This article documents an
ongoing civil conflict. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be
unreliable. The
latest updates to this article
may not reflect the most current information. (May 2024) |
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses | |
---|---|
Part of Israel–Hamas war protests | |
Date | April 17, 2024 – present (2 weeks and 3 days) |
Location | United States
Other countries
[1]
|
Caused by | Opposition to |
Goals | Universities divesting from Israel |
Methods | Protests, civil disobedience, picketing |
Casualties | |
Injuries | 15-25+ protesters hospitalized [3] |
Arrested | 2,300+ protesters [4] |
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated on April 17, 2024, spreading to other universities in the United States and other countries, as a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. [5] [6] As of May 3, over 2,300 protesters have been arrested, [4] including faculty members and professors, [1] [7] on more than 40 U.S. campuses. [8] The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel and its affiliated entities, transparency over financial ties, [9] and amnesty for protesters. [10] In response, universities have suspended students, with some also expelled. [1] [11]
Demonstrations spread on April 22, when students at several universities on the East Coast—including New York University, Yale University, Emerson College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Tufts University—began occupying campuses, as well as experiencing mass arrests in New York and at Yale. [12] Protests emerged throughout the U.S. in the following days, with protest camps established on over 40 campuses. [13] On April 25, mass arrests occurred at Emerson College, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas, [14] as protests spread to Europe, Australia and Canada. A continued crackdown on April 27 led to approximately 275 arrests at Washington, Northeastern, Arizona State, and Indiana University Bloomington. [15] [16] Several professors were among those detained at Emory University, [11] and at Washington University in St. Louis, university employees were arrested. [15] On April 28, counter-protests were held at MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). [17] On April 30, approximately 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York, [18] followed by over 200 arrests at the UCLA campus occupation on May 1. [19] As of May 2, encampments have taken place on 80 U.S. campuses. [20]
The occupations have resulted in the closure of Columbia University and the Cal Poly Humboldt for the remainder of the semester; [21] [22] votes of no confidence initiated by faculty members in California, Georgia, and Texas; [15] and Portland State University pausing its financial ties with Boeing over its ties to Israel. [23] Over 200 groups have expressed support for the protests, [24] as well as Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and multiple progressive members of Congress. [25] The protests have been criticized by President Joe Biden, [10] former president Donald Trump, [26] U.S. governors, [27] [28] [29] and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as antisemitic. [30] Some Jewish student demonstrators have insisted the protests are not antisemitic. [31] The police response to the protests has also been criticized by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [32], Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, [33] and various Democrats. [34] [35] [36]
Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils relating to the Israel–Hamas war have occurred across the U.S. since the conflict's start on October 7, 2023, alongside other Israel–Hamas war protests around the world. Pro-Palestinian protesters criticized U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel and Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and its war conduct, which some called a genocide. [37] [38]
Many of the protests involve student demands that their schools sever financial ties to Israel and companies involved in the conflict, as well as an end to U.S. military support for Israel, [39] [28] as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. [9] Some protests have also demanded that the universities sever academic ties with Israel, support a ceasefire in Gaza, and disclose investments. [40] Student demands have varied among the different occupations, including for universities to stop accepting research money from Israel that supports the military, and an end to college endowments investing with managers who profit from Israeli entities. [9] Student protesters called on Columbia University to financially divest from any company with business ties to the Israeli government, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon. [41] NYU Alumni for Palestine called on New York University to "terminate all vendor contracts with companies playing active roles in the military occupation in Palestine and ongoing genocide in Gaza, namely Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar and General Electric". [42] Pro-Palestinian protesters demanded that the University of Washington cut ties with Boeing. [43]
After several mass arrests, the demands have also included amnesty for students and faculty who were disciplined or fired for protesting. The protests on many campuses are created by coalitions of student groups, and are largely independent, but some have claimed that they were inspired by other campus protests. All have disavowed violence. [44] [10]
Some of the protests are organized by groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, founded in 1996 as a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization; IfNotNow, founded during the 2014 Gaza War; and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has over 200 North American chapters. [45] [5] In late 2023, SJP chapters were banned or suspended on university campuses at Brandeis University, [46] Columbia University, [47] and Rutgers University. [48] In Florida, chapters were ordered to disband. [49] In response, SJP chapters at the University of Florida and University of South Florida filed federal lawsuits. [50] Pro-Palestinian students were also doxxed by Accuracy in Media at Harvard, Columbia, and Yale University. [51] [52]
Participants include students, faculty and non-campus individuals of various backgrounds, [53] with both Jews and Muslims participating. [10] Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia have said that their movement is anti-Zionist, [6] and several protests on campuses have been organized by anti-Zionist groups. [5] Protesters have identified a wide range of other ideologies as motivating them, such as antiracism, intersectionality, anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, policing, the impact of climate change, and Indigenous rights. [54] Maoist revolutionary slogans were listed on blackboards among protesters who breached Hamilton Hall at Columbia. [55] Protesters have criticized Joe Biden and his administration's support for Israel. [56] The protests have hosted teach-ins, interfaith prayer, and musical performances. [10] Some protests invited people to tour or speak, such as Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, who was invited to and visited Columbia's protest. [57] [58]
