A look at Gaza war protests on college campuses
Images: Stefan Jeremiah/AP | Richard Vogel/AP | Austin-American Statesman
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have intensified at an increasing number of colleges in recent days, resulting in the arrests of hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators following clashes with police.
Background: Tensions initially escalated last week, when 108 protesters at Columbia University were arrested as police tried to clear their encampment. Since then, such conflicts have spread across the country.
- On Wednesday, Los Angeles police arrested 93 protesters on suspicion of trespassing at the University of Southern California, while a clash between local police and student demonstrators at the University of Texas at Austin resulted in 34 arrests.
- Similar confrontations continued on Thursday, when Boston police announced the arrests of 108 people following a pro-Palestinian protest at Emerson College, and dozens of pro-Palestinian activists clashed with police at Emory University in Atlanta.
What do students want to see happen? While activist groupsâ demands vary from campus to campus, there are a few connecting themes regarding what they want to see from schools:
- Stop investing endowments with funds/businesses who activists say are profiting from Israelâs war effort or its long-term occupation of Palestinian lands (including Google).
- Halt all business with weapons manufacturers supplying arms to Israel.
- Stop accepting Israeli research money for projects that aid the countryâs military efforts, and be more transparent about money received from Israel.
đ Bottom line: Universities are currently caught between a rock and a hard place. Many schools have said they want to have a conversation with students and honor their right to protest. But officials have also echoed the concerns of many Jewish students, who say some demonstratorsâ words and actions represent antisemitism and create an unsafe on-campus environment.
đ Flash poll: In general, do you support the pro-Palestinian student protests on college campuses?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying â
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that students are protesting and speaking out for a just cause in trying to stop Israelâs violence in Gaza, and that schools are wrong to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests for safety reasons.
- Others contend that there are valid arguments to be made against the Israeli government regarding its response in Gaza, but too many pro-Palestinian college protesters appear blind to the fact that violent antisemitism is real â and that their protest movement risks giving it the cover of legitimacy.
- âColumbia, Free Speech and the Coddling of the American Rightâ â
- âCampus Gaza protest movement risks becoming a haven for antisemitic hateâ âSt. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board
- âUSCâs âsecurity riskâ rationale to thwart peaceful protest is not justifiedâ âSandy Tolan, LA Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that many student protests display worrying antisemitic behavior and appear to openly support Hamas, and serve to enable the persecution of Israel and Jews worldwide.
- Others contend that while student protesters are hoping to bolster the cause of Palestinians, such behavior often only influences college-educated professionals and weakens the wider cause.
- âCampus âpro-Palestineâ protesters ignore how theyâre enabling a new Holocaustâ âNY Post Editorial Board
- âWhy campus protests against Israel probably wonât be effectiveâ âMegan McArdle, WaPo
- âAmid the chaos, Americaâs elite campuses canât educate. University presidents have to turn that around.â âChicago Tribune Editorial Board
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