Las protestas a favor de Palestina en los campus universitarios comenzaron en 2023 y se intensificaron en abril de 2024, extendiéndose a los Estados Unidos y otros países , como parte de las protestas más amplias contra la guerra entre Israel y Hamás . La escalada comenzó después de las detenciones masivas en la ocupación del campus de la Universidad de Columbia , liderada por grupos antisionistas , en la que los manifestantes exigieron la desinversión de la universidad en Israel por su presunto genocidio de los palestinos . [20] En los EE. UU., Más de 3100 manifestantes han sido arrestados, [19] incluidos profesores y profesores, [1] [21] en más de 60 campus. [22] El 7 de mayo, las protestas se extendieron por toda Europa con arrestos masivos en los Países Bajos . [23] [24] Para el 12 de mayo, se habían establecido veinte campamentos en el Reino Unido y en universidades de Australia y Canadá. [25] [26] Las protestas terminaron en gran medida cuando las universidades cerraron durante el verano. [27]
Las diferentes demandas de las protestas incluyen la ruptura de los lazos financieros con Israel, la transparencia sobre los lazos financieros, el fin de las asociaciones con instituciones israelíes, [28] y la amnistía para los manifestantes. [29] Las universidades han suspendido y expulsado a los manifestantes estudiantiles, en algunos casos desalojandolos de las viviendas del campus. [1] [30] [31] Algunas universidades han recurrido a la policía para disolver por la fuerza los campamentos y poner fin a las ocupaciones de edificios, [32] otras hicieron acuerdos con los manifestantes para que se desmantelaran los campamentos, [33] y varias universidades han cortado lazos con instituciones israelíes o empresas involucradas con Israel y sus territorios ocupados . [a] Las ocupaciones también han resultado en el cierre de la Universidad de Columbia , [40] Cal Poly Humboldt , [41] y la Universidad de Ámsterdam ; [42] huelgas continuas de trabajadores académicos en los campus de California ; [43] y la cancelación de algunas ceremonias de graduación universitaria en los EE. UU., con protestas en varias ceremonias. [44] [45] [46]
Más de 200 grupos han expresado su apoyo a las protestas, [47] así como el senador estadounidense Bernie Sanders , varios miembros del Congreso , varios sindicatos , [48] [49] [50] cientos de personal universitario en el Reino Unido, [51] [52] y el líder supremo de Irán, Ali Khamenei . [53] La respuesta policial a las protestas ha sido criticada por algunos demócratas [54] [55] [56] y organizaciones de derechos humanos. [57] [58] Se estima que el 8% de los estudiantes universitarios han participado en protestas, [59] el 97% de las protestas han permanecido no violentas , [60] y entre el 28 y el 40% de los estadounidenses apoyan las protestas con un 42-47% en contra. [61] [62] Las protestas han sido comparadas con las protestas contra Vietnam y de 1968. [63] [64]
Los partidarios de Israel y algunos estudiantes judíos han expresado su preocupación por los incidentes antisemitas en las protestas o en sus alrededores, [65] lo que ha provocado la condena de las protestas por parte de líderes como el presidente Joe Biden , [29] el primer ministro de los Países Bajos, Mark Rutte , [66] y el primer ministro israelí , Benjamin Netanyahu ; [67] así como la preocupación del primer ministro australiano, Anthony Albanese [68] y el primer ministro del Reino Unido , Rishi Sunak . [69] Los estudiantes y profesores que han participado en las protestas, algunos de los cuales son judíos, han dicho que las protestas no son antisemitas. [70] [71] [72]
Desde el inicio del conflicto el 7 de octubre de 2023 , se han producido protestas, incluidas manifestaciones, campañas y vigilias relacionadas con la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en todo Estados Unidos, junto con otras protestas por la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en todo el mundo. Los manifestantes propalestinos criticaron el apoyo militar y diplomático de Estados Unidos a Israel y la invasión israelí de la Franja de Gaza y su conducta bélica , que algunos calificaron de genocidio . [73] [74]
Los estudiantes que ocupaban edificios administrativos fueron arrestados a petición de los administradores universitarios en la Universidad Brown en noviembre [75] y diciembre de 2023, [76] y en el Pomona College el 5 de abril de 2024. [77] En marzo de 2024, [78] después de que los manifestantes ocuparan la oficina del presidente en la Universidad de Vanderbilt , la universidad suspendió a los estudiantes y expulsó a tres. Se cree que estas fueron "las primeras expulsiones de estudiantes por protestas relacionadas con el conflicto entre Israel y Hamás", según The New York Times . [79]
Esta es una lista de protestas pro palestinas en campus universitarios en 2024 desde que las protestas se intensificaron el 17 de abril, comenzando con la ocupación del campus de la Universidad de Columbia . Hasta el 6 de mayo, se han producido protestas estudiantiles en 45 de los 50 estados de los Estados Unidos y el Distrito de Columbia, con campamentos, ocupaciones , huelgas o sentadas en casi 140 campus. [80]
Se establecieron treinta y cuatro campamentos en el Reino Unido; [81] en universidades de Australia, [82] comenzando con la Universidad de Sídney ; [83] y en Canadá, incluido un campamento en la Universidad McGill . [84] El 7 de mayo, las protestas se extendieron aún más en los campus europeos después de arrestos masivos en la ocupación del campus de la Universidad de Ámsterdam , [85] incluida la ocupación de edificios del campus de la Universidad de Leipzig en Alemania, Sciences Po en Francia y la Universidad de Gante en Bélgica. [86] Hasta el 8 de mayo, se han producido protestas en más de 25 países. [87] El 13 de mayo, aproximadamente 1.000 estudiantes y personal universitario holandeses participaron en una huelga nacional . [88]Entre abril y junio de 2024, en el marco de las protestas más amplias contra la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en los Estados Unidos , se produjeron una serie de protestas de estudiantes pro palestinos en la Universidad de Columbia , en la ciudad de Nueva York . Las protestas comenzaron el 17 de abril de 2024, cuando los estudiantes pro palestinos instalaron un campamento de aproximadamente 50 tiendas de campaña en el campus universitario, al que llamaron Campamento de Solidaridad con Gaza [89] [90], y exigieron que la universidad desinvirtiera en Israel .