Concern has been raised over the presence of outside groups at protests. [53] Far-right agitators and white nationalists have been spotted at some protests seeking to sow chaos and violence. [59] Experts have raised concerns over far-right groups attempting to infiltrate protests to cause harm, and subsequent reactions from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement. [60] During arrests in New York on May 2, police announced that nearly half of those arrested at Columbia and CCNY were unaffiliated with either school. Mayor Eric Adams stated that they had seen evidence that outside agitators and "professionals" such as Lisa Fithian and the wife of Sami Al-Arian had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate their protests. [61]
Many protesters have donned masks and kaffiyehs, which has increased concerns from provosts and deans that outsiders have infiltrated protests. Some Jewish students fear that the anonymity gives greater license for evading consequence. Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League stated that individuals dressed like "bank robbers" have the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side." Protesters have expressed fears of having reputational and professional harm from identification. [62]
The Guardian described the protests "perhaps the most significant student movement since the anti-Vietnam campus protests of the late 1960s". [63] Protests at Columbia University have been compared to the 1968 protests due to their scale and tactics, [64] and as echoing the 1968 movement. [65] [66] According to The Independent, protesters studied the historical movement. A Columbia undergraduate said that student organizers learned from the experiences of older generations, calling the movement "completely built" on the legacy of the 1968 protests. [67]
Former Columbia University student leaders from the era of protests against apartheid in the 1980's, including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and historian Barbara Ransby, described the "intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism" as a focal point in the movements of 1968, the 1980's, and 2024 — and that the similarities are clear among the unique periods. [68] The New York Times stated that scholars noted the current protests are starkly different than those against the Vietnam War or apartheid South Africa. According to Timothy Naftali, protests against Vietnam in the 1960's did not result in a constituency that felt attacked as an ethnicity, and that the "demonstrations now are creating a feeling of insecurity in a much bigger way than the antiwar demonstrations during Vietnam did." [54]
Far-right influencers and some Republicans have portrayed the protests as violent, a "Marxist takeover," and "terrorism." [60] The New York Times noted that the protests have come during a presidential election year in which Democrats have "harnessed promises of stability and normalcy to win critical recent elections," and that the protests come as a Republican messaging opportunity to divide Democrats. [69] Johns Hopkins political science professor Daniel Schlozman remarked that Republican fixation on criticizing universities as bastions of leftist ideology has resulted in them portraying the protests as examples of radicalism on race and gender issues and highlighting them as a way to divide the Democratic coalition. [70]
As of 28 April 2024 [update], protests that occurred outside of the US were "sporadic and smaller, and none [started] a wider student movement." The "partisan political context" was described as a reason for the intensity of protests in the United States. [70] The status of Columbia as an Ivy League school, its proximity to New York City and national news media, and its large population of Jewish students were described as fueling increased media attention and political scrutiny that helped spread the protests. [70] NPR described the protests abroad as "a growing global student movement", with student protests in the United Kingdom focusing on "an increasingly high-profile nationwide campaign to end British arms exports to Israel". [71] Although not at the intensity of protests in the United States, the protests have gained traction abroad, inspired by protests in the United States. [72]
Several protests have been criticized for antisemitism. [73] Some protesters have asserted that such claims are a weaponization of antisemitism, [31] and denied that protesters are antisemitic. [6]
In the United States, protests have occurred on university campuses in: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma. Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. [1]
Outside the United States, protests have occurred at universities in: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. [1]
A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City in April 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war related protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, [74] [75] on the university's campus, demanding the university divest from Israel. The encampment was forcibly dismantled the next day when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus and conduct mass arrests. [75] [76] A new encampment was built the next day. When negotiations on divestment failed, protesters broke into and occupied Hamilton Hall, [77] leading to a second NYPD raid, the arrest of more than 100 protesters, and the dismantling of the camp. [78] The arrests marked the first time Columbia allowed police to suppress campus protests since the 1968 demonstrations against the Vietnam War. [79]
As a result of the protests, Columbia University switched to hybrid learning (incorporating more online learning) for the rest of the semester. [80] The protests encouraged other actions at multiple universities. Several incidents described as antisemitic took place during the protests. [81] Organizers have said they were the work of outside agitators and non-students. [82] Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have said that the protests were not antisemitic. [83]Rebecca Karl, a professor at NYU, stated that historically, "there have been a number of confrontations that have been dealt with by universities in ways that stress that we are not a violent institution... I'm personally very concerned". [84] Wadie Said, a professor at the University of Colorado, stated, "The First Amendment is the hallmark of freedom.. You see that being curtailed based on viewpoint discrimination, which is something not supposed to be allowed under the First Amendment". [85] Jeremi Suri, a UT Austin professor, stated, "I witnessed the police – the state police, the campus police, the city police – an army of police... stormed into the student crowd and started arresting students". [86]
