead, protesters defied the ultimatum and occupied Hamilton Hall in the early hours of Tuesday, moving furniture and barricades.

Protesters dubbed the building Hind’s Hall, after a young woman who was killed in Gaza under Israeli fire, and issued demands for divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

A American Association of University Professors at Columbia University said the faculty’s efforts to help calm the situation were repeatedly ignored by the university administration.despite school statutes that require consultation.

Ilana Lewkovitch, a self-described “left-wing Zionist” student at Columbia, said it’s been difficult to concentrate on school for weeksamid calls for Zionists to die or leave campus.

Her exams were marked by shouts of “say it loud, say it clearly, we want the Zionists out of here” in the background, she said.

Lewkovitch, who identifies as Jewish and studied at Columbia’s Tel Aviv campus, said she wishes the current pro-Palestine protests were more open to people like her who criticize Israel’s war policies but believe there should be an Israeli state.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that the Columbia protests have been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.” The mayor did not provide specific evidence to support this claim, which was disputed by protest organizers and participants.

Police enter Columbia University

The police used a ladder to access one of the university’s windows. To support the operation, a bus was made available to transport the detained students.

Students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israel’s military action in Gaza and demanding that the school divest from companies that they claim are profiting from the conflict.

After the police action, protesters continued to demonstrate in the streets around the university. The shouts of order, this time, came from the New York police.

On Tuesday night, the university released a statement stating that it requested the presence of the police to “restore security and order”.

“We regret that the protesters chose to worsen the situation through their actions. After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized and locked down, we had no choice. Columbia public safety staff were forced to leave the building and a member of our facilities team was threatened. We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation,” the statement said.

According to the university, counselors met during the early hours of the morning and made the decision to ask for police assistance. The institution says it believes the group that invaded the building is led by “individuals not linked to the university”.

Regarding the pro-Palestinian acts, the university made a point of making it clear that the police call was not a response to the cause but to the acts. “We make it clear that life on campus cannot be interrupted indefinitely by protesters who violate the rules and the law,” the note added.