Pro-Palestine Protests at New York Universities Lead to Hundreds of Arrests
Demonstrations against Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza have continued to roil university campuses across the United States, leading to mass arrests and confrontations with counter-protesters.
Report:
Nearly 300 people were arrested after police responded to pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University and the City College of New York late Tuesday, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) reported a total of 282 arrests, with 173 occurring at City College and 119 at Columbia University.
The crackdown came after New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed the protests were “led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university.” However, the police have yet to provide evidence to back up this assertion.
Meanwhile, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), pro-Israel counter-protesters sought to tear down a pro-Palestine encampment, with witnesses reporting objects being thrown and attempts to hit protesters with sticks.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban added that since last October 7, when the current conflict between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel began, the NYPD has responded to more than 2,400 protests across the city, with approximately 1,100 related to the situation in Israel and Palestine. “We’ve worked to keep protesters safe and protect their first amendment rights,” he said.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian, Francesca Albanese, condemned the “violent actions of police at US universities smashing protests against an ongoing genocide perpetrated by a foreign country.”
The White House, however, appeared to back the crackdown, with spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre linking the demonstrations to anti-Semitism and stating that “students and communities [should] feel safe.”
Meanwhile, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), pro-Israel counter-protesters sought to tear down a pro-Palestine encampment, with witnesses reporting objects being thrown and attempts to hit protesters with sticks.
The protests, which began in April, have served as a flashpoint for the wider movement to protest Israel’s war on Gaza. Israel has waged a relentless offensive on the Palestinian enclave since last October’s cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed some 1,200 people. More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed and over 76,000 others injured, and Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip.