Jody Armour, a professor at USC, stated, "We need to stop allowing people to weaponise anti-Semitism against real, valid protests." [87] In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it." [88]
Police departments have employed a range of tactics against protesters including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls, [11] the use of tasers, [89] mass arrests, [90] and the clearing of unauthorized encampments. [89] According to The Lantern, roof top snipers were deployed at Ohio State University. [91] [92] According to CNN, journalists covering the protests in some cases have been "assaulted, arrested and barred access" by police. [93]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Afaf Nasher criticized the use of police force to break up the protests, stating it undermined academic freedom. Civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised free speech concerns over the mass arrests that were seen during the protests. [94] [95] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described some of the responses from law enforcement as "disproportionate in their impacts" [96] and was "troubled" by how they were being dealt with. [97]
A coalition of over 200 organizations published an open letter expressing support for the protests. [98] Signatories include: [99] [100]
On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests calling them antisemitic and "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians." [10] Former President Donald Trump, stated that the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was "peanuts" comparative to the ongoing protests. [101] House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at Columbia on April 24 stating that he was committed "that Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear." [29] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the "lawlessness" during the protests at Columbia University, saying it is "unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systematic intimidation or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of Oct. 7." [102]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the situation at Columbia and other campuses as "inmates run[ning] the asylum." [27] Texas Governor Greg Abbott, stated that the protesters "belonged in jail" and continued claiming that the protests were "hate-filled, antisemitic protests" and anyone engaging in them should be expelled. [28] Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised criticism to the colleges and universities that did not do enough to protect its students, which could lead to antisemitic incidents. [29] Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell described the protests as "a dangerous situation" and stated "there's also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable". [15] McConnell accused the "student radicals" of supporting Hamas. [102]
After the mass arrests seen at UT on April 24, many voiced their disapproval over Abbott's handling of the decision and the police tactics. Texas state Democrats claimed that Abbotts Department of Public Safety had "more courage to arrest peaceful student protesters than when an active shooter entered an elementary school in Uvalde." [34] U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticised the deployment of police against the Columbia University protest, describing the decision as "escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act". [32] Farrah Khan, the mayor Irvine, California, said: “I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students' rights to peacefully assemble and protest." [33]
The Fairfax County branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement denouncing the arrests of students at Virginia schools. [35] Virginia representatives Rozia Henson, Joshua Cole, Adele McClure, Nadarius Clark, and Saddam Salim released a joint statement condemning the arrests of student protestors in Virginia. [103] [104]
Addressing students at the City University of New York on April 26, imprisoned Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the protests stating "It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes", declaring protesters to be "on the right side of history". [105] College Democrats of America, the student wing of the Democratic Party, endorsed the protests and criticized President Biden's response to the protests. [36] [35]
After visiting the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said “The First Amendment comes from here, this is Philadelphia, we don’t have to do stupid like they did at Columbia.” [106]
Multiple conservative politicians and commentators spread the antisemitic conspiracy theory that George Soros funded the protest movement, including Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Ira Stoll, Isabel Vincent, and Kari Lake. [107] [108]
On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 (Glazer) on a 10-0 vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill would require the California State University system and California Community Colleges system to enact policies which would prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination if they are "intended to and reasonably understood by the victims or hearers" to either "interfere with the free exercise of rights under the First Amendment or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution" or to "call for or support genocide. The bill would also restrict the right to assemble on campuses with "reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions." The bill has received support exclusively from Jewish and Zionist organizations while being opposed by the ACLU and the University of California, Davis School of Law, stating that the bill is unconstitutional. [109] The author, Senator Steve Glazer, has made it clear that the bill is directly related to the protests by stating:
SB 1287 is about making sure that California universities are places where everyone can share their thoughts and ideas freely. We want to protect free speech and academic freedom while also preventing any form of harassment or discrimination. The need has been highlighted by incidents of antisemitism that have resulted from the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. By having the [institutions of higher education] set clear rules and reporting systems, we're making sure that universities can maintain an environment where everyone feels respected and can learn without fear of intimidation, harassment, or violence.
As stated by the ACLU:
This SB 1287 goes beyond such protections in ways that would likely lead colleges and universities to silence a range of protected speech based on viewpoint alone. It provides no clear standards for identifying forms of conduct or speech that will be “reasonably understood by the victims or hearers” to “call for or support genocide.” It is also overly broad and will likely sweep in a wide range of protected speech and expression. The lack of clear standards also means that the bill provides inadequate notice of the types of speech and expressive conduct that it prohibits. It is therefore unconstitutionally vague in addition to being overbroad.
