April 24, 2024 - US university protests

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday criticized the ongoing protests on US college campuses, saying they "are not only antisemitic, but also inciting terrorism" in a post on his X account. 

"To our Jewish brothers and sisters — we stand with you," Gallant said, calling for university officials and US authorities to "act now to defend Jewish youth."

Some background: More than 130 people were arrested at New York University at a pro-Palestinian protest Monday night. NYU said it asked for help from the NYPD after school officials said there were “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents” during a protest. That led to scenes of a chaotic confrontation between protesters and police in full riot gear. An NYPD official said the demonstrations weren’t violent overall, except for a few bottles thrown at police officers.

Yale University police arrested 45 protesters Monday and charged them with criminal trespassing after they refused orders to leave, said police in New Haven, Connecticut, though dozens of protesters remained Tuesday morning.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to visit Jewish students at Columbia University on Wednesday and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses,” according to his office.

Brown University said about 90 students were seen setting up an encampment and protest around 6 am ET on Wednesday, according to a university spokesperson, which is a "violation of University policy."

The students on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus have been told they will be subject to "conduct proceedings," according to spokesperson Brian Clark.

"We have been troubled by reports of violence, harassment and intimidation at some encampments on other campuses, but we have not seen that kind of behavior at Brown. Any such behavior would not be tolerated," the spokesperson added.

He also said there have been incorrect reports that the university's policy prohibiting encampments was established this year. It has existed since 2011, but it was reformatted and moved to a different website about the school's policies as part of a yearslong project, according to Clark.  

As universities across the US continue to see pro-Palestinian protests, data shows that only about 7% of younger Americans strongly favor the US providing military aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, while 29% strongly oppose it.

Meanwhile, about 30% of US adults over the age of 65 strongly favor providing military aid, while about 9% strongly oppose, according to Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, there is not a big age difference among US adults on whether the country should provide aid to Gaza, with 25-33% strongly in favor of giving support, according to Pew Research Center.

As pro-Palestinian protests spread throughout college campuses nationwide, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York condemned the way administrators like Columbia University President Minouche Shafik have handled the issue on behalf of the student protesters.

“Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act,” wrote Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a post on X Tuesday. “It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Her comment came a day after a fellow New York Democrat, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, accused Columbia of caving to “right wing pressure.”

Overnight, protesters at Columbia University were seen removing tents from the lawn and carrying them off campus or relocating to other parts of the campus. 

According to the university, student protesters "have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents." 

"Student protesters will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave," according to the university. 

A Columbia spokesperson said student protesters “have taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language," and will comply with FDNY safety requirements.

Columbia University said it has extended negotiations with student activists over the dismantling of the pro-Palestinian encampment that has cast its campus into days of turmoil, a spokesperson for the school said.

The statement came just hours after Columbia’s president announced it had given protesters a midnight deadline to reach an agreement or the university would consider “alternative options” to clear the encampment. The talks will now be extended another 48 hours after “important progress” was made, the spokesperson said.

As the protests stretch into their eighth day, Columbia President Minouche Shafik has faced numerous calls from donors and lawmakers who believe police should be brought in to clear the encampment and restore order on campus – even as students and faculty are condemning the president’s similar decision last week to ask the New York Police Department to clear another student encampment.

What students said shortly after midnight: Student protesters released a statement on X at 12:13 am ET saying Columbia administration threatened to call in the National Guard and that students left the negotiating table and will not return until there is a written commitment that the “administration will not be unleashing the NYPD or the National Guard on its students.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson will head to Columbia University today to visit with Jewish students and deliver remarks and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses,” according to his office.

This comes as pro-Palestinian protests have rocked major American universities, including Columbia. After days of tense demonstrations, Columbia University announced it is moving to mostly hybrid classes on its main campus until the end of the semester, April 29.

New York House Republicans have called on Columbia president Minouche Shafik to resign immediately for failing to crack down on the protests.

President Joe Biden is “of course aware” of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled college campuses across the country, the White House said Tuesday.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One that the administration is “monitoring these situations closely,” taking the opportunity to condemn what he called “alarming rhetoric,” at some student protests.

“[The president]’s, of course, aware of the protests — we know that this is a painful moment for many communities, we respect that, and we support every American's right to peacefully protest, that's something that we have been consistent about,” Bates said.

But he wouldn’t say what the administration thinks of some Republicans’ call to deploy the National Guard to respond to campus protests at Columbia University. Bates added that the decision to deploy National Guard members would fall to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Pro-Palestinian protests continue to rock major American universities, prompting school officials across the country to take extraordinary steps to confront the growing crisis.

The protests, counter-protests, actions by college officials and demands from lawmakers underscore the unrest that has engulfed universities, leading many students, especially Jewish students, to fear for their safety as the Passover holiday is underway.

Pro-Palestinian protesters and their supporters – sometimes including faculty – are condemning crackdowns on protests and free speech, while from some students, parents, donors and lawmakers are pleading with administrators to take new steps to restore order.

In recent days, the on-campus demonstrations have attracted non-university-affiliated protesters to the campus gates, which student organizers have sought to distance themselves from.

As the protests continue, a growing sense of unease has spread among Columbia University’s Jewish community as they enter the approximately weeklong observation of Passover, a major Jewish holiday celebrating freedom.

Hagar Chemali, an adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, told CNN, “If I had my child at Columbia, I also would tell them to go home.”

“It’s not just because of the tension on campus, it’s also because those protests on campus have invited extremists outside,” Chemali said, referring to non-student protesters who have been demonstrating near the campus.

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