El primer campamento fue desmantelado cuando la presidenta de la universidad, Minouche Shafik, autorizó al Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de Nueva York (NYPD) a ingresar al campus el 18 de abril y realizar arrestos masivos. [90] [91] Se construyó un nuevo campamento al día siguiente. Luego, la administración entabló negociaciones con los manifestantes, que fracasaron el 29 de abril y resultaron en la suspensión de los manifestantes estudiantiles. [92] Al día siguiente, los manifestantes irrumpieron y ocuparon Hamilton Hall , [93] lo que llevó a una segunda redada de la policía de Nueva York, el arresto de más de 100 manifestantes y el desmantelamiento total del campamento. [94] Los arrestos marcaron la primera vez que Columbia permitió a la policía reprimir las protestas en el campus desde las manifestaciones de 1968 contra la guerra de Vietnam . [95] El 31 de mayo, se estableció brevemente un tercer campamento en el campus en respuesta a una reunión de exalumnos. [96]
Como resultado de las protestas, la Universidad de Columbia adoptó un modelo híbrido de aprendizaje (incorporando más aprendizaje en línea) para el resto del semestre. [97] Las protestas alentaron otras acciones en varias universidades. Varios incidentes antisemitas tuvieron lugar cerca de las protestas. [98] Los organizadores han dicho que fueron obra de agitadores externos y de personas que no eran estudiantes. [99] Los manifestantes judíos pro palestinos han dicho que los incidentes de antisemitismo por parte de los manifestantes no son representativos del movimiento de protesta. [98] El 6 de mayo, la administración de la escuela canceló la ceremonia de graduación de toda la universidad programada para el 15 de mayo. [100] Shafik anunció su renuncia a la presidencia el 14 de agosto. [101]Las manifestaciones se extendieron inicialmente en los Estados Unidos el 22 de abril, cuando los estudiantes de varias universidades de la Costa Este —incluidas la Universidad de Nueva York , la Universidad de Yale , el Emerson College , el Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts (MIT) y la Universidad Tufts— comenzaron a ocupar los campus, además de experimentar arrestos masivos en Nueva York y en Yale. [102] Las protestas surgieron en todo Estados Unidos en los días siguientes, con campamentos de protesta establecidos en más de 40 campus. [103] El 25 de abril, se produjeron arrestos masivos en el Emerson College, la Universidad del Sur de California y la Universidad de Texas en Austin . [104]
Una continua represión el 27 de abril condujo a aproximadamente 275 arrestos en Washington , Northeastern , Arizona State e Indiana University Bloomington . [105] [106] Varios profesores estaban entre los detenidos en Emory University , [107] y en Washington University en St. Louis , empleados de la universidad fueron arrestados. [105] El 28 de abril, se llevaron a cabo contraprotestas en el MIT, la Universidad de Pensilvania y la Universidad de California en Los Ángeles (UCLA). [108] El 30 de abril, aproximadamente 300 manifestantes fueron arrestados en Columbia University y City College of New York ; [109] y contramanifestantes pro-Israel atacaron la ocupación del campus de UCLA , [110] [111] [112] Al día siguiente se realizaron más de 200 arrestos en UCLA. [113]
En mayo se produjeron cientos de arrestos, en particular [b] en el Instituto de Arte de Chicago , la Universidad de California en San Diego , el Instituto de Tecnología de la Moda de Nueva York, [114] y la Universidad de California en Irvine . [115] El 20 de mayo, tuvo lugar la primera huelga de trabajadores académicos en los campus de California en la UC Santa Cruz , [116] seguida por la UC Davis y la UCLA el 28 de mayo. [117]
Muchas de las protestas implican demandas estudiantiles de que sus escuelas corten sus lazos financieros con Israel y las compañías involucradas en el conflicto, así como el fin del apoyo militar estadounidense a Israel, [118] [119] como parte del movimiento de Boicot, Desinversión y Sanciones (BDS). [28] Algunas protestas también han exigido que las universidades corten sus lazos académicos con Israel, apoyen un alto el fuego en Gaza y revelen sus inversiones. [120] Las demandas estudiantiles han variado entre las diferentes ocupaciones, incluyendo que las universidades dejen de aceptar dinero de investigación de Israel que apoya al ejército, y el fin de las donaciones universitarias que invierten con gerentes que se benefician de entidades israelíes. [28]
Los manifestantes estudiantiles pidieron a la Universidad de Columbia que se deshiciera financieramente de cualquier compañía con vínculos comerciales con el gobierno israelí, incluyendo Microsoft , Google y Amazon . [121] NYU Alumni for Palestine pidió a la Universidad de Nueva York que "rescindiera todos los contratos de proveedores con empresas que desempeñan papeles activos en la ocupación militar en Palestina y el genocidio en curso en Gaza, a saber, Cisco , Lockheed Martin , Caterpillar y General Electric ". [122] Los manifestantes pro-palestinos exigieron que la Universidad de Washington cortara lazos con Boeing . [123] Los estudiantes de la Universidad de Vermont exigieron la cancelación de un discurso de graduación planeado por Linda Thomas-Greenfield . [124]
Tras varias detenciones masivas, las demandas también han incluido la amnistía para los estudiantes y profesores que fueron disciplinados o despedidos por protestar. Las protestas en muchos campus son creadas por coaliciones de grupos estudiantiles y son en gran medida independientes, pero algunos han afirmado que se inspiraron en otras protestas en el campus. Todos han repudiado la violencia. [125] [29]
En abril de 2024, las ocupaciones resultaron en el cierre de la Universidad de Columbia y Cal Poly Humboldt por el resto del semestre, [40] [41] y los miembros de la facultad en California, Georgia y Texas también iniciaron votos de censura . [126] Columbia, Cal Poly Humboldt y la Universidad del Sur de California cancelaron sus ceremonias de graduación previstas para mayo. [127] [128] [44] El 13 de mayo, la Universidad de Ámsterdam cerró durante dos días después de que se reanudaran las ocupaciones en el campus. [42]
En mayo, hubo protestas en las ceremonias de graduación de la Universidad de Michigan , la Universidad de Northeastern , la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago , la Universidad de Indiana , [44] la Universidad Commonwealth de Virginia , la Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison , la Universidad de Carolina del Norte y la Universidad de California, Berkeley . [45] Después de las demandas de los manifestantes, la Universidad de Vermont canceló su oradora de la ceremonia de graduación, la embajadora de Estados Unidos ante las Naciones Unidas Linda Thomas-Greenfield . [44] El 1 de junio, los estudiantes realizaron una huelga en la ceremonia de graduación de la Universidad de Chicago , y hubo huelgas en las graduaciones de la Universidad de Harvard, el Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts y otros lugares. [129] En abril, un grupo de estudiantes pro palestinos ganó las elecciones en el gobierno estudiantil de la Universidad de Michigan. En agosto, el gobierno estudiantil votó para congelar su financiación para los clubes estudiantiles hasta que la universidad cumpliera con las demandas de desinversión de los activistas estudiantiles. [130]
El 28 de abril, la Universidad Estatal de Portland (PSU) anunció que pondría en pausa sus vínculos financieros con Boeing , incluidos los obsequios y las subvenciones, debido a sus vínculos con Israel. La presidenta de la PSU, Ann Cudd, escribió en una carta dirigida a todo el campus que "la pasión con la que algunas personas de nuestra comunidad expresan repetidamente estas demandas es motivadora". [34] El 6 de mayo, el Trinity College de Dublín, en Irlanda, acordó poner fin a sus inversiones en empresas israelíes que figuran en la "lista negra" del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas después de que se erigiera un campamento en Fellows' Square. [131] Esto incluía a tres de las 13 empresas israelíes en las que había invertido el fondo de dotación de la universidad. [35] [132]
El 21 de mayo, la Universidad de Helsinki en Finlandia suspendió los intercambios de estudiantes con universidades israelíes después de dos semanas de protestas en el campus. [36] El 28 de mayo, la Universidad de Copenhague en Dinamarca anunció que dejaría de invertir en empresas que operan en la Cisjordania ocupada , desinvirtiendo US$145.810 en participaciones de Airbnb , Booking.com y EDreams al día siguiente. [37] El 31 de mayo, después de que se realizó una investigación, la Universidad de Gante en Bélgica cortó lazos con universidades e instituciones de investigación israelíes, haciendo referencia a "preocupaciones sobre las conexiones entre las instituciones académicas israelíes y el gobierno, el ejército o los servicios de seguridad israelíes". [38] La universidad había cortado lazos con tres instituciones israelíes dos semanas antes, citando incompatibilidad con la política de derechos humanos de Israel . [133] El 11 de junio, la Universidad de Waterloo en Ontario, Canadá, aceptó las demandas de los manifestantes de tener en cuenta los derechos humanos en sus decisiones de inversión. [39] A fines de agosto de 2024, la Universidad Estatal de San Francisco inició el proceso de desinversión de cuatro fabricantes de armas involucrados en la guerra. [134] En septiembre, la Coalición del MIT para Palestina anunció que el MIT descontinuaría su Fondo Semilla MIT-Lockheed Martin, un programa que financiaba la colaboración entre el MIT y universidades israelíes. La Coalición dijo que esta era "la primera asociación conocida entre fabricantes de armas estadounidenses e israelíes que termina en una universidad estadounidense desde que comenzó la guerra en Gaza". [135]
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Otras universidades han dicho que considerarán demandas de desinversión con respecto a compañías afiliadas a Israel. Algunas han acordado revelar sus inversiones y se han comprometido a aumentar la conciencia sobre Palestina. [33] Las universidades que han llegado a acuerdos con los manifestantes sobre ciertas demandas, para que se desmantelen los campamentos, incluyen la Universidad Northwestern el 29 de abril; la Universidad Brown y el Evergreen State College el 30 de abril; la Universidad de Minnesota el 1 de mayo; la Universidad Rutgers el 2 de mayo; Goldsmiths, Universidad de Londres y la Universidad de California, Riverside el 3 de mayo; la Universidad Thompson Rivers el 4 de mayo, la Universidad de California, Berkeley el 14 de mayo; [136] Además, la Universidad Wesleyana permitió que los campamentos en el campus continuaran, [33] [137] y en la Universidad de Barcelona , el Senado votó para romper lazos con Israel. [138]
El 15 de mayo, el campamento de protesta en la Universidad de Harvard terminó después de que la administración accediera a discutir las demandas de los manifestantes y a rescindir la suspensión de 20 estudiantes. [139] En la Universidad Estatal de California , el presidente del campus de Sonoma State, Mike Lee, fue puesto en licencia después de que accediera a buscar la desinversión en Israel "sin las aprobaciones apropiadas". [140] El 23 de mayo, la Universidad de Sydney se convirtió en la primera universidad australiana en aceptar ciertas demandas. La universidad acordó divulgar más subvenciones de investigación, sujetas a requisitos de confidencialidad, para aumentar la transparencia. [141]
Los estudiantes de The New School intentaron una estrategia única que combinaba escaladas en su campamento y negociaciones con los administradores. En lugar de aceptar que las negociaciones solo podían continuar si la escalada cesaba, los organizadores intensificaron sus protestas y luego ofrecieron detener esa escalada a cambio de otras concesiones durante las negociaciones, mejorando su posición negociadora. Aunque su campamento finalmente fue barrido por la policía, la redada provocó una reacción negativa y la condena de los profesores y los decanos y requirió un cierre del campus durante todo el día. Los estudiantes de The New School lograron la formación de un comité asesor de inversiones y una posterior votación de los fideicomisarios sobre la inversión en el otoño. [142]
El 15 de mayo, los miembros del sindicato United Auto Workers Local 4811, que representa a 48.000 estudiantes de posgrado en 10 campus del sistema de la Universidad de California , votaron a favor de autorizar una huelga porque la universidad había cambiado injustamente sus políticas y discriminado a los estudiantes que ejercían su derecho a la libertad de expresión y había creado un entorno de trabajo inseguro al permitir ataques a los manifestantes. La autorización no garantizaba una huelga, pero permitía a la junta ejecutiva convocarla en cualquier momento. [143]
La huelga comenzó en la UC Santa Cruz el 20 de mayo. Los miembros y líderes del sindicato dijeron que no estaban enseñando ni calificando, que estaban reteniendo datos y que continuarían haciéndolo hasta que llegaran a un acuerdo con los funcionarios de la universidad. La huelga fue en parte una protesta contra los arrestos de manifestantes pro palestinos en la UCLA , la UC Irvine y la UC San Diego . [144] [145] El sistema de la UC respondió solicitando una orden judicial contra el sindicato, declarando ilegal la huelga. El 23 de mayo, la Junta de Relaciones Laborales Públicas de California denegó la orden judicial. La huelga se extendió a la UCLA y la UC Davis el 28 de mayo, [146] con la intención de expandirse a la UC Santa Bárbara , la UC San Diego y la UC Irvine a partir de la semana del 3 de junio. [147] [43]
Algunas de las protestas son organizadas por grupos como Jewish Voice for Peace , fundada en 1996 como una organización judía antisionista progresista; IfNotNow , fundada durante la Guerra de Gaza de 2014 ; y Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), que tiene más de 200 capítulos en América del Norte. [148] [20] A fines de 2023, los capítulos de SJP fueron prohibidos o suspendidos en la Universidad Brandeis , [149] la Universidad de Columbia , [150] y la Universidad Rutgers . [151] En Florida, se ordenó la disolución de los capítulos. [152] En respuesta, los capítulos de SJP en la Universidad de Florida y la Universidad del Sur de Florida presentaron demandas federales. [153] [154] Accuracy in Media también divulgó información sobre estudiantes propalestinos en Harvard , Columbia y la Universidad de Yale . [155] [156] Las evaluaciones de inteligencia estadounidenses concluyeron que Irán había apoyado de forma encubierta las protestas utilizando las redes sociales haciéndose pasar por estudiantes con agentes que proporcionaban asistencia financiera a algunos grupos de protesta en un intento de avivar la división, [157] [158] pero la directora de Inteligencia Nacional, Avril Haines, dijo que los ciudadanos estadounidenses estaban protestando "de buena fe" y que esta inteligencia "no indicaba lo contrario". [159] Los informes de inteligencia que detallan los detalles de la influencia iraní en las protestas estadounidenses no se han hecho públicos. [160]
Los participantes incluyen estudiantes, profesores y personas no afiliadas de diversos orígenes, [161] incluidos judíos y musulmanes. [29] Los activistas pro-palestinos en Columbia han dicho que su movimiento es antisionista , [49] y varias protestas en el campus han sido organizadas por grupos antisionistas. [20] Según The Jerusalem Post , los manifestantes en Harvard en una conferencia de prensa llamaron al movimiento de ocupación del campus una " intifada estudiantil ", [c] un término del que se hicieron eco los manifestantes de la Universidad George Washington , la Universidad de Stanford , la Universidad de Indiana en Bloomington , [165] así como los palestinos en Gaza, al tiempo que pedían una escalada de las protestas. [166] Los manifestantes han identificado una amplia gama de otras ideologías que los motivan, como el antirracismo , la interseccionalidad , el anticolonialismo , el antiimperialismo , la vigilancia, el impacto del cambio climático y los derechos indígenas . [167] En Columbia, se escribieron consignas revolucionarias maoístas en las pizarras entre los manifestantes que irrumpieron en Hamilton Hall. [168]
Los manifestantes han criticado a Joe Biden y el apoyo de su administración a Israel . [169] Las protestas han organizado seminarios , oraciones interreligiosas y actuaciones musicales. [29] Algunas protestas invitaron a la gente a recorrer o hablar, como el fotoperiodista palestino Motaz Azaiza , quien fue invitado y visitó la protesta de Columbia. [170] [171] La activista palestina Linda Sarsour dijo: "Estos jóvenes están reafirmando y demostrando que la marea está cambiando en Palestina, que el pueblo palestino tiene solidaridad no solo en los Estados Unidos de América, sino en todo el mundo". [172]
Se ha visto a agitadores de extrema derecha y nacionalistas blancos en algunas protestas que buscan sembrar el caos y la violencia, [173] y en la ocupación del campus de la UCLA , donde se encontraban entre los contramanifestantes pro israelíes que atacaron el campamento. Un supremacista blanco afiliado a Proud Boys ha estado entre los contramanifestantes apoyados por activistas de extrema derecha en todo el país. [174] Los expertos han expresado su preocupación por los grupos de extrema derecha que intentan infiltrarse en las protestas para causar daños, y las reacciones posteriores de activistas militantes de extrema izquierda alineados con el movimiento antifascista . [175]
Se ha expresado preocupación por la presencia de grupos externos en las protestas. [161] Durante los arrestos en Nueva York el 2 de mayo, la policía anunció que casi la mitad de los arrestados en Columbia y CCNY no estaban afiliados a ninguna de las dos escuelas. El alcalde Eric Adams dijo que habían visto evidencia de que agitadores externos y "profesionales" como Lisa Fithian y la esposa de Sami Al-Arian habían dado a los estudiantes conocimientos tácticos y entrenamiento para intensificar sus protestas. [176]
Muchos manifestantes se han puesto máscaras y kufiyas , lo que ha aumentado la preocupación de los rectores y decanos de que personas ajenas a la organización se hayan infiltrado en las protestas. Algunos estudiantes judíos temen que el anonimato les dé más licencia para evadir las consecuencias. Los manifestantes han expresado su temor a sufrir daños a su reputación y a su profesión a causa de la identificación. [177]
Varias protestas han sido criticadas por presunto antisemitismo . [65] Algunos estudiantes han calificado algunos de los incidentes reportados en las protestas y en el campus como "amenazantes" y dijeron que los hacen sentir inseguros. Los estudiantes judíos fueron atacados por su fe, por usar símbolos judíos , o fueron acusados de ser sionistas y posteriormente atacados. [178] Algunos estudiantes judíos también han dicho que las protestas crearon un clima de miedo y odio en el campus. [179] Según The Jewish Post , una encuesta realizada por Hillel a estudiantes judíos en universidades con campamentos encontró que la mayoría de ellos se sentían inseguros debido a los campamentos. El 72% de los encuestados quería que se desmantelaran y el 61% consideró que el lenguaje utilizado en las protestas era antisemita. [180] El Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. concluyó que la Universidad de Michigan y CUNY no evaluaron si las protestas hicieron que el ambiente fuera hostil. [181]
Los partidarios de Israel y algunos estudiantes han dicho que la palabra " intifada ", la frase " del río al mar " y los cánticos que comparan a Israel y al sionismo con el nazismo son antisemitas. [182] Otros, incluidos estudiantes judíos, han argumentado en contra de mezclar antisemitismo con antisionismo, diciendo que la acusación se utiliza para enfriar el debate. [179] Los manifestantes estudiantiles pro-palestinos y judíos han afirmado que las protestas no son antisemitas. [70] [49] The Guardian señaló que los incidentes de antisemitismo parecen ser "relativamente aislados" y es más probable que ocurran cuando los no estudiantes están en una protesta paralela. [182] Los grupos de estudiantes pro-palestinos en las protestas se han apresurado a condenar los comentarios incendiarios. [179]
Algunos estudiantes judíos pro palestinos han dicho que han enfrentado el antisemitismo por parte de activistas pro israelíes. [182] [179] Algunos comentaristas y políticos, entre ellos el alcalde Eric Adams , la representante estadounidense Virginia Foxx y el subcomisionado de operaciones del Departamento de Policía de Nueva York Kaz Daughtry, promovieron una teoría conspirativa de que George Soros o alguna otra figura anónima estaba financiando los campamentos de protesta comprando la misma marca de tiendas de campaña para muchos manifestantes. De hecho, la apariencia similar de muchas tiendas de campaña del campamento se debía a los descuentos y promociones de productos particulares de los minoristas en línea. [183]