The analysis of the bill by the Judiciary Committee notes the following:
As currently in print, the bill has several provisions that are likely to be vulnerable to a First Amendment challenge. For example, the bill requires the CSUs and CCCs to impose time, place, and manner restrictions “for public protests and demonstrations” at institutions; this would create a content-based rule that seems unlikely to survive strict scrutiny. Likewise, the bill currently requires students and potential students to agree to comply with the bill’s provisions as a condition of continued admission or admission; but given that some of the bill’s provisions are vague, threatening expulsion or denial of admission for lack of compliance is likely to chill legitimate student speech.
Although the Senate's own staff remark that the bill in its current form is probably unconstitutional in its targeting against the freedom of speech, the bill is currently pending before the Senate Appropriations Committee. It should also be noted that the bill contains a severability clause, which is often inserted when a legislature thinks that a bill or a portion thereof may be unconstitutional. [109]
Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian activist, stated, "These young people are reaffirming and demonstrating that the tide is shifting on Palestine, that the Palestinian people have solidarity not just across the United States of America, but across the world". [110]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific," anti-Semitic and must be quelled. [30] Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently to the PM's claim that universities were experiencing antisemitism, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Israel–Hamas war, [13] as well as expressing support for the pro-Palestinian protests. [25]
Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza spoke about the protests after being invited to visit the Columbia protest, saying his experience was great and he appreciated students wanting to know more and educate themselves, and that it was an honor to raise awareness about the Gaza Strip. [57] Bisan Owda stated the protests made the Gazan populace feel "heard." [111] [112] Displaced people in Gaza expressed gratitude to the student protesters, holding signs such as "Thank you, American universities". [113]
In response to the protests at Columbia, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs stated, "In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order... After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad." [114]
Chinese state media expressed support for the protests: the People's Daily wrote that American students are protesting because they "can no longer stand the double standards of the United States", while former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined." [115]
On May 2, The New York Times published an article that cited NewsGuard, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and the American cybersecurity company Recorded Future about how the media of Russia, China, and Iran have covered the events. It concluded there have been overt and covert efforts by those countries to capitalize on the protests to denigrate democracy, inflame partisan tensions, criticize Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election, support Donald Trump, and express support for Hamas and Palestinians generally. [116]
In Tunisia, the General Union of Students released a statement expressing "gratitude and admiration for the student movements at American universities, drawing inspiration from their remarkable history of war rejection, as witnessed during the Vietnam War". [117]
After the three-days of occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France, Gabriel Attal, stated he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", describing protests as "an ideology coming from North America". [118]
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticised the protestors' actions, stating that "universities are places where cultural engagement, even heated, even harsh, must be open 360 degrees, where engagement with strong ideas that are completely different, must be expressed not with violence, not with boycotts, but knowing how to engage”. [119]
The Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa University offered education to students suspended due to protests. [120]
Among the lead student groups in the coalition are the Columbia chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. The two decades-old anti-Zionism advocacy groups that protest Israel's military occupation have chapters across the country that have been key to protests on other campuses.
Pro-Palestinian student activists say their movement is anti-Zionist but not antisemitic.
It's one of several schools around the country where professors are getting arrested at demonstrations, circulating letters in support of arrested protesters and holding no-confidence votes in their administrations.
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It was unclear whether all of the participants were UCLA students, although known members of far right and white nationalist groups have been appearing at various campuses nationally in order to sow chaos and violence.
Those counter-protesters might, in turn, be met with violence from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement, said Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. The far-left has become increasingly organized over the last few years, in response to growing violence from the far-right, Clarke said, and he's worried about possible violence that could spill out from the protests.
From 1968 to the 1980s to 2024, the often intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism, took center stage in Columbia justice movements, reflecting larger campus and international struggles raging at the time. Each of these periods was unique, but parallels are clear.
Those demonstrations took a dark turn on Saturday evening, as protesters targeted some Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol that was captured in video and pictures, both inside and outside the campus.
Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion ... He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.
He kept being told: "You're interpreting it wrong", but this week there was no misinterpreting, he says, the undercurrent of antisemitism on campus. "We're coming for you," other Jewish students say they were told: "Get off our campus."
Video of the incendiary comments resurfaced online Thursday evening, forcing the school to again confront an issue at the core of the conflict rippling across campuses nationwide: the tension between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism.Diver, Tony (April 27, 2024). "Dispatch: Jewish students confront extreme anti-Semitism at Columbia protest camp". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
At Boston's Northeastern University, Police in riot gear cleared an encampment after crowds were heard chanting antisemitic slurs including "kill the Jews".
