Student Anti-Israel Protests Persist: Over 550 Arrests Recorded

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Photo : AFP

Harvard, Columbia, Yale, UC Berkeley, and several other top US universities are currently witnessing massive demonstrations against Israel. Students are demanding that their institutions cease investments in Israel and in weapons that contribute to the conflict in Gaza. The protests have escalated, resulting in nearly 550 arrests across major campuses in the past week alone, as per a Reuters tally.

These demonstrations, often unauthorized, have prompted university authorities to call on police to intervene and clear the protests. Law enforcement actions have escalated, with reports of Tasers and tear gas being used against student protesters at Emory University in Atlanta. Additionally, officers in riot gear and mounted on horseback have dispersed protests at the University of Texas in Austin.

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A video circulating on social media shows a professor, Caroline Fohlin, being knocked down and handcuffed by police at Emory University while attempting to intervene in a student's arrest.

The student protesters assert their solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll has tragically surpassed 34,305, according to the territory's health ministry. They demand that universities divest from entities linked to Israel and the arms trade fueling the conflict, including BlackRock, Google, Amazon's cloud service, Lockheed Martin, and Airbnb.

However, their demands face significant opposition. University administrators and lawmakers have long rejected the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, viewing it as antisemitic and challenging the legitimacy of the Jewish state.

At Columbia University, the focal point of the protests, a standoff ensues between university officials and students over the removal of a tent encampment erected two weeks ago in protest against the Israeli offensive.

While US President Joe Biden has condemned "blatant anti-Semitism" on college campuses, he also supports freedom of expression at universities. Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union have criticized the arrest of protesters, emphasizing the importance of respecting their right to free speech.

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