Protests at universities in the USA due to Israel’s war with Hamas and the suffering of Palestinians

Police have made large-scale arrests at universities across the country, sometimes using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse demonstrators protesting Israel’s war with Hamas.

New York-based Minoush Shafique issued a statement at 11:07 p.m. local time withdrawing a midnight deadline for protesters to dismantle a large tent camp housing about 200 students.

– Progress was shown in the talks and they continue according to plan – it is stated in the announcement. – We have our demands, they have theirs.

The statement denied that the NYPD was called to the campus.

– This rumor is false – it is said.

The student, who identified herself only as Mimi, told AFP that she had been in the camp for seven days.

– They call us terrorists, they call us thugs. But the only tool we really have is our voices – she said.

Blinken to the protesters: Why are you silent about Hamas?

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday that protests on campuses are part of democracy, but criticized the protesters’ “silence” about the Palestinian extremist movement Hamas.

Speaking in Beijing after meetings with senior officials, Blinken said such protests were “a hallmark of our democracy”.

– Our citizens express their views, concerns, anger at any time – Blinken said in China, which strictly controls protests. – I think it reflects the strength of the country – he added.

Ali also said the protesters did not condemn Hamas, which carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

– As I already said, this could be over tomorrow, it could have been yesterday or several months ago, if Hamas had put down its weapons, stopped hiding behind civilians, and released the hostages. But, of course, they decided not to do that and it is noticeable that Hamas is silent, as if it is not even part of the story – he said.

Students at the protests say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll has exceeded 34,305, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry there.

Before that, on October 7 last year, members of Hamas, an organization that the US, EU and Great Britain consider a terrorist organization, invaded the southern part of Israel, killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250, of whom more than 130 are still being held captive in Gaza.

More than 200 people protesting the war were arrested on Wednesday and early Thursday at universities in Los Angeles, Boston and Austin, Texas, where about 2,000 people gathered again on Thursday.

Police in riot gear in the southern state of Georgia used chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests at Emory University in Atlanta.

The photos show police officers wielding stun guns as they clash with protesters on manicured lawns.

The Atlanta Police Department said officers who responded to the school’s plea for help were “met with violence” and used “chemical irritants” in their response.

The spreading protests began at Columbia University, which remains the epicenter of the student protest movement.

Freedom of speech?

The protests pose a major challenge for university administrators trying to balance the campus’ commitment to free expression with complaints that the gatherings have crossed the line.

Pro-Israel supporters and others concerned about campus safety point to anti-Semitic incidents and say that intimidation and hate speech are encouraged on campuses.

– I have never been more afraid to be a Jew in America than now. There are students and professors who are behind messages of hate and are behind messages that call for violence – said Skyler Sieradski, a 21-year-old philosophy and political science student at George Washington University.

The demonstrators, including a number of Jewish students, rejected anti-Semitism and criticized officials for equating it with opposition to Israel’s policies.

“People are here to support the Palestinian people from all different backgrounds … (stirred) by their general sense of justice,” said the 33-year-old graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, who emphasized that he is Jewish and identified himself to AFP. presented as Josh.

From coast to coast

At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, 93 people were arrested for trespassing on Wednesday, and authorities said they were canceling events at the May 10 graduation ceremony.

The ceremony, which usually draws 65,000 people, made headlines this month when administrators canceled a planned speech by a top student after complaints from Jewish groups that she had ties to anti-Semitic groups. She denied the allegations.

At Emerson College in Boston, local media reported that classes were canceled Thursday after police clashed with protesters overnight, demolishing a pro-Palestinian camp and arresting 108 people.

In Washington, Georgetown and George Washington University students set up a solidarity camp on the George Washington campus on Thursday.

Protests and encampments have also been organized at New York University and Yale University – both of which also saw dozens of students arrested earlier this week – Harvard, Brown University, MIT, the University of Michigan and elsewhere.

California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, said its campus may remain closed for the next week as protesters occupy buildings.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden condemned “blatant anti-Semitism” that “has no place on university campuses”.

But the White House also said the president supports free speech at American universities.

Protest in Paris as well

Students blocked access to the Institute of Political Studies in Paris today to protest the war in Gaza, demanding the university condemn Israel’s actions.

Similar student protests are taking place on campuses across the US.

Demonstrators chanted slogans of support for the Palestinian people and displayed Palestinian flags on the windows and above the university building.

Several of them wore the black and white keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of solidarity with the residents of Gaza, reports Reuters.

On Wednesday evening, police removed the first group of students who blocked access to the university, which French leftists condemned.

(Voice of America, Agencies)