NEW DELHI: Anti-war demonstrations were halted at several US universities this week after university authorities reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian demonstrators to prevent the disruption of final exams and graduation ceremonies. .
The agreements at schools such as Brown University, Northwestern University and Rutgers University are among the few that have seen more than 2,400 arrests across 46 campuses across the country since April 17.
The agreement also includes a promise that the university will review its investments in Israel and consider asking it to cease doing business with the U.S., a longtime ally.
The Associated Press quoted Ralph Young, a history professor who studies U.S. dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia, as saying, “For some universities, this may just be a delaying tactic to diffuse the protests.” No,” he said.
“We are now nearing the end of the semester. Perhaps by the start of the next semester there will be a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Protests at the University of Vermont were successful after university officials declared Friday that the commencement speaker, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, would not address graduates later this month.
Demonstrators who set up camp on Sunday held a speech by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield over her involvement in the U.S. veto of several UN ceasefire resolutions. He had requested to be excluded from the upcoming ceremony.
Israel has condemned the protests as anti-Semitic. Critics say the country uses such accusations to suppress dissent. A small number of demonstrators reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks and threats of violence, but the organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, characterized this as supporting Palestinian rights and opposing the war. It is described as a peaceful campaign.
Administrators at the University of California, Riverside announced Friday that they had reached an agreement with protesters to close encampments on campus. The agreement includes removing Riverside’s endowment from broader University of California system control and distributing those funds “in a manner that is fiscally and ethically sound for the university, with consideration for companies involved in the manufacture and delivery of weapons.” This included the establishment of a task force to consider investing in ”
The announcement marked a clear break with the policy of the 10-campus UC system, which announced last week that it opposes “calls to boycott and divest from Israel.”
“While the university recognizes the right of community members to express diverse views, this type of boycott violates the academic freedom of students and faculty and the free exchange of ideas on campus,” the university said in a statement. ”.
“UC tuition and fees are the primary source of funding for the university’s core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes.”
Protesters also packed a tent Thursday afternoon at Rutgers University, where finals were suspended due to protests on the New Brunswick campus. The state university established an Arab Cultural Center and agreed not to retaliate against students involved in the camp.
Prime Minister Francine Conway cited protesters’ demands to stop investing in companies doing business with Israel and to cut ties with Rutgers University and Tel Aviv University. He said the request was under consideration, but “such decisions are outside of our control.”
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to clear their camp on Tuesday. School officials said students will have the opportunity to advocate for Mr. Brown’s investments to be removed from companies involved in and profiting from the Gaza conflict.
In addition, Brown University President Christina Paxson will ask the advisory committee to submit a proposal for the sale by September 30th. The proposal will then be submitted to the university’s governing body for a vote in October.
Northwestern’s Deering Meadow, a Chicago suburb, also went quiet after reaching an agreement Monday. The deal curtailed protests in exchange for reinstating an advisory committee on university investments and other obligations.
The arrangement received criticism from both sides. Some pro-Palestinian protesters accused them of failing to stick to their original demands, while some Israeli supporters said it was a “despicable” surrender.
Later, seven of the 18 members of the University Commission, which advises the government on combating anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate speech on campus, said, “Over the past week, Northwestern has been publicly accused of He resigned, saying that he was unable to continue serving because of the presence of so many people.
Michael Simon, executive director of Northwestern Hillel, a Jewish student organization, said he resigned because he believed the committee could not accomplish its goals.
Faculty members at Pomona College in California have voted to divest from companies accused of funding Israel’s war in Gaza, a group of faculty and students announced Friday.
Thursday’s vote is non-binding for the liberal arts school, which serves about 1,800 students and is located east of Los Angeles. But supporters expressed hope that the vote would prompt boards to stop investing in these companies and start disclosing their investments.
“This non-legally binding faculty statement does not represent the official position of Pomona College,” the school said in a statement. “We continue to encourage further dialogue within the community, including consideration of counter-arguments.”
The movement began on April 17 in Colombia, where student protesters built a camp demanding an end to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Late Tuesday, police arrested more than 100 people as they dispersed an encampment in Colombia. According to the NYPD, an officer unintentionally fired a gun inside Hamilton Hall during an operation late Thursday.