Los manifestantes pro palestinos y sus aliados han criticado la actitud de muchas administraciones universitarias por perpetuar una "excepción palestina" a la libertad académica. [184] [185] Los estudiantes pro palestinos y sus aliados han expresado su preocupación por el antipalestinismo y la islamofobia . El Departamento de Educación de los Estados Unidos ha abierto investigaciones en Columbia, Emory University, University of Carolina del Norte y Umass Amherst sobre la respuesta de sus administraciones a las protestas y la defensa de los derechos de los estudiantes desde el comienzo de la guerra. [186] [187] [188] [189]
Un estudio del Proyecto de Ubicación y Datos de Eventos de Conflictos Armados (ACLED) concluyó que el 97% de las protestas fueron no violentas y casi la mitad de las que se tornaron violentas involucraron a manifestantes que pelearon con las fuerzas del orden durante intervenciones policiales. [60] [190]
Según funcionarios de la Universidad de Vanderbilt , un guardia de seguridad resultó herido cuando los manifestantes irrumpieron en un edificio administrativo, lo que resultó en la expulsión de los tres estudiantes que encabezaban la ofensiva; las imágenes de video muestran a los estudiantes entrando a la fuerza en el edificio y empujando a un guardia contra el marco de una puerta, hiriéndolos. El guardia estuvo sin trabajo durante dos semanas como resultado de las lesiones. Los estudiantes negaron haber usado violencia y calificaron su protesta de pacífica. [191] [192] [193] [194]
En Portland State, los manifestantes dañaron computadoras y muebles durante su ocupación de la biblioteca del campus. En Columbia, los manifestantes destrozaron ventanas durante su ocupación de Hamilton Hall. [60] La policía y los trabajadores de la ciudad destruyeron las tiendas de campaña de los estudiantes, banderas y otros suministros del campamento mientras desmantelaban el campamento en la Universidad de Pensilvania . [195] En la Universidad George Washington , los manifestantes profanaron una estatua de su homónimo, el presidente George Washington . La estatua estaba envuelta con bufandas y banderas palestinas, con las palabras "Universidad belicista genocida" pintadas con aerosol en su base. [196] [197]
Los estudiantes reemplazaron las banderas estadounidenses con banderas palestinas en los mástiles de varias universidades. [198] En Harvard Yard , los manifestantes estudiantiles colocaron tres banderas palestinas sobre la estatua de John Harvard el 27 de abril. [199] [200] El reemplazo de las banderas estadounidenses provocó la indignación de algunos funcionarios, como el alcalde de Nueva York, Eric Adams. [198] En respuesta, las administraciones universitarias y las agencias de aplicación de la ley han intervenido para retirar las banderas palestinas y restablecer las banderas estadounidenses en sus posiciones originales. [198]
La mayoría de las universidades que se enfrentaron a las protestas de los campamentos en la primavera intentaron negociar un acuerdo y desmantelar los campamentos con los líderes estudiantiles, a menudo amenazando con redadas policiales para forzar un acuerdo. En algunos casos, el final del año escolar permitió a los administradores dar marcha atrás en los acuerdos que habían negociado, como en la Universidad de Oregon, Northwestern y Rutgers New Brunswick. [142]
Muchas universidades han iniciado procedimientos disciplinarios contra los manifestantes, acusándolos de violar los códigos de conducta estudiantil. [201]
Los estudiantes de la Universidad de Nueva York tuvieron que escribir "confesiones forzadas de irregularidades" para que se les retiraran los cargos disciplinarios. [202] El estudiante de posgrado Dan Zeno estaba entre los más de 20 estudiantes suspendidos por el MIT por participar en protestas pro palestinas. Fue desalojado de la residencia del campus junto con su esposa y su hija. A algunos estudiantes que se enfrentaron a suspensiones se les prohibió la entrada al campus y, por lo tanto, no pudieron realizar sus exámenes finales. [30] Los funcionarios de la UC Santa Cruz emitieron prohibiciones de dos semanas a muchos de los 110 manifestantes arrestados durante una manifestación en el campus en mayo, dejándolos sin alojamiento y sin acceso a los recursos del campus. [203] El City College de Nueva York cerró su despensa comunitaria de alimentos en respuesta a las protestas. [204] [205]
En Grecia, nueve manifestantes procedentes de países europeos que fueron detenidos en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Atenas se enfrentan a la deportación a partir del 27 de mayo. [206]
Cuando los estudiantes regresaron a los campus en el otoño de 2024 después de una ola de protestas en la primavera, muchas universidades reforzaron sus restricciones a las protestas estudiantiles y las actividades políticas, incluidos límites sobre dónde y cuándo podían ocurrir las protestas y prohibiciones sobre los campamentos estudiantiles. [207] Más de 100 [142] colegios y sistemas universitarios endurecieron sus reglas sobre las protestas en sus propiedades. Varias escuelas han prohibido acampar en sus terrenos, exigieron que los manifestantes se registraran con la administración antes de cualquier manifestación y prohibieron el uso de máscaras. [208] La profesora de Cornell Risa Lieberwitz calificó la tendencia nacional hacia el aumento de las restricciones a las protestas en los campus como "un resurgimiento de la represión en los campus que no hemos visto desde fines de la década de 1960". [209] La Universidad Case Western Reserve limitó las manifestaciones permitidas a dos horas durante el día en un solo lugar. [210] La Asociación de Estudios del Oriente Medio afirmó que, si bien no estaba obligada a hacerlo mediante una citación, la Universidad de Pensilvania había entregado los CV y los programas de estudio de dos profesores al Comité de Educación y Fuerza Laboral de la Cámara de Representantes y también podría haber dado al comité acceso a sus correos electrónicos y comunicaciones de los cursos. [211]
Harvard actualizó su política para prohibir la acampada nocturna, la tiza y los carteles o exhibiciones no aprobados. [212] La Universidad de Indiana actualizó sus políticas el 1 de agosto, prohibiendo toda "actividad expresiva" entre las 11 p. m. y las 6 a. m. La ACLU demandó a IU por esta política, calificándola de "demasiado amplia". [213] La Universidad de Nueva York actualizó su política de no discriminación para prohibir las críticas al sionismo, clasificándolo como una categoría protegida. [214] Columbia clasificó el uso del término "sionista" para referirse a israelíes o judíos como una forma de acoso. [215]
La Universidad Carnegie Mellon actualizó su política para exigir que las protestas, manifestaciones y otros eventos expresivos de más de 25 personas registren los nombres de los participantes con anticipación en la universidad. [216] Columbia suspendió sus procedimientos de debido proceso para la disciplina estudiantil, notificando a varias docenas de estudiantes acusados de infracciones disciplinarias que se saltaban las entrevistas programadas relacionadas con sus casos y que se les enviaría rápidamente a las audiencias de conducta. Esto se produjo después de una renovada presión del Congreso y una citación sobre los registros de la universidad relacionados con las protestas. [217] UCLA introdujo nuevas regulaciones sobre las protestas en el campus que restringen las "actividades de expresión pública" a las áreas alrededor de Bruinwalk y fuera de Murphy Hall. Las nuevas restricciones también prohíben las tiendas de campaña y el equipo de campamento, la distribución de alimentos, el sonido amplificado y la tiza, y requieren que las personas en el campus se identifiquen cuando un funcionario de la universidad se lo solicite. [218] Antes del semestre de otoño, los sistemas de la Universidad de California y la Universidad Estatal de California instituyeron nuevas políticas amplias que prohíben los campamentos, las barricadas, los campamentos nocturnos, los disfraces, las interrupciones y las restricciones a la libre circulación. [219] El capítulo de Estudiantes por la Justicia en Palestina de la Universidad de Vermont demandó a la escuela después de que una suspensión provisional del grupo continuara en su quinto mes. [220] En Cornell, un estudiante de posgrado con ciudadanía del Reino Unido fue suspendido sin el debido proceso y amenazado con la deportación por participar en una manifestación fuera del Hotel Statler, donde se estaba celebrando una feria de empleo que incluía reclutadores de empresas de fabricación de armas. [221]
En el Muhlenberg College , Maura Finkelstein se convirtió en la primera profesora titular despedida por un discurso pro palestino. Finkelstein, que es judía, compartió en Instagram una publicación del poeta palestino Remi Kanazi en la que criticaba al sionismo y a sus seguidores. [222]
The Hillel Foundation announced a partnership at over 50 campuses with the Secure Community Network called Operation Secure our Campuses, offering "full-time intelligence analysts [to] monitor campus developments and provide information and real-time support."[212]
At the University of Toronto, patrol teams with Magen Herut Canada monitored a pro-Palestinian protest.[223]
A number of influential business leaders, including Daniel Lubetzky, Daniel Loeb, Len Blavatnik, Joseph Sitt, Howard Schultz, Michael Dell, Bill Ackman, Joshua Kushner, Ted Deutch and Yakir Gabay coordinated an effort in a WhatsApp group chat to urge Mayor Adams to crack down on the encampment at Columbia. They offered to pay for private investigators to assist police, and made donations to Adams's 2025 campaign.[224]
