Protests in the United States against the war between the Israeli Army and Hamas in Gaza are spreading across the country's university campuses. Protesters demand that educational centers break ties with any project that benefits the Israeli government or companies that finance the ongoing conflict, in which more than 34,300 people have already died. The arrests by the authorities, in an attempt to, they believe, safeguard public order, are seen by many as a violation of the right to freedom of expression. Far from silencing the voices, the arrests have served as inspiration for other educational centers that have joined the demonstration, including prestigious universities, such as Yale or Harvard.
Protests, arrests and accusations of both anti-Semitism and violation of freedom of expression. Demonstrations against Israel's war in Gaza take over US universities.
But as protests grow, so do arrests.
Below, a look at the mobilizations that shake up the most prestigious university campuses in the country, which has positioned itself as Israel's greatest ally, and which have already generated the rejection of Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
What triggered the wave of protests at US universities?
Activists show their strong opposition to the ongoing Israeli offensive, which has already left more than 34,300 dead in the Palestinian enclave.
The first of the current wave of demonstrations took place at Columbia University. Dozens of students set up a tent area at the New York university last week.
Last Thursday, April 18, The Police tried to evict the camp, when they arrested more than 100 people.
A wave of pro-#Palestine protests have swept through dozens of universities across the US after Columbia University students set up encampments on campus, demanding that their university divest from companies with ties to #Israel.
Classes have been canceled at various schools as… pic.twitter.com/3JTol6lTcK— Palestine Info Center (@palinfoen) April 25, 2024
But the arrests were unsuccessful in the attempt to stop the protest. Instead, it has served as an inspiration to students from universities across the country, who have joined.
Furthermore, the protesters in Columbia have not given up on their demands, and have even regrouped.
What are the demands of the students?
In general terms, they ask educational centers to separate themselves from any company that is promoting military efforts in that territory and, in some cases, from the Jewish-majority State itself.
But demands also vary from campus to campus.. Between them:
- Stop doing business with military weapons manufacturers that supply weapons to Israel.
- Stop accepting research money from Israel for projects that help the country's military efforts.
- Stop investing university funds in money managers who profit from Israeli companies or contractors.
- Be more transparent about what money is received from Israel and what it is used for.
Violation of freedom of expression or acts of “anti-Semitism”?
The arrests of those who raise their voices against the conflict in the United States' largest ally in the Middle East are branded by activists as a violation of freedom of expression.
For others, the demonstrations, including the Israeli government itself, represent acts of “anti-Semitism.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged university presidents to take stronger action to curb what he considers to be expressions of “hate.”
Read alsoPro-Palestinian protests proliferate at US universities despite arrests
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, visited Columbia on Wednesday, April 24, to meet with Jewish students, amid what he highlighted as concerns about “anti-Semitism” on college campuses.
Johnson stated that Israel and Jewish students on campus “will not be alone.” In an apparent act of rebellion, protesters who were near him pointed out that they could not hear him, to which the legislator responded: “Enjoy your freedom of expression.”
As protests spread, arrests increase
From the east coast to the west, and across the Midwest, voices from educational campuses against the war in Gaza are spreading. The students of the university have already joined the protests. Yale University, in Connecticut, New York University, Harvard, University of Michigan, California State Polytechnic, Humboldt, University of Minnesota, University of Berkeley, University of Southern California, and Emerson Collegein Boston.
Arrests of students have also been recorded in these places.
On Wednesday, April 24, Police arrested students protesting at the University of Southern California. It happened just hours after authorities also arrested activists at the University of Texas.
Despite the protesters' demands, the leaders of some places have already made it clear that they refuse to follow their requests.
At Yale, where dozens of students were arrested on Monday, April 22, Yale President Peter Salovey said in a message to the campus that, after hearing from students, the Yale Investor Responsibility Advisory Committee the university had recommended not divesting from military weapons manufacturers.
For her part, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said there should be “serious conversations” about how the institution can help in the Middle East. But “we cannot allow one group to dictate the terms,” she said in a statement last Monday.
How much money do US universities receive from Israel?
On many campuses, students pushing for divestment say they don't know the extent of their universities' connections to Israel.
Universities with large endowments spread their money across a wide range of investments, and it can be difficult or impossible to identify where all the funds are going.
The U.S. Department of Education requires colleges to report gifts and contracts from foreign sources, but there have been problems with underreporting and colleges sometimes skirt reporting requirements by directing money through separate foundations working on their behalf, highlights a report by the US news agency, AP.
However, according to a Department of Education database, around 100 US universities have reported donations or contracts from Israel totaling $375 million over the past two decades. However, the data says little about where the money came from or how it was used.
Some students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have published the names of several researchers who accept money from the Israeli Ministry of Defense for projects that the students say could help with drone navigation and protection against missiles. In total, pro-Palestinian students point out, MIT has accepted more than $11 million from the Department of Defense over the last decade.
With AP, Reuters and local media
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