According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, more than 34,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict. Israel launched the attack after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and took about 250 hostages in southern Israel on October 7.
( (with opinions from agents)
The agreements at schools such as Brown University, Northwestern University and Rutgers University are among the few that have seen more than 2,400 arrests across 46 campuses across the country since April 17.
The agreement also includes a promise that the university will review its investments in Israel and consider asking it to cease doing business with the U.S., a longtime ally.
The Associated Press quoted Ralph Young, a history professor who studies U.S. dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia, as saying, “For some universities, this may just be a delaying tactic to diffuse the protests.” No,” he said.
Expanding
Protests at the University of Vermont were successful after university officials declared Friday that the commencement speaker, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, would not address graduates later this month.
Demonstrators who set up camp on Sunday held a speech by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield over her involvement in the U.S. veto of several UN ceasefire resolutions. He had requested to be excluded from the upcoming ceremony.
Israel has condemned the protests as anti-Semitic. Critics say the country uses such accusations to suppress dissent. A small number of demonstrators reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks and threats of violence, but the organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, characterized this as supporting Palestinian rights and opposing the war. It is described as a peaceful campaign.
Administrators at the University of California, Riverside announced Friday that they had reached an agreement with protesters to close encampments on campus. The agreement includes removing Riverside’s endowment from broader University of California system control and distributing those funds “in a manner that is fiscally and ethically sound for the university, with consideration for companies involved in the manufacture and delivery of weapons.” This included the establishment of a task force to consider investing in ”
The announcement marked a clear break with the policy of the 10-campus UC system, which announced last week that it opposes “calls to boycott and divest from Israel.”
“While the university recognizes the right of community members to express diverse views, this type of boycott violates the academic freedom of students and faculty and the free exchange of ideas on campus,” the university said in a statement. ”.
“UC tuition and fees are the primary source of funding for the university’s core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes.”
Protesters also packed a tent Thursday afternoon at Rutgers University, where finals were suspended due to protests on the New Brunswick campus. The state university established an Arab Cultural Center and agreed not to retaliate against students involved in the camp.
Prime Minister Francine Conway cited protesters’ demands to stop investing in companies doing business with Israel and to cut ties with Rutgers University and Tel Aviv University. He said the request was under consideration, but “such decisions are outside of our control.”
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to clear their camp on Tuesday. School officials said students will have the opportunity to advocate for Mr. Brown’s investments to be removed from companies involved in and profiting from the Gaza conflict.
In addition, Brown University President Christina Paxson will ask the advisory committee to submit a proposal for the sale by September 30th. The proposal will then be submitted to the university’s governing body for a vote in October.
Northwestern’s Deering Meadow, a Chicago suburb, also went quiet after reaching an agreement Monday. The deal curtailed protests in exchange for reinstating an advisory committee on university investments and other obligations.
The arrangement received criticism from both sides. Some pro-Palestinian protesters accused them of failing to stick to their original demands, while some Israeli supporters said it was a “despicable” surrender.
Later, seven of the 18 members of the University Commission, which advises the government on combating anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate speech on campus, said, “Over the past week, Northwestern has been publicly accused of He resigned, saying that he was unable to continue serving because of the presence of so many people.
Michael Simon, executive director of Northwestern Hillel, a Jewish student organization, said he resigned because he believed the committee could not accomplish its goals.
Faculty members at Pomona College in California have voted to divest from companies accused of funding Israel’s war in Gaza, a group of faculty and students announced Friday.
Thursday’s vote is non-binding for the liberal arts school, which serves about 1,800 students and is located east of Los Angeles. But supporters expressed hope that the vote would prompt boards to stop investing in these companies and start disclosing their investments.
“This non-legally binding faculty statement does not represent the official position of Pomona College,” the school said in a statement. “We continue to encourage further dialogue within the community, including consideration of counter-arguments.”
The movement began on April 17 in Colombia, where student protesters built a camp demanding an end to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Late Tuesday, police arrested more than 100 people as they dispersed an encampment in Colombia. According to the NYPD, an officer unintentionally fired a gun inside Hamilton Hall during an operation late Thursday.
According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, more than 34,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict. Israel launched the attack after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and took about 250 hostages in southern Israel on October 7.
( (with opinions from agents)
