Several days of protests, assaults on Jewish students, and chaos at Columbia University in New York City have now spread to other American college campuses. Columbia has since suspended two Palestinian groups, and a local rabbi has encouraged Jewish students to flee the campus.
Now, roughly 45 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested for ‘trespassing’ at Yale University, according to the New Haven Police Department. All were being released on mere promises to appear in court later, meaning they were released with zero bond to ensure they will reappear in court.
This comes in the wake of 108 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University arrested for setting up a ‘tent city’ on the campus last week. Dozens arrested at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale and New York University as student protests concerning Israel’s Gaza war continue.
Trespassing is indeed a crime, as is assault and disorderly conduct. And although hate speech is not in itself a crime, it’s a clear violation of a university’s code of conduct. Why is this so hard for our “elite” college administrators? @Columbia https://t.co/vkWPj6HLR5
— Dave Aronberg (@aronberg) April 22, 2024
A wide range of groups appear to be behind the campus protests and encampments.
The protests are focused on the disparity of the evolving conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. The October 7th terror attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israeli citizens killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis. Israel’s military response, invading the Gaza Strip to hunt down Hamas, has displaced millions and, according to Hamas, widely known for their lies and brutality, claims 34,000 lives have been lost so far.
Protests have spread nationwide to the following campuses, where some are taking the form of ‘tent city’ encampment protests:
- Columbia University
- Yale University
- Harvard University
- New York University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Cal Poly (California Polytechnic)
- Tufts University
- Emerson College
- The New School (NY)
- The University of Michigan
- University of Maryland
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- University of Southern California
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington University in St. Louis
New anti-Israel tent city takes over Columbia University lawn days after NYPD raid as activists vow to stay ‘forever.’ pic.twitter.com/jvVhJjhEKv
— New York Post (@nypost) April 22, 2024
CBS News claims that the spreading protests have left the nation’s colleges “on edge.”
The Anti-Defamation League has denounced the protests and protesters as supporting terror against Israel and violence on college campuses.
The University of Southern California took the unusual step of canceling a planned commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian last week. Which has, yesterday, led to protests.
Earlier this month, a leaked call from the Anti-Defamation League indicated that the organized response of pro-Jewish and pro-Israeli groups in America will be to encourage the federal government to increase social media and official censorship to contain the spread of these ideas.