Police departments employed a range of tactics, including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls,[31] using tasers,[225][226] mass arrests,[227] tear gas,[226] clearing unauthorized encampments,[225] and beating both students and professors.[228] According to student newspaper The Lantern, state troopers with "long-range firearms" were deployed at Ohio State University.[229] Police "assaulted, arrested and barred access" for some journalists while they were covering the protests.[230] Police used force when arresting faculty who were taking part in or observing the protests, including the former chair of Dartmouth College's Jewish studies department, who was slammed to the ground while "in a line of women faculty in their 60s to 80s trying to protect our students", and two members of the faculty at Emory University, one of whom was charged with battery after being "violently arrested" on video.[231][232] On June 10, UCLA police severely wounded a student with a non-lethal projectile, giving him a heart contusion and a bruised lung. In September, UCLA police sought approval to double their stockpile of pepper balls and sponge rounds and obtain eight new projectile launchers and three drones.[233]
According to Erik Baker, the most severe crackdowns on campus protests took place at "wealthy schools ... that have been in long-running and occasionally violent conflict with the working-class communities of color that border them", such as the University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis, The University of Southern California, and Columbia.[204]
A report by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project found that police interventions at U.S. student protests linked to conflict issues surged fourfold in April. Authorities notably increased arrests and forcible dispersals, especially at protests where there were counter-demonstrators. Nonetheless, at events where student protesters were unchallenged, the police were more likely to act against pro-Palestine rallies, doing so over four times more often than against pro-Israel ones.[190][60] Police repression of protesters, particularly in the U.S., has been characterized as unusually harsh.[234][235]
The New York Times reported that though more than 3,000 student protesters had been arrested across the U.S., most charges were dropped.[236] The vast majority of the charges had been misdemeanors or lower offenses.[237] Prosecutors usually either decided to prioritize other cases or calculated that jurors would be receptive to First Amendment arguments.[236][237] Students who had charges dropped often still face significant academic consequences, such as suspension or withheld diplomas.[236] Some Jewish groups have criticized dropping charges.[236][237] Schools with hundreds of arrests still often had students still waiting for cases to resolve.[237]
Students and student journalists also faced violence at the hands of counter-protesters.[238][239] One protester at Columbia was arrested and hospitalized after a counter-protester rammed his car into a group of picketers.[240][241] Counter-protesters at the University of Pennsylvania approached the encampment with knives, and in a separate incident sprayed a chemical mixture on protesters' tents, food and belongings.[242]
Mike Johnson, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley called for a deployment of the National Guard to college campuses,[243] which some have characterized as alluding to past instances of violence against students like the Kent State and Jackson State killings.[244][245]
On May 1, around 10:50 PM, a pro-Israeli group attacked the pro-Palestinian protesters' camp for nearly four hours, attempting to breach the barricades surrounding the encampment.[246][247][248] The attackers, reported to have come from outside campus,[249] carried Israeli flags and assaulted students with sticks, stones, poles, metal fencing, and pepper spray.[250][251] They played loud audio of a child crying, threw wood and a metal barrier into the camp, and threw at least six fireworks into the encampment, including one directly at a group of protesters carrying injured people.[248][252][253]
A video investigation suggested pro-Palestinian protesters did not initiate any confrontation but acted in defense.[248] The counter-protesters called for a "Second Nakba", referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948, and played the Israeli national anthem and Harbu Darbu on loudspeakers during the attack.[254][248] According to The Guardian, counter-protesters included several far-right activists involved in anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine campaigning.[255] The Boston Review reported that zionist counter-protestors joined forces with white supremacists and Neo-Nazis, and that "One neo-Nazi was heard shouting, 'we’re here to finish what Hitler started,' without any apparent protest from the self-identified Zionists."[256]In a November 2023 referendum, 78% of McGill students voted to adopt a divestment policy titled Policy Against Genocide in Palestine.[257] A May 2024 divestment referendum at DePaul University returned a 91% vote in favor of divestment.[258] In April 2024, Columbia College voted on three divestment questions. The first asked whether Columbia should divest from Israel, the second asked whether it should cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center program, and the third asked whether Columbia should end its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University. The motions passed by 76%, 68%, and 65%, respectively, with 40% voter participation.[259] Students at the University of Pennsylvania voted 73% in favor of disclosing all investments in the school's endowment and 63% in favor of ending the university's relationship with Ghost Robotics, with 22% voter participation.[260]
According to a YouGov poll released on May 3, 2024, 47% of Americans oppose the campus protests and 28% support them. American Muslims support the protests by 75% to 14% while Jewish Americans oppose them by 72% to 18%. Adults under 45 are more likely to support them than older adults. 33% believed the response to the protests was not harsh enough, 16% believed it was too harsh, and 20% believed the response was about right. 48% of Americans over 45 believed the response was not harsh enough, compared to only 16% under 45.[61]
According to an Axios poll released on May 7, 2024, 8% of college students have participated in the protests. 34% blame Hamas, 19% blame Netanyahu, 12% blame the Israeli people, and 12% blame Biden for the destruction in Gaza. 81% of students supported holding protesters accountable for destroyed property and illegally occupied buildings, 67% considered occupying campus buildings unacceptable, 58% considered refusal to disperse unacceptable, and 90% opposed blocking pro-Israel students. Students were more likely to support the pro-Palestinian encampments, with 45% supporting them strongly or moderately, 30% neutral, and 24% strongly or mildly opposed. Among those who participated in anti-Israeli protests, 58% said they would not be friends with someone who had marched for Israel, while 64% of students who marched in favor of Israel said they would still be friends with anti-Israeli protesters.[59]
In a Data for Progress poll in collaboration with Zeteo released on May 8, 2024, 55% of Democrats, 36% of Republicans, and 46% of all likely voters said they disapprove of colleges limiting students' rights and ability to protest Israel's military operations, whereas 32% of Democrats, 49% of Republicans, and 40% of all likely voters approved of doing so.[261][262][263][264][62]
In Canada, 19% of respondents supported the protesters and 48% of respondents opposed the protests.[265]
The Group of Eight, of which the universities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Monash and ANU are part, has sought legal advice on using terms such as "intifada" and "from the river to the sea", and has said it would ban those phrases if given definitive legal advice that they are unlawful. It said such phrases are "deeply offensive to many in the Jewish community". It sent a letter to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus asking for legal advice on whether these phrases violate Commonwealth law.[266] Dreyfus wrote back that he does not give legal advice, noting the universities were taking external legal advice. He added that Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 "makes it a civil offence to do a public act that is reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate people because of their race, colour or national or ethnic origins. A person aggrieved by an alleged act of racial discrimination can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission". Sydney and Monash urged students not to use the phrases, but stopped short of banning them.[267]
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has raised concerns that protests could become violent, like they have in the US. He said he is meeting with university security. He said the police do not want the "existing tension" and that universities must consider "how much more risk they're accepting by allowing these encampments to continue".[268] Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson wrote to the vice chancellors of the University of Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, Deakin and La Trobe, asking them to "carefully consider the risks" of allowing the encampments to continue. Organizers downplayed the risk of violence or escalation, saying the campuses are safe and that the encampments are a peaceful protest for the Palestinian people.[269] Universities have resisted the calls for the police to end to the protests, with the Group of Eight saying the encampments are held on public land and that police are free to enter at any time, with the universities having acted appropriately to breaches of the law, saying they are "in the business of de-escalation" and not wanting to see violence erupt, as it has in the US.[269] Police are being called "daily" to protests, with incidents of harassment and violence being investigated at Monash and Deakin.[270]
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a neutral stance on the protests, saying he is worried about social cohesion. Albanese has criticized usage of the phrase "from the river to the sea", calling it "provocative" and agreeing when asked whether it is a "very violent statement".[271][68] Education Minister Jason Clare has expressed concern about students feeling unsafe, saying, "I want more people to go to university, not less". He said that whilst there will always be protests in a democracy, there is no place for bigotry, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.[272]
