- Written by James Fitzgerald & Bernd Debusman Jr.
- bbc news
Protests against the war in Gaza have spread from Columbia University and Yale University to other universities as authorities scramble to spread the proliferation of protests.
Dozens of students were arrested at Yale University on Monday, and Columbia University canceled in-person classes over concerns about anti-Semitism on campus.
Similar protest “camps” have occurred on other campuses, including Berkeley, California.
School officials are increasing pressure to calm tensions on campus.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, demonstrations and heated debates over the Israel-Gaza war and free speech have rocked major U.S. university campuses.
Students on both sides say incidents of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are on the rise.
Campus protests gained global attention just last week when New York City police were called to the Columbia University campus in New York and arrested dozens of protesters.
Since then, campus tensions have escalated at many educational institutions in the United States.
On Monday, nearly 50 protesters were arrested at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., after the number of demonstrators swelled to hundreds over the weekend.
The university said those detained ignored “multiple requests” to leave.
Many of the protesters called on Yale University to cut investments in military weapons manufacturers.
Protest camps have also been set up at other universities across the country, including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College, and Tufts University.
At New York University, about eight miles (12 kilometers) south of Columbia, protesters set up tents across from the Stern School of Management.
As is the case with some other universities, New York University protesters are calling on the school to disclose and sell “funds and donations from arms manufacturers and companies with an interest in the Israeli occupation.” I am asking you to do so.
However, the campus protests were marred by accusations of anti-Semitism.
In one example, a video posted online showed demonstrators near Colombia expressing support for Hamas attacks on Israel.
Members of the protest group denied anti-Semitism and said their criticism was for the state of Israel and its supporters.
But on Monday, Columbia University announced that all classes would be held virtually, and Columbia University President Minoush Shafiq said in a statement that there had been “threatening and harassing behavior.”
Students who did not live on campus were advised to stay away.
The university's rabbi also reportedly sent a message to 300 Columbia Jewish students warning them to avoid campus until the situation “dramatically improves.”
Dr. Shafiq said in a statement that tensions on campus were “exploited and amplified by people who are not affiliated with Columbia and came to campus to pursue their own agendas.”
A working group has been established “to resolve this crisis,” she added.
The university and Dr. Shafiq (who visited Parliament House last week to testify before a parliamentary committee about the university's efforts to combat anti-Semitism) are being asked to resolve the situation.
A group of federal lawmakers led by New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik signed a letter Monday calling for Stefanik to resign, citing her “failure to quell an insurrection of students and agitators calling for a riot.” Terrorism against Jewish students.”
The protests in New York also attracted the attention of Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Dan Goldman and Kathy Manning, who toured the campus.
Rep. Gottheimer said Columbia University “will pay a price” if it fails to make sure Jewish students feel welcome and safe on campus.
Meanwhile, House Education Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, said in a letter posted online that “Columbia's failure to continue to restore order and safety” is contingent on federal aid. “Immediate action must be taken,'' he said. It has been fixed.”
In response to the protests, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team and prominent Columbia University alumnus, also warned that he would stop supporting the university “until corrective action is taken.” did.
However, some university faculty have criticized Columbia University's response to the protests and the police presence.
In a statement sent to the BBC on Monday evening, Columbia's own Knight First Amendment Institute called for an “urgent course correction.”
Citing university regulations, the newspaper argued that external authorities should only become involved when there is a “clear and present danger to persons, property, or the substantial functioning of a university department.”
“It is not clear to us how the encampment or protest, even if it was unauthorized, could have posed such a danger,” the statement said.
Asked about the campus protests on Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned not only “anti-Semitic protests” but also “people who don't understand what's happening to Palestinians.” .
Similar to the university protests, there have been widespread demonstrations in the United States over events in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have recently blocked major roads across the country, restricting access to airports including Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, as well as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and New York's Brooklyn Bridge.