This article documents an
ongoing civil conflict. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be
unreliable. The
latest updates to this article
may not reflect the most current information. (May 2024) |
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses | |
---|---|
Part of Israel–Hamas war protests | |
Date | April 17, 2024 – present (2 weeks and 3 days) |
Location | United States
Other countries
[1]
|
Caused by | Opposition to |
Goals | Universities divesting from Israel |
Methods | Protests, civil disobedience, picketing |
Casualties | |
Injuries | 15-25+ protesters hospitalized [3] |
Arrested | 2,300+ protesters [4] |
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated on April 17, 2024, spreading to other universities in the United States and other countries, as a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. [5] [6] As of May 3, over 2,300 protesters have been arrested, [4] including faculty members and professors, [1] [7] on more than 40 U.S. campuses. [8] The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel and its affiliated entities, transparency over financial ties, [9] and amnesty for protesters. [10] In response, universities have suspended students, with some also expelled. [1] [11]
Demonstrations spread on April 22, when students at several universities on the East Coast—including New York University, Yale University, Emerson College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Tufts University—began occupying campuses, as well as experiencing mass arrests in New York and at Yale. [12] Protests emerged throughout the U.S. in the following days, with protest camps established on over 40 campuses. [13] On April 25, mass arrests occurred at Emerson College, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas, [14] as protests spread to Europe, Australia and Canada. A continued crackdown on April 27 led to approximately 275 arrests at Washington, Northeastern, Arizona State, and Indiana University Bloomington. [15] [16] Several professors were among those detained at Emory University, [11] and at Washington University in St. Louis, university employees were arrested. [15] On April 28, counter-protests were held at MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). [17] On April 30, approximately 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York, [18] followed by over 200 arrests at the UCLA campus occupation on May 1. [19] As of May 2, encampments have taken place on 80 U.S. campuses. [20]
The occupations have resulted in the closure of Columbia University and the Cal Poly Humboldt for the remainder of the semester; [21] [22] votes of no confidence initiated by faculty members in California, Georgia, and Texas; [15] and Portland State University pausing its financial ties with Boeing over its ties to Israel. [23] Over 200 groups have expressed support for the protests, [24] as well as Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and multiple progressive members of Congress. [25] The protests have been criticized by President Joe Biden, [10] former president Donald Trump, [26] U.S. governors, [27] [28] [29] and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as antisemitic. [30] Some Jewish student demonstrators have insisted the protests are not antisemitic. [31] The police response to the protests has also been criticized by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [32], Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, [33] and various Democrats. [34] [35] [36]
Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils relating to the Israel–Hamas war have occurred across the U.S. since the conflict's start on October 7, 2023, alongside other Israel–Hamas war protests around the world. Pro-Palestinian protesters criticized U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel and Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and its war conduct, which some called a genocide. [37] [38]
Many of the protests involve student demands that their schools sever financial ties to Israel and companies involved in the conflict, as well as an end to U.S. military support for Israel, [39] [28] as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. [9] Some protests have also demanded that the universities sever academic ties with Israel, support a ceasefire in Gaza, and disclose investments. [40] Student demands have varied among the different occupations, including for universities to stop accepting research money from Israel that supports the military, and an end to college endowments investing with managers who profit from Israeli entities. [9] Student protesters called on Columbia University to financially divest from any company with business ties to the Israeli government, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon. [41] NYU Alumni for Palestine called on New York University to "terminate all vendor contracts with companies playing active roles in the military occupation in Palestine and ongoing genocide in Gaza, namely Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar and General Electric". [42] Pro-Palestinian protesters demanded that the University of Washington cut ties with Boeing. [43]
After several mass arrests, the demands have also included amnesty for students and faculty who were disciplined or fired for protesting. The protests on many campuses are created by coalitions of student groups, and are largely independent, but some have claimed that they were inspired by other campus protests. All have disavowed violence. [44] [10]
Some of the protests are organized by groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, founded in 1996 as a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization; IfNotNow, founded during the 2014 Gaza War; and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has over 200 North American chapters. [45] [5] In late 2023, SJP chapters were banned or suspended on university campuses at Brandeis University, [46] Columbia University, [47] and Rutgers University. [48] In Florida, chapters were ordered to disband. [49] In response, SJP chapters at the University of Florida and University of South Florida filed federal lawsuits. [50] Pro-Palestinian students were also doxxed by Accuracy in Media at Harvard, Columbia, and Yale University. [51] [52]
Participants include students, faculty and non-campus individuals of various backgrounds, [53] with both Jews and Muslims participating. [10] Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia have said that their movement is anti-Zionist, [6] and several protests on campuses have been organized by anti-Zionist groups. [5] Protesters have identified a wide range of other ideologies as motivating them, such as antiracism, intersectionality, anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, policing, the impact of climate change, and Indigenous rights. [54] Maoist revolutionary slogans were listed on blackboards among protesters who breached Hamilton Hall at Columbia. [55] Protesters have criticized Joe Biden and his administration's support for Israel. [56] The protests have hosted teach-ins, interfaith prayer, and musical performances. [10] Some protests invited people to tour or speak, such as Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, who was invited to and visited Columbia's protest. [57] [58]