The Greens have expressed support for the protests. On May 2, The Greens NSW issued a statement expressing solidarity with the encampment at the University of Sydney calling for the government to increase pressure on Israel to achieve a permanent ceasefire and calling for universities to cut ties with Israeli universities and weapons manufacturers supplying Israel.[273] After the first attack on the Monash camp, the Victorian Greens issued a statement that universities and police must better protect protesters.[274] Greens MPs have attended pro-Palestine protests since the start of the war.[275]
Liberal/National Coalition leader Peter Dutton has been sharply critical of the protests, calling universities that are allowing them to continue "weak". He said Prime Minister Albanese "needs to stand up and show some backbone here and call for an end to these nonsense protests".[276] Other Coalition members have been similarly critical, with education spokesperson Sarah Henderson and senior frontbencher Michael Sukkar saying the protests should be forcibly broken up. Henderson said universities should be fined if they do not do so. She has called for a Senate enquiry into antisemitism at universities.[277][278] On May 9, Dutton compared the protesters chants of "from the river to the sea" to "what Hitler chanted in the '30s", in response to Education Minister Jason Clare saying the chants of "from the river to the sea" and "intifada" mean "different things to different people". A Jewish group formed after the start of the war, the Jewish Council of Australia, set up in opposition to other peak Jewish bodies in Australia such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry with regards to support of Israel and the weaponization of antisemitism, said Dutton's interpretations were "a very bad-faith reading" of the chants.[279][280]
The protests were condemned by Prime Minister Mark Rutte,[281] as well as by various other high-ranking Dutch politicians.[282] Mariëlle Paul, the Dutch Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, suggested several times that it is "very questionable" whether the "rioters are actually students".[283]
An "emergency debate" was called on 10 May by the Government of Amsterdam in response to the police intervention earlier during the first protest on 6 May. Despite criticism, mayor Femke Halsema stood by her decision to let police intervene during the demonstration.[284] Around 250 protestors demonstrated during the meeting outside the Stopera, where the meeting was held, dubbing this the "fifth day of student protests".[285]
On 11 May, the "sixth day of protests",[286] a pro-Palestine protest in Amsterdam attracted over 10,000 people. Many demonstrators denounced the police action earlier that week. Some protesters also called for Halsema to resign.[287] On May 30, Halsema participated in a Room for Discussion event, where she spoke with students of the University of Amsterdam, and where she again stood by her decisions. The response from participating students was predominantly negative.[288]
The Dutch Student Union declared its solidarity with the student movement, and was critical regarding the treatment of student protesters by police. The union also pointed out the lack of student democracy and student representation in universities, which they deemed an underlying problem and a cause of the protests.[289] The Dutch Student Union also published a joint statement with the Amsterdam Student Union (ASVA Studentenvakbond) specifically condemning police intervention during the protests in Amsterdam.[290]
Amnesty International was also critical of the police intervention during the first protests at the University of Amsterdam. According to the organisation, police failed to take opportunities for de-escalation at a number of crucial moments. Insufficient distinction was made between peaceful demonstrators and people who used violence. Amnesty International was also critical of the attitudes towards protests in the current political climate.[291] The student branch of Amnesty International Utrecht held a solidarity event on May 10.[292]
The police interventions during the protests at Utrecht University, which included moving protesters to different locations on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service, were called unlawful by experts in the field of criminal law, including professors and lawyers.[293]With encampments taking place at institutions and concern over what the president of the Union of Jewish Students described as rising antisemitism on campuses, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a meeting with vice chancellors of higher education institutions.[69] In response, academics accused Sunak of "scaremongering". According to The Guardian, "Vice-chancellors insist they have no desire to quell challenge or stop difficult discussions on their campuses, arguing that this is part of the core purpose of a university". Vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England Steve West said there "was no evidence" that UK protests were "getting out of hand" and called on the government to avoid inflaming the situation.[294] The president of advocacy group Universities UK, Dame Sally Mapstone, said universities "may need to take action" but that there "should be no presumption universities would clear protest encampments".[295] The New York Times reported that authorities took a more "permissive approach" to protests on campuses, with an emphasis on facilitating free speech, and that British polling indicates that a majority supports a ceasefire.[51]
Many academics have supported students' demands and expressed solidarity with the protests. Hundreds of university employees, including 300 at Cambridge University[51] and staff at Oxford and Edinburgh universities, signed open letters in support of the encampments and accusing their institutions of complicity in the Israeli attacks.[294] At Durham University, over 200 university staff signed an open letter in support of the protest there on Palace Green and called on the university to negotiate with the protestors.[52] At Leeds University, members of the Universities and Colleges Union that represents academic and professional staff called for "teach outs" to be held at the encampment.[294] Twelve Jewish staff members at Oxford wrote an open letter disputing the university's claim that the encampment was intimidating to Jewish staff and students and saying that the university had ignored Jewish people who supported the encampment.[296]
Durham University was accused of failing to support free speech after a debate at the Durham Union on the topic "This house believes that the Palestinian leadership is the biggest barrier to peace" was postponed on police advice of a threat to public safety, with pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the entrance to the building. One of the scheduled speakers in favor of the motion said the university had refused to give police permission to take action against the protesters, while another said the university had "cav[ed] in to a fascist mob".[297] The Durham student paper Palatinate noted that "even this protest remained remarkably peaceful".[298]
After protesters set up an encampment at Birmingham University, the university ordered them to leave the premises on May 14, describing the occupation as trespassing.[299] According to The Telegraph, this was the first time one of the 20 student encampments in the UK had been ordered to disperse.[25] Protesters said they were "threatened with police action".[299] Birmingham University began legal action to remove the encampment on June 11.[300] The encampment within the Marshall Building at the London School of Economics was evicted on June 17 following a court order on June 14, making it the first UK encampment to be removed following legal action.[301][302] Queen Mary University of London also began court action against its encampment.[303] Elsewhere, encampments disbanded voluntarily at Swansea in early June, citing "significant wins" including divestment from Barclays Bank,[303] at Imperial College on June 20,[304] and at Durham on June 21.[305] On June 23, Oxford University erected a fence around the encampment outside the Pitt Rivers Museum (one of two camps at the university), leading the protesters to abandon the camp on June 25, with some saying they had been denied access to toilets and bathrooms. The university dismantled the camp shortly afterwards.[306]
On July 7, The Guardian reported that "Of the 36 encampments in England, Wales and Scotland at the end of May, around a dozen are still active", with the others having dispersed due to hostility from their institutions and waning enthusiasm following the end of the academic year. Those remaining included encampments at Birmingham, Bristol, QMUL and SOAS in London, Nottingham, Newcastle, Oxford, and Reading, with many of these facing legal action or the threat of legal action. [307] On July 8, Oxford Action for Palestine announced that the second encampment, outside the Radcliffe Camera, had been disbanded following threats of legal action from the university.[308] On July 10, the universities of Birmingham and Nottingham won separate legal cases resulting in summary possession orders against the encampments established on their campuses.[309] The camp at QMUL was also removed following a court order on July 10.[310] The Reading encampment closed voluntarily on May 31 after being asked to leave by the university but without legal action being taken.[311] The Bristol encampment ended in mid-July after winning the first stage of a legal case brought by the university but unable to afford the legal fees necessary to continue their defense.[312] University College London was awarded a summary possession order on August 6 against the campus established in the quad of the UCL Main Building on May 2.[313]
Rebecca Karl, a professor at NYU, stated that historically, "there have been a number of confrontations that have been dealt with by universities in ways that stress that we are not a violent institution... I'm personally very concerned".[314] Wadie Said, a professor at the University of Colorado, stated, "The First Amendment is the hallmark of freedom.. You see that being curtailed based on viewpoint discrimination, which is something not supposed to be allowed under the First Amendment".[315] Jeremi Suri, a UT Austin professor, stated, "I witnessed the police – the state police, the campus police, the city police – an army of police... stormed into the student crowd and started arresting students".[316]
