Palestinian wave in the US: Demonstrations to protest Israeli held at 30 universities

108 students were arrested during Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Following the arrests, protests spread to 30 universities, including Columbia, Harvard, Rice, MIT and Yale University Dec.

The ‘Gaza Solidarity Camp’ was established at Columbia University on April 17. Nemat Shafik, the Rector of Columbia University, had the police remove the camp the next day and had 108 students arrested.

Students and faculty members said Shafik’s decision to call on the New York Police Department to remove pro-Palestinian protesters from campus last week ignited the fuse of increasingly violent demonstrations that had erupted at universities in New York and across the country in recent days.

 “I think that was the straw that broke the cup, because students feel incredibly pressured and censored by the rector,” said Columbia student Rachel.

NBC News quoted another student as saying, “We are carrying out a synchronized action at universities all over the country. This is a collective movement far beyond the United States.” Pro-Palestinian solidarity camps have also been established at other schools where there have been anti-Israel demonstrations, such as MIT, the University of Texas, California State Polytechnic University, and Humboldt University.

550 PROTESTERS DETAINED DURING DEMONSTRATIONS

According to Reuters, at least 550 protesters were detained in total during the demonstrations, which spread to universities across the country.

On Tuesday, a group of 25 Republicans in the US Senate sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking the Biden administration to address the protests across the country. The following statements were used in the letter:

 “These pro-Hamas rioters have effectively closed university campuses and chased Jewish students out of our schools. You need to take action to restore order and protect Jewish students on university campuses.” On the other hand, the letter does not contain any requests for the protection of pro-Palestinian protesters.