NEW YORK (AP) – Columbia University canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale University, and some of the nation’s most prestigious universities tried to defuse tensions on campus Monday. Over the battle between Israel and Hamas that closed the gates of Harvard Yard.
More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested last week while camping on the Columbia Green, leaving schools to decide where to draw the line between allowing freedom of expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus. Amid this struggle, similar camps are popping up at universities across the country.
At New York University, hundreds of protesters gathered throughout the day Monday at an encampment set up by students. The school warned the crowd to leave, but the scene became chaotic and police were called. The university said it had learned of reports of “intimidating chants and several anti-Semitic incidents.” Officers began making arrests shortly after 8:30 p.m.
“Allowing police to arrest students on campus is a truly outrageous repression by the university,” said Byul Yun, a law student at New York University.
“Anti-Semitism is never OK. It’s never something we stand for and that’s why we have so many Jewish comrades here with us today,” Yun said. .
The protests have pitted students against each other, with pro-Palestinian students calling on the school to condemn Israel’s attack on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Meanwhile, some Jewish students said much of the criticism of Israel has veered toward anti-Semitism and is making them feel unsafe, saying they were captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 invasion. He points out that hostages are still being held.
Tensions remained high at Columbia University on Monday, with campus gates locked for those without ID cards and protests erupting on and off campus.
Democratic Representative Kathy Manning of North Carolina, who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that One-third of the green told reporters after meeting with.
After leaving the Morningside Heights campus, she said, “I saw signs that Israel should be destroyed.” Columbia University announced Monday that with safety as its top priority, courses at its Morningside campus will offer virtual options for students whenever possible.
A woman inside the campus gates led about 20 demonstrators onto the street outside, shouting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a charged phrase that can have vastly different meanings to different groups. A small group of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators staged a protest nearby.
University President Minush Shafik said in a message to school officials on Monday that he was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus.
“To quell resentment and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote, adding that students who do not live on campus will stay away. He pointed out that this should be done.
Protests have roiled many university campuses since Hamas attacked southern Israel, with the militants killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. In the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, but at least two-thirds of the dead were children and children. She is said to be a woman.
On Sunday, Rabbi Elie Buechler of Columbia University’s Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students encouraging them to return home until it was safe on campus.
The latest developments were announced ahead of the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover on Monday night.
Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in the Jewish Theological Seminary building two blocks from Columbia University’s campus, said weekend protesters were “calling for Hamas to blow up Tel Aviv and Israel.” Ta. He said some of the protesters shouting anti-Semitic slurs were not students.
“Jews are afraid of Colombia. It’s that simple,” he said. “There is so much vilification against Zionism that it spills over into the vilification of Judaism.”
Camps of protests broke out in Colombia on Wednesday. That same day, Mr. Shafiq faced scathing criticism from Republicans at a congressional hearing for not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism. Two other Ivy League presidents also resigned several months ago after their testimony before the same committee was widely criticized.
Shafiq said in a statement on Monday that he understands that the conflict in the Middle East is terrible and that many people are experiencing deep moral pain.
“But we cannot let one group dictate the terms or try to sabotage important milestones such as graduation in order to advance their views,” Shafiq wrote.
Shafiq said that in the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a solution to the university’s crisis, but did not say when in-person classes would resume. Ta.
In a letter Monday, U.S. House Republicans from New York called for Shafik’s resignation, saying he had failed to provide a safe learning environment as the campus “has descended into anarchy” in recent days.
In Massachusetts, signs on Monday said Harvard Yard was closed to the public. It said structures such as tents and tables would be allowed into the garden only with prior permission. “Students who violate these policies will be subject to disciplinary action,” the sign said. A security guard was checking student IDs.
On the same day, Harvard University’s Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee announced that university authorities had suspended their group. In the suspension notice filed by the student group, the university said the group’s April 19 demonstration violated school regulations and that the student group was required to undergo necessary training despite having previously been placed on probation. I wrote that I did not participate.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee said in a statement that he was suspended for a professional matter and that the university did not provide a written explanation of its policy in response to questions.
“Harvard University has shown time and time again that Palestine remains an exception to free speech,” the group said in a statement.
Harvard University did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
At Yale, officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, New Haven Police Department spokesman Officer Christian Brookhart said. All were reportedly released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.
Protesters set up tents in Beinecke Square on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to halt investments in defense companies that do business with Israel.
Yale University President Peter Salovey said in a statement to the campus community on Sunday that university officials have repeatedly spoken with student protesters about the school’s policies and guidelines, including permission for speech and access to campus spaces. He said he had discussed it.
School officials said they ordered protesters to leave Beinecke Square until the end of the weekend. He said he warned protesters again Monday morning and told them they could face disciplinary action, including arrest and suspension, before police moved in.
After the arrests at Yale University on Monday, a large group of protesters regrouped and blocked roads near the campus, Brookhart said. There were no reports of violence or injuries.
Prahlad Iyengar, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate student studying electrical engineering, was one of about 20 students who pitched tents on the school’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sunday night. They are calling for a ceasefire and protesting what MIT says is “complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” he said.
“MIT hasn’t even asked for a ceasefire. That’s certainly what we’re asking for,” Iyengar said. ___
Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire, and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Susan Hay in Hartford contributed to this report.
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