Jody Armour, a professor at USC, stated, "We need to stop allowing people to weaponise anti-Semitism against real, valid protests."[317] In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it."[318] Randall Kuhn, a UCLA professor, stated, "I find it repugnant to sit by while Palestinian professors are being killed, while academic buildings are being bombed relentlessly."[319]
In September 2024, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed an official complaint against the University of California system, saying faculty were being targeted if they spoke out against the war in Gaza.[320]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Afaf Nasher criticized the use of police force to break up the protests, stating it undermined academic freedom. Civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised free speech concerns over the mass arrests that were seen during the protests.[321][57] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described some of the responses from law enforcement as "disproportionate in their impacts"[58] and was "troubled" by how they were being dealt with.[322] The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that while "hate speech is unacceptable," it is "essential in all circumstances to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration."[323] Farida Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to education, said the increase in attacks on student protests represented "a concerning erosion of intellectual freedom and democratic principles within educational settings".[324] Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, called the "violent dismantling of pro-Palestine encampments and arrests of student protesters a dangerous assault on our democracy".[325]
Several labor unions that previously supported a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war have expressed support for the protests, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU said it "proudly stands in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff exercising their right to speak up".[50] In contrast, Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL said that protesters concealing their identities were dressed like "bank robbers" and had the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side."[177] He also accused pro-Palestinian groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine, of being "Iranian proxies".[326]
A coalition of over 200 organizations published an open letter expressing support for the protests.[327] Signatories include:[328][329]
On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests, calling them antisemitic and criticizing those who "don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".[29] Former President Donald Trump said that the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was "peanuts" compared to the ongoing protests.[330] Speaking at Columbia on April 24, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear."[331] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned "lawlessness" during the protests at Columbia, calling it "unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systematic intimidation or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of Oct. 7."[332]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the situation at Columbia and other campuses as "inmates run[ning] the asylum."[333] Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the protesters "belonged in jail" and continued to claim that the protests were "hate-filled, antisemitic protests" and that anyone engaging in them should be expelled.[119] Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro criticized colleges and universities that did not do enough to protect its students, which could lead to antisemitic incidents.[331] Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the protests "a dangerous situation" and said, "there's also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable".[126] He accused the "student radicals" of supporting Hamas.[332] Multiple conservative politicians and commentators, including Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Ira Stoll, Isabel Vincent, and Kari Lake spread the antisemitic conspiracy theory that George Soros funded the protest movement.[334][335]
After the mass arrests at UT on April 24, many voiced their disapproval over Abbott's handling of the decision and the police tactics. Texas Democrats claimed that Abbott's Department of Public Safety had "more courage to arrest peaceful student protesters than when an active shooter entered an elementary school in Uvalde."[54] U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the deployment of police against the Columbia University protest, calling it an "escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act".[336] Irvine, California Mayor Farrah Khan said: “I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students' rights to peacefully assemble and protest."[337]
The Fairfax County branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement denouncing the arrests of students at Virginia schools.[55] Virginia representatives Rozia Henson, Joshua Cole, Adele McClure, Nadarius Clark, and Saddam Salim released a joint statement condemning the arrests of student protesters in Virginia.[338][339] After visiting the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said: “The First Amendment comes from here. This is Philadelphia. We don't have to do stupid like they did at Columbia.”[340] California representative Sara Jacobs wrote on X: "I'm deeply concerned that the response to peaceful protests at UCSD is to call in riot police. A militarized response further escalates the situation and doesn't help keep students safe."[341]
Addressing students at the City University of New York on April 26, imprisoned Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the protests, saying, "It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes", calling protesters "on the right side of history".[342] College Democrats of America, the student wing of the Democratic Party, endorsed the protests and criticized Biden's response to them.[56][55] Massachusetts State Representative Mike Connolly said: "I'm here really in solidarity with these protesters, and I'm hoping that the MIT administration will honor free speech and will honor the tradition of dissents in this country, in particular dissents to war, which is what really calls us here today."[343]
On May 12, Trump said, "[Biden] is surrendering our college campuses to anarchists, jihadist freaks and anti-American extremists who are trying to tear down our American flag. ... If you come here from another country and try to bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or antisemitism to our campuses, we will immediately deport you. You'll be out of that school."[344] On May 14, Trump told a room full of donors he would deport foreign student demonstrators. According to anonymous Trump donors, Trump said that protests were part of a "revolutionary movement" and that "if you get me reelected, we're going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years."[345]
On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 on a 10–0 vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.[346] The bill would require the California State University system and California Community Colleges system to enact policies that would prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination if they are "intended to and reasonably understood by the victims or hearers" to either "interfere with the free exercise of rights under the First Amendment or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution" or to "call for or support genocide". The bill would also restrict the right to assemble on campuses with "reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions." The bill has received support exclusively from Jewish and Zionist organizations. It is opposed by the ACLU and the University of California, Davis School of Law, which called the bill unconstitutional.[347]
The "Antisemitism Awareness Act", spearheaded by the Republicans but also backed by many Democrats, passed the United States House of Representatives in a 320–91 vote on May 1, 2024, and proceeded to the Senate.[348][349] The bill is intended to address the recent perceived rise in antisemitism on campuses[350] and uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's approved working definition of antisemitism to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits "exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits of, and discrimination under federally assisted programs on ground of race, color, or national origin."[351] Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs, who is Jewish, said she opposed the bill because "it fails to effectively address the very real rise of antisemitism, all while defunding colleges and universities across the country and punishing many, if not all, of the nonviolent protesters speaking out against the Israeli military's conduct."[352]
The proposed legislation would broaden the legal definition of antisemitism to include anti-Zionism, criticism of the policies of the state of Israel, and concerns about Palestinian human rights, by categorizing all of that as hate speech, and it has been criticized for conflating "Judaism with Zionism in assuming that all Jews are Zionists" and automatic citizens of Israel rather than the U.S., thereby severely undermining genuine safety for Jewish citizens. It faces strong opposition from several Democratic lawmakers, Jewish organizations, and free speech advocates, including more than 800 Jewish U.S. academics, who signed a letter calling on Biden not to sign the bill.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the centrist pro-Israel group J Street, said that his organization opposes the bill because it is an "unserious" effort led by Republicans "to continually force votes that divide the Democratic caucus on an issue that shouldn't be turned into a political football."
The ACLU sees the bill as an attack on First Amendment rights and argues that its "overbroad" definition of antisemitism "could result in colleges and universities suppressing a wide variety of speech critical of Israel or in support of Palestinian rights in an effort to avoid investigations by the Department [of Education] and the potential loss of funding."
Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Conference of Presidents have praised the bill, and it is based on definitions by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that have been criticized by 100 Israeli and international civil society organizations that wrote to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in 2023 urging the UN not to adopt the definitions.[353][354][355][356]
Three Republican members of the U.S. House introduced a bill that would require anyone convicted of unlawful activity on a college campus to perform community service in Gaza for six months. The bill was widely derided as a political stunt and is exceedingly unlikely to pass.[357][358][359]
Legislators in the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate formed select committees to investigate how state colleges responded to the protests after over 125 people were arrested in the state.[360][361]
On May 15, United Auto Workers (UAW)'s Harvard Graduate Student Union sued Harvard University, accusing it of surveillance and retaliation against workplace-related collective action, denying employees union representation in disciplinary hearings, and unfairly changing policies regarding access to campus to discourage protesters.[362]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific" and antisemitic and must be quelled.[67] Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Israel–Hamas war[363] and expressing support for the protests.[48] Many Israeli academics and civilians, alongside columnists in Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz, expressed disdain for the protests, with one describing the general reaction as "seeing them as an attack on the country and not just its government".[364][365][366]
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Quebec Premier François Legault criticized the protests.[367][368]
After being invited to visit the Columbia protest, Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza said his experience was great, that he appreciated students wanting to know more and educate themselves, and that it was an honor to raise awareness about the Gaza Strip.[170] Bisan Owda said the protests made the Gazan populace feel "heard".[369][370] Displaced people in Gaza expressed gratitude to the student protesters, holding signs such as "Thank you, American universities".[371]
In response to the protests at Columbia, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs said, "In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order... After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad."[372] Chinese state media expressed support for the protests: the People's Daily wrote that American students are protesting because they "can no longer stand the double standards of the United States" and former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin said that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."[373] According to Microsoft, Chinese Communist Party-linked influence operations online such as Spamouflage have used the protests to stoke outrage.[374][375] In Iran, former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized Saudi Arabia's and Jordan's reported consideration of normalizing relations with Israel, saying, "American student protesters being brutalised by US security forces have a much greater claim to protecting Palestinians than the Custodians of Holy Mosques".[376] In Tunisia, the General Union of Students released a statement expressing "gratitude and admiration for the student movements at American universities, drawing inspiration from their remarkable history of war rejection, as witnessed during the Vietnam War".[377]
After the three-day occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France Gabriel Attal said he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", calling the protests "an ideology coming from North America".[378] The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticized the protesters' actions, saying, "universities are places where cultural engagement, even heated, even harsh, must be open 360 degrees, where engagement with strong ideas that are completely different, must be expressed not with violence, not with boycotts, but knowing how to engage".[379] After arrests at the Athens Law School, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that "authorities would not allow universities to become sites for protest over Israel's war on Gaza as has been seen in countries around the world".[206] In support of students' right to protest, European University Institute president Patrizia Nanz accused universities of demanding a "safe space" in order to "justify the repression of students' Gaza protests" and restrict their freedom of speech.[380]
Sana'a University in Yemen offered education to students suspended due to protests.[381] Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University in Iran, has offered scholarships to U.S. students expelled for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. This offer, reported by Press TV, extends to students and professors affected by the protests. Moazzeni suggested that other universities in Shiraz and Fars Province may also be prepared to support these students.[382][better source needed] At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs launched a program aimed at helping Jewish students who feel unsafe at U.S. universities continue their education at Israeli universities.[383]
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini has praised the protests on Twitter, praising American students and suggesting they were "on the right side of history". He further described the protesting students as part of the "resistance front" against Israel and encouraged them to "become familiar with the Quran."[53][384][385]
The Guardian called the protests "perhaps the most significant student movement since the anti-Vietnam campus protests of the late 1960s".[63] Protests at Columbia were compared to the 1968 protests due to their scale and tactics,[386] and as echoing the 1968 movement.[387][388] According to The Independent, protesters studied the 1968 movement. A Columbia undergraduate said that student organizers learned from the experiences of older generations, calling the movement "completely built" on the legacy of the 1968 protests.[389] Mark Rudd, who led protests against the Vietnam War at Columbia in the 1960s, said, "For me, it's the most normal thing in the world to look at the murder of 34,000 people and the displacement of close to 2 million in Gaza and say, ‘Hey, stop!"[64]
Former Columbia student leaders from the era of protests against apartheid in the 1980s, including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and historian Barbara Ransby, said the "intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism" were focal points in the movements of 1968, the 1980s, and 2024—and that the similarities are clear among the periods.[390] The New York Times reported that some scholars consider the current protests starkly different from those against the Vietnam War or apartheid South Africa. According to Timothy Naftali, protests against Vietnam in the 1960s did not result in a constituency that felt attacked as an ethnicity, and the "demonstrations now are creating a feeling of insecurity in a much bigger way than the antiwar demonstrations during Vietnam did".[167]
Far-right influencers and some Republicans have portrayed the protests as violent, a "Marxist takeover," and "terrorism".[175] The New York Times opined that the protests have come during a presidential election year in which Democrats have "harnessed promises of stability and normalcy to win critical recent elections" and that the protests are a messaging opportunity for Republicans to divide Democrats.[391] The newspaper also published an article citing NewsGuard, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and Recorded Future on how the media of Russia, China, and Iran have covered the events. It concluded that those countries have made overt and covert efforts to capitalize on the protests to denigrate democracy, inflame partisan tensions, criticize Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election, support Trump, and express support for Hamas and Palestinians generally.[392]
Both Columbia Professor of Journalism Helen Benedict and Johns Hopkins political science professor Daniel Schlozman remarked that Republican fixation on criticizing universities as bastions of leftist ideology has resulted in portrayals of the protests as examples of radicalism on race and gender issues as a way to divide Democrats.[393][394] A Jewish Currents editor described the movement as providing "cover for the right to expand its attack on protest" in reference to the "draconian" crackdown on protests, saying the "attacks on academic freedom and free speech on campus" were led by right-wingers.[395] Republicans have used antisemitic tropes when denouncing protests as antisemitic, including allusions to conspiracies around George Soros and invoking globalists.[396]
On April 28, The New York Times wrote that protests outside the U.S. were "sporadic and smaller, and none [started] a wider student movement". The "partisan political context" was given as a reason for the intensity of protests in the U.S.[393] Columbia's status as an Ivy League school, its proximity to New York City and national news media, and its large population of Jewish students were described as fueling increased media attention and political scrutiny that helped spread the protests.[393] According to a Washington Monthly study, pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments were more prevalent at elite U.S. universities. The magazine wrote, "in the vast majority of cases, campuses that educate students mostly from working-class backgrounds have not had any protest activity."[397]
On May 3, NPR called the protests abroad "a growing global student movement", with student protests in the United Kingdom focusing on "an increasingly high-profile nationwide campaign to end British arms exports to Israel".[398] According to NBC News, the protests abroad, inspired by protests in the U.S., did not have the intensity of U.S. protests.[399] By May 7, protests had escalated in Europe after mass arrests at the University of Amsterdam, with occupations of campus buildings in Germany, France, and Belgium, and encampments on several European campuses.[23] The Associated Press described protests at Sciences Po in Paris as "echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States".[400] By May 9, protests were widespread at universities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while smaller ones were held at Japanese and South Korean universities.[401]
Media coverage of the protests has been criticized as sensationalized and failing to focus on the protesters' demands and grievances.[402] Dana Bash was criticized for likening college protests to the rise of antisemitism in the 1930s in Europe.[182] The lack of student protesters' voices in most national media coverage has also been criticized.[402] Student reporters, in particular, have been praised for their work covering the protests.[403][404]
Among the lead student groups in the coalition are the Columbia chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. The two decades-old anti-Zionism advocacy groups that protest Israel's military occupation have chapters across the country that have been key to protests on other campuses.
It's one of several schools around the country where professors are getting arrested at demonstrations, circulating letters in support of arrested protesters and holding no-confidence votes in their administrations.
Pro-Palestinian student activists say their movement is anti-Zionist but not antisemitic.
Those demonstrations took a dark turn on Saturday evening, as protesters targeted some Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol that was captured in video and pictures, both inside and outside the campus.
Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion ... He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.
He kept being told: "You're interpreting it wrong", but this week there was no misinterpreting, he says, the undercurrent of antisemitism on campus. "We're coming for you," other Jewish students say they were told: "Get off our campus."
Video of the incendiary comments resurfaced online Thursday evening, forcing the school to again confront an issue at the core of the conflict rippling across campuses nationwide: the tension between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism.Diver, Tony (April 27, 2024). "Dispatch: Jewish students confront extreme anti-Semitism at Columbia protest camp". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
At Boston's Northeastern University, Police in riot gear cleared an encampment after crowds were heard chanting antisemitic slurs including "kill the Jews".
Across the United States this spring, Iran also used social media to stoke student-organized protests against Israel's war in Gaza, with operatives providing financial assistance and posing as students, according to American intelligence assessments.
Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University on Wednesday after protesters projected a US flag in flames and slogans including "Long live the student intifada" onto a building overnight.
It is being called the Student Intifada, a grassroots protest movement spreading to different college and university campuses around the country involving students at over a hundred campuses, setting up encampments, occupations and protests (...)
Anti-Israel activists groups defied Harvard University warnings that their protest encampment must dissolve under threat of suspension, proclaiming the campus occupation movement a "student intifada" in a press conference on Monday.
It was unclear whether all of the participants were UCLA students, although known members of far right and white nationalist groups have been appearing at various campuses nationally in order to sow chaos and violence.
Those counter-protesters might, in turn, be met with violence from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement, said Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. The far-left has become increasingly organized over the last few years, in response to growing violence from the far-right, Clarke said, and he's worried about possible violence that could spill out from the protests.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)From 1968 to the 1980s to 2024, the often intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism, took center stage in Columbia justice movements, reflecting larger campus and international struggles raging at the time. Each of these periods was unique, but parallels are clear.
Media related to 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses at Wikimedia Commons