Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who could be students were arrested at Yale University on Monday after blocking traffic around the campus in New Haven, Connecticut, demanding the school divest from military weapons manufacturers, according to the Associated Press.
The arrests come hours after Columbia University in New York City canceled in-person classes and moved to online teaching in response to protesters setting up tent encampments on its campus last week.
The protests at Yale, Columbia, and other university campuses across the nation began in response to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following the deadly cross-border raid by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 and Israel’s fierce response in the Gaza enclave controlled by Hamas.
Columbia President Nemat Minouche Shafik, in an email to staff and students, stated that the decision to cancel in-person classes was made to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps.”
Last week, Shafik called in New York Police to clear a tent encampment protesters had set up on Columbia’s main lawn, an unusual move condemned by some faculty.
More than 100 Columbia students were arrested on Thursday on charges of trespassing, and dozens have been suspended for their involvement in the protests.
Shafik, who recently testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee defending the school’s response to alleged antisemitism by protesters, said, “These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.
Republicans in the House and the Senate, as well as at least one Democratic senator, have demanded Shafik’s resignation.
The New York Police Department has deployed scores of officers to the streets around Columbia’s campus, where angry confrontations have unfolded between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
While no reports of physical harm against any student have been received, police have received reports of Israeli students having flags snatched from their hands, according to Tarik Shappard, the chief police spokesperson.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have both condemned antisemitism and called for violence against Jews on college campuses and in the city.
Student organizers from the Columbia encampment have criticized these statements, noting that some of the organizers are Jewish and that news outlets have focused on “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us.”
The students are demanding the school divest from corporations that profit from Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, transparency of the school’s financial investments, and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined over their calls for Palestinian liberation.
Columbia’s commencement is scheduled for May 15, and Shafik has stated that the protesters must be open to compromise, writing, “We cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view.”
Credit: Associated Press