Concern has been raised over the presence of outside groups at protests. [53] Far-right agitators and white nationalists have been spotted at some protests seeking to sow chaos and violence. [59] Experts have raised concerns over far-right groups attempting to infiltrate protests to cause harm, and subsequent reactions from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement. [60] During arrests in New York on May 2, police announced that nearly half of those arrested at Columbia and CCNY were unaffiliated with either school. Mayor Eric Adams stated that they had seen evidence that outside agitators and "professionals" such as Lisa Fithian and the wife of Sami Al-Arian had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate their protests. [61]
Many protesters have donned masks and kaffiyehs, which has increased concerns from provosts and deans that outsiders have infiltrated protests. Some Jewish students fear that the anonymity gives greater license for evading consequence. Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League stated that individuals dressed like "bank robbers" have the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side." Protesters have expressed fears of having reputational and professional harm from identification. [62]
The Guardian described the protests "perhaps the most significant student movement since the anti-Vietnam campus protests of the late 1960s". [63] Protests at Columbia University have been compared to the 1968 protests due to their scale and tactics, [64] and as echoing the 1968 movement. [65] [66] According to The Independent, protesters studied the historical movement. A Columbia undergraduate said that student organizers learned from the experiences of older generations, calling the movement "completely built" on the legacy of the 1968 protests. [67]
Former Columbia University student leaders from the era of protests against apartheid in the 1980's, including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and historian Barbara Ransby, described the "intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism" as a focal point in the movements of 1968, the 1980's, and 2024 — and that the similarities are clear among the unique periods. [68] The New York Times stated that scholars noted the current protests are starkly different than those against the Vietnam War or apartheid South Africa. According to Timothy Naftali, protests against Vietnam in the 1960's did not result in a constituency that felt attacked as an ethnicity, and that the "demonstrations now are creating a feeling of insecurity in a much bigger way than the antiwar demonstrations during Vietnam did." [54]
Far-right influencers and some Republicans have portrayed the protests as violent, a "Marxist takeover," and "terrorism." [60] The New York Times noted that the protests have come during a presidential election year in which Democrats have "harnessed promises of stability and normalcy to win critical recent elections," and that the protests come as a Republican messaging opportunity to divide Democrats. [69] Johns Hopkins political science professor Daniel Schlozman remarked that Republican fixation on criticizing universities as bastions of leftist ideology has resulted in them portraying the protests as examples of radicalism on race and gender issues and highlighting them as a way to divide the Democratic coalition. [70]
As of 28 April 2024 [update], protests that occurred outside of the US were "sporadic and smaller, and none [started] a wider student movement." The "partisan political context" was described as a reason for the intensity of protests in the United States. [70] The status of Columbia as an Ivy League school, its proximity to New York City and national news media, and its large population of Jewish students were described as fueling increased media attention and political scrutiny that helped spread the protests. [70] NPR described the protests abroad as "a growing global student movement", with student protests in the United Kingdom focusing on "an increasingly high-profile nationwide campaign to end British arms exports to Israel". [71] Although not at the intensity of protests in the United States, the protests have gained traction abroad, inspired by protests in the United States. [72]
Several protests have been criticized for antisemitism. [73] Some protesters have asserted that such claims are a weaponization of antisemitism, [31] and denied that protesters are antisemitic. [6]
In the United States, protests have occurred on university campuses in: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma. Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. [1]
Outside the United States, protests have occurred at universities in: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. [1]
A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City in April 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war related protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, [74] [75] on the university's campus, demanding the university divest from Israel. The encampment was forcibly dismantled the next day when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus and conduct mass arrests. [75] [76] A new encampment was built the next day. When negotiations on divestment failed, protesters broke into and occupied Hamilton Hall, [77] leading to a second NYPD raid, the arrest of more than 100 protesters, and the dismantling of the camp. [78] The arrests marked the first time Columbia allowed police to suppress campus protests since the 1968 demonstrations against the Vietnam War. [79]
As a result of the protests, Columbia University switched to hybrid learning (incorporating more online learning) for the rest of the semester. [80] The protests encouraged other actions at multiple universities. Several incidents described as antisemitic took place during the protests. [81] Organizers have said they were the work of outside agitators and non-students. [82] Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have said that the protests were not antisemitic. [83]Rebecca Karl, a professor at NYU, stated that historically, "there have been a number of confrontations that have been dealt with by universities in ways that stress that we are not a violent institution... I'm personally very concerned". [84] Wadie Said, a professor at the University of Colorado, stated, "The First Amendment is the hallmark of freedom.. You see that being curtailed based on viewpoint discrimination, which is something not supposed to be allowed under the First Amendment". [85] Jeremi Suri, a UT Austin professor, stated, "I witnessed the police – the state police, the campus police, the city police – an army of police... stormed into the student crowd and started arresting students". [86]
