US Struggles To Contain Growing Campus Protests Over Israel-Hamas War In Gaza

• The Israel-Hamas war is disrupting academic activities thousands of miles away in the US.

• In the last few days, big protests have rocked major universities in the US.

• They are demanding that the US cuts it investments supporting Israel in the war.

Eko Hot Blog reports that student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of university campuses in the United States (US) following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.

The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself.

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Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities.

The protests intensified on Wednesday as President Joe Biden signed a $26 billion aid for Israel into law.

The bill includes billions in weapons, as well as some humanitarian assistance.

It provides:

• $5.2 billion to restock Israel’s missile and rocket defense systems the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Iron Beam — $4 billion is for Iron Dome and David’s Sling, and $1.2 billion is for Iron Beam.
• $4.4 billion to resupply the Defense Department for military equipment and other assistance sent to Israel.
• $3.5 billion available for weapons systems and defense services for Israel through the Foreign Military Financing Program.
• A little more than $9 billion for humanitarian assistance.

The bill includes provisions to report whether any assistance to Gaza was diverted by Hamas.

A look at protests on campuses in recent days:

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Pro-Palestinian student protesters set up a tent encampment at the Ivy League university in New York last week.

Police first tried to clear the encampment on Thursday, when they arrested more than 100 protesters.

But the move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup.

University officials said early Wednesday that they were extending a deadline for protesters to clear out.

They said the demonstrators had committed to removing a significant number of tents and agreed that only students would remain at the encampment.

They also said they would make the encampment more welcoming by banning any discriminatory language or harassing messages. The encampment on the upper Manhattan campus appeared calm and a little smaller on Wednesday morning.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia on Wednesday to meet with Jewish students over concerns about antisemitism on college campuses. Johnson said Israel and Jewish students on campus will not stand alone. Protesters nearby said they couldn’t hear him and he responded, “Enjoy your free speech.”

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Dozens of police officers and state troopers formed a line to prevent students at the University of Texas at Austin from marching through the campus on Wednesday, eventually clashing with the protesters and detaining multiple people.

Protesters said they had planned a walkout and march to the main campus lawn, where students would occupy the space and host events throughout the afternoon.

But the university said in a statement that it would “not tolerate disruptions” like those at other campuses.

At least 20 people were taken into custody, according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Sheridan Nolen. Nolen said the agency responded at the request of university officials and Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott said on the social platform X that the protesters belong in jail, and that any student who joins what he called hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in the state should be expelled.

A photographer covering the demonstration for local Fox affiliate, Fox 7 Austin, was among those arrested after being caught in a push-and-pull between law enforcement and students. The station confirmed the arrest in its online story.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Police removed several tents at the University of Southern California on Wednesday, then got into a back-and-forth tent tugging match with protesters before falling back.

At one point, USC police detained a man and put him in a vehicle. A crowd surrounded the car and chanted “Let him go!” and the officers eventually did so.

The man waved at demonstrators to indicate they should return to the park. The protesters then began marching in a circle, as public safety officers stood by.

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Two pro-Palestinian students participating in a protest on campus were arrested Tuesday and charged with criminal trespassing, after “repeated warnings to be quiet,” said university spokesperson Ben Johnson.

About 50 protesters had gathered at a campus amphitheater to share stories about their connections to the Palestinian people before marching.

While stopping at a building on the university’s medical campus, two individuals became “disruptive,” Johnson said. Per university policy, the students who were arrested will be referred to the student conduct office.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Trying to stay ahead of protests, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, locked most gates into its famous Harvard Yard ahead of classes Monday and limited access to those with school identification.

The school also posted signs warning against setting up tents or tables on campus without permission.

Those efforts didn’t stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday, which came after a rally against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, HUMBOLDT

Students at the university used furniture, tents, chains and zip ties to block entrances to an academic and administrative building on Monday.

Protesters chanted, “We are not afraid of you!” before officers in riot gear pushed into them at the building’s entrance, video shows. University officials closed the campus through this weekend, saying instruction would continue to be remote.

They said in a statement Tuesday that students had occupied a second building and three students had been arrested. On Wednesday officials said some unidentified people who are not students were also inside one of the occupied buildings. Humboldt is located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

EMERSON COLLEGE

About 80 students and other supporters at Emerson College occupied a busy courtyard on the downtown Boston campus Tuesday.

College officials on Wednesday warned the students that some of the protesters were in violation of city ordinances, including by blocking a right-of-way and fire hydrants, and violating noise laws.

The school said the alley where some protesters have set up tents is owned by the city, and Boston police have warned of imminent law enforcement action.

The college said in a statement that campus police were offering escort services for students after officials received credible reports of some protesters engaging in “targeted harassment and intimidation of Jewish supporters of Israel.”

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters earlier this week. Police on Wednesday said that 133 protesters had been taken into custody.

They said all were released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

An encampment at the center of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor had grown to about 40 tents on Tuesday.

Almost every student there wore a mask, which was handed to them when they entered. Student protesters declined to identify themselves to reporters, saying they feared retribution by the university.

One student stood near the encampment passing out small flags of Israel, saying he didn’t want Jewish students walking through campus to only see the protesters.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar attended a protest at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, hours after nine demonstrators were arrested when police took down an encampment in front of the library.

Hundreds had rallied to demand their release. Omar’s daughter was among the protesters arrested at Columbia last week.

On Wednesday, more than 80 professors and assistant professors signed a letter calling on the University of Minnesota’s president to drop any charges, lift any ban on the arrestees’ presence on campus and to allow future encampments.

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YALE UNIVERSITY

Police arrested 48 protesters, including four who were not students, after they refused to leave an encampment on a plaza at the center of Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut, on Monday.

Click here to watch our video of the week: