Protests intensified across college and university campuses in the United States Monday with anti-Israeli protesters flying a Palestinian flag in a spot usually reserved for the American flag at Harvard University, its student-led newspaper, Harvard Crimson, reported.
"A group of three protesters hoisted the (Palestinian) flags over the John Harvard statue in the Yard, where the University sometimes flies the American flag or flags of the countries of visiting foreign dignitaries," the report said.
These protests come in light of Israel's military offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7 which left over 1,000 Israelis dead. According to the local health ministry, news agency AP reported, Israel have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Several students across US colleges are demanding that the universities cut their financial ties to Israel.
Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L Swain has called the hoisting of the flags “a violation of University policy" and said that "individuals involved will be subject to disciplinary action.”
Demonstrations and arrests so far
In University of California, Los Angeles, protesters on both sides shouted and attacked each other during the demonstrations on Sunday, leading the University to step up security after "some physical alterations broke out among demonstrators," Mary Osaka, Vice-Chancellor for the UCLA Strategic Communications, stated. No injuries or arrests were known, AP reported.
On Sunday, police had put up barricades before hundreds of demonstrators on both sides joined a growing crowd near tents where pro-Palestinian students have been staying around-the-clock.
Pro-Israeli demonstrators who arrived for a “Stand in Support of Jewish Students” rally said their goal was to “stand up against hatred and antisemitism.”
The counter-protest was organized by the Israeli-American Council, whose leader Elan Carr urged marchers to remain peaceful, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Last week, about 275 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested from various campuses, including Indiana University at Bloomington, Northeastern University in Boston and Arizona State University.
According to AP news agency, the number of arrests approached 900 since New York police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University and arrested over 100 protesters on April 18. At the University, the students and administrators have engaged in discussions to end the demonstrations, AP news quoted a statement on Saturday night.
What are the demands of the protesters?
According to news agency PTI, the demands of the students vary from campus to campus. It includes:
- Stop doing business with military weapons manufacturers that are supplying arms to Israel.
- Stop accepting research money from Israel for projects that aid the country’s military efforts.
- Stop investing college endowments with money managers who profit from Israeli companies or contractors.
- Be more transparent about what money is received from Israel and what it’s used for.
What about the arrested students?
The plight of students who were arrested became a central part of the protests, with faculty and demonstrators demanding amnesty for them. According to AP news, "at issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives."
How has the US administration responded to the protests?
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that President Joe Biden “knows that there are very strong feelings” but would leave managing the protests to local authorities, AP reported.
“People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly but it has to be peaceful,” Kirby said on ABC’s ”This Week.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, in an interview, called it “a dangerous situation” and placed the responsibility with college administrators. “There’s also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable. I’ve been shocked to see that in this country,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
How did the protests begin?
The October 7 attacks led some students to hold the Israeli regime responsible for the attacks. “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence. Today’s events did not occur in a vaccum," a joint statement comprising more than 30 student groups at Harvard University read.
It further said: “For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison,” and that “In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.”