Jody Armour, a professor at USC, stated, "We need to stop allowing people to weaponise anti-Semitism against real, valid protests." [87] In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it." [88]
Police departments have employed a range of tactics against protesters including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls, [11] the use of tasers, [89] mass arrests, [90] and the clearing of unauthorized encampments. [89] According to The Lantern, roof top snipers were deployed at Ohio State University. [91] [92] According to CNN, journalists covering the protests in some cases have been "assaulted, arrested and barred access" by police. [93]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Afaf Nasher criticized the use of police force to break up the protests, stating it undermined academic freedom. Civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised free speech concerns over the mass arrests that were seen during the protests. [94] [95] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described some of the responses from law enforcement as "disproportionate in their impacts" [96] and was "troubled" by how they were being dealt with. [97]
A coalition of over 200 organizations published an open letter expressing support for the protests. [98] Signatories include: [99] [100]
On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests calling them antisemitic and "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians." [10] Former President Donald Trump, stated that the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was "peanuts" comparative to the ongoing protests. [101] House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at Columbia on April 24 stating that he was committed "that Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear." [29] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the "lawlessness" during the protests at Columbia University, saying it is "unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systematic intimidation or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of Oct. 7." [102]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the situation at Columbia and other campuses as "inmates run[ning] the asylum." [27] Texas Governor Greg Abbott, stated that the protesters "belonged in jail" and continued claiming that the protests were "hate-filled, antisemitic protests" and anyone engaging in them should be expelled. [28] Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised criticism to the colleges and universities that did not do enough to protect its students, which could lead to antisemitic incidents. [29] Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell described the protests as "a dangerous situation" and stated "there's also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable". [15] McConnell accused the "student radicals" of supporting Hamas. [102]
After the mass arrests seen at UT on April 24, many voiced their disapproval over Abbott's handling of the decision and the police tactics. Texas state Democrats claimed that Abbotts Department of Public Safety had "more courage to arrest peaceful student protesters than when an active shooter entered an elementary school in Uvalde." [34] U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticised the deployment of police against the Columbia University protest, describing the decision as "escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act". [32] Farrah Khan, the mayor Irvine, California, said: “I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students' rights to peacefully assemble and protest." [33]
The Fairfax County branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement denouncing the arrests of students at Virginia schools. [35] Virginia representatives Rozia Henson, Joshua Cole, Adele McClure, Nadarius Clark, and Saddam Salim released a joint statement condemning the arrests of student protestors in Virginia. [103] [104]
Addressing students at the City University of New York on April 26, imprisoned Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the protests stating "It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes", declaring protesters to be "on the right side of history". [105] College Democrats of America, the student wing of the Democratic Party, endorsed the protests and criticized President Biden's response to the protests. [36] [35]
After visiting the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said “The First Amendment comes from here, this is Philadelphia, we don’t have to do stupid like they did at Columbia.” [106]
Multiple conservative politicians and commentators spread the antisemitic conspiracy theory that George Soros funded the protest movement, including Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Ira Stoll, Isabel Vincent, and Kari Lake. [107] [108]
On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 (Glazer) on a 10-0 vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill would require the California State University system and California Community Colleges system to enact policies which would prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination if they are "intended to and reasonably understood by the victims or hearers" to either "interfere with the free exercise of rights under the First Amendment or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution" or to "call for or support genocide. The bill would also restrict the right to assemble on campuses with "reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions." The bill has received support exclusively from Jewish and Zionist organizations while being opposed by the ACLU and the University of California, Davis School of Law, stating that the bill is unconstitutional. [109] The author, Senator Steve Glazer, has made it clear that the bill is directly related to the protests by stating:
SB 1287 is about making sure that California universities are places where everyone can share their thoughts and ideas freely. We want to protect free speech and academic freedom while also preventing any form of harassment or discrimination. The need has been highlighted by incidents of antisemitism that have resulted from the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. By having the [institutions of higher education] set clear rules and reporting systems, we're making sure that universities can maintain an environment where everyone feels respected and can learn without fear of intimidation, harassment, or violence.
As stated by the ACLU:
This SB 1287 goes beyond such protections in ways that would likely lead colleges and universities to silence a range of protected speech based on viewpoint alone. It provides no clear standards for identifying forms of conduct or speech that will be “reasonably understood by the victims or hearers” to “call for or support genocide.” It is also overly broad and will likely sweep in a wide range of protected speech and expression. The lack of clear standards also means that the bill provides inadequate notice of the types of speech and expressive conduct that it prohibits. It is therefore unconstitutionally vague in addition to being overbroad.
