2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
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Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians.[20] In the U.S. over 2,950 protesters have been arrested,[19] including faculty members and professors,[1][21] on over 60 campuses.[19] On May 7, protests spread across Europe with mass arrests in the Netherlands.[22][23] By May 12, twenty encampments had been established in the United Kingdom, and across universities in Australia and Canada.[24][25] Some protesters have referred to the movement as the "student intifada".[lower-alpha 1][29]
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses | |
---|---|
Part of the Israel–Hamas war protests | |
Date | April 17, 2024 – present (1 month, 2 weeks and 1 day) |
Location | Global
|
Caused by | Opposition to |
Goals | Universities divesting from Israel |
Methods | |
Casualties | |
Injuries | 15-25+ protesters hospitalized[18] |
Arrested | 2,950+ protesters[19] |
The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel, transparency over financial ties, an end to partnerships with Israeli institutions,[30] and amnesty for protesters.[31] Universities have suspended and expelled student protesters, in some cases evicting them from campus housing.[1][32][33] Some universities have relied on police to forcibly disband encampments and end occupations of buildings,[34] while others made agreements with protesters for encampments to be dismantled.[35] The occupations have resulted in the closure of Columbia University,[36] Cal Poly Humboldt,[37] and the University of Amsterdam;[38] Portland State University pausing financial ties with Boeing over its ties to Israel;[39] Trinity College Dublin agreeing to end certain investments in Israeli companies;[40] and a rolling strike by academic workers at UC Santa Cruz.[41] Some universities' graduation ceremonies were canceled,[42][43] and protests occurred at various graduation ceremonies in May.[44][45]
Over 200 groups have expressed support for the protests,[46] as well as Senator Bernie Sanders, various members of Congress, and several labor unions.[47][48][49] The protests also received support from Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.[50][51][52] The police response to the protests has been criticized by various Democrats[53][54][55] and human rights organizations.[56][57] An estimated 8% of college students have participated in protests,[58] 97% of them have remained nonviolent,[59] and 28–40% of Americans support the protests with 42–47% opposed.[60][61] The protests have been compared to the anti-Vietnam and 1968 protests.[62][63]
Supporters of Israel and some Jewish students have raised concerns about antisemitic incidents at or around the protests,[64] prompting condemnations from leaders including President Joe Biden,[31] Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte,[65] and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu;[66] as well as concern from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese[67] and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.[68] Several students and faculty members who have participated in the protests, some of whom are Jewish, have said the protests are not antisemitic.[69][70][71] Protesters and their allies have criticized the disposition of many university administrations as perpetuating a "Palestine exception" to academic freedom,[72][73] and have raised concerns about anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia.[74]