The analysis of the bill by the Judiciary Committee notes the following:
As currently in print, the bill has several provisions that are likely to be vulnerable to a First Amendment challenge. For example, the bill requires the CSUs and CCCs to impose time, place, and manner restrictions “for public protests and demonstrations” at institutions; this would create a content-based rule that seems unlikely to survive strict scrutiny. Likewise, the bill currently requires students and potential students to agree to comply with the bill’s provisions as a condition of continued admission or admission; but given that some of the bill’s provisions are vague, threatening expulsion or denial of admission for lack of compliance is likely to chill legitimate student speech.
Although the Senate's own staff remark that the bill in its current form is probably unconstitutional in its targeting against the freedom of speech, the bill is currently pending before the Senate Appropriations Committee. It should also be noted that the bill contains a severability clause, which is often inserted when a legislature thinks that a bill or a portion thereof may be unconstitutional. [109]
Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian activist, stated, "These young people are reaffirming and demonstrating that the tide is shifting on Palestine, that the Palestinian people have solidarity not just across the United States of America, but across the world". [110]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific," anti-Semitic and must be quelled. [30] Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently to the PM's claim that universities were experiencing antisemitism, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Israel–Hamas war, [13] as well as expressing support for the pro-Palestinian protests. [25]
Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza spoke about the protests after being invited to visit the Columbia protest, saying his experience was great and he appreciated students wanting to know more and educate themselves, and that it was an honor to raise awareness about the Gaza Strip. [57] Bisan Owda stated the protests made the Gazan populace feel "heard." [111] [112] Displaced people in Gaza expressed gratitude to the student protesters, holding signs such as "Thank you, American universities". [113]
In response to the protests at Columbia, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs stated, "In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order... After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad." [114]
Chinese state media expressed support for the protests: the People's Daily wrote that American students are protesting because they "can no longer stand the double standards of the United States", while former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined." [115]
On May 2, The New York Times published an article that cited NewsGuard, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and the American cybersecurity company Recorded Future about how the media of Russia, China, and Iran have covered the events. It concluded there have been overt and covert efforts by those countries to capitalize on the protests to denigrate democracy, inflame partisan tensions, criticize Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election, support Donald Trump, and express support for Hamas and Palestinians generally. [116]
In Tunisia, the General Union of Students released a statement expressing "gratitude and admiration for the student movements at American universities, drawing inspiration from their remarkable history of war rejection, as witnessed during the Vietnam War". [117]
After the three-days of occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France, Gabriel Attal, stated he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", describing protests as "an ideology coming from North America". [118]
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticised the protestors' actions, stating that "universities are places where cultural engagement, even heated, even harsh, must be open 360 degrees, where engagement with strong ideas that are completely different, must be expressed not with violence, not with boycotts, but knowing how to engage”. [119]
The Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa University offered education to students suspended due to protests. [120]
Among the lead student groups in the coalition are the Columbia chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. The two decades-old anti-Zionism advocacy groups that protest Israel's military occupation have chapters across the country that have been key to protests on other campuses.
Pro-Palestinian student activists say their movement is anti-Zionist but not antisemitic.
It's one of several schools around the country where professors are getting arrested at demonstrations, circulating letters in support of arrested protesters and holding no-confidence votes in their administrations.
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It was unclear whether all of the participants were UCLA students, although known members of far right and white nationalist groups have been appearing at various campuses nationally in order to sow chaos and violence.
Those counter-protesters might, in turn, be met with violence from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement, said Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. The far-left has become increasingly organized over the last few years, in response to growing violence from the far-right, Clarke said, and he's worried about possible violence that could spill out from the protests.
From 1968 to the 1980s to 2024, the often intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism, took center stage in Columbia justice movements, reflecting larger campus and international struggles raging at the time. Each of these periods was unique, but parallels are clear.
Those demonstrations took a dark turn on Saturday evening, as protesters targeted some Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol that was captured in video and pictures, both inside and outside the campus.
Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion ... He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.
He kept being told: "You're interpreting it wrong", but this week there was no misinterpreting, he says, the undercurrent of antisemitism on campus. "We're coming for you," other Jewish students say they were told: "Get off our campus."
Video of the incendiary comments resurfaced online Thursday evening, forcing the school to again confront an issue at the core of the conflict rippling across campuses nationwide: the tension between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism.Diver, Tony (April 27, 2024). "Dispatch: Jewish students confront extreme anti-Semitism at Columbia protest camp". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
At Boston's Northeastern University, Police in riot gear cleared an encampment after crowds were heard chanting antisemitic slurs including "kill the Jews".