#ProPalestinian #Student #Demonstrations #Widespread #Campuses
Jakarta –
The green grass field in the middle of the Columbia University campus in Manhattan, New York, usually invites students to chat or devour books in the sun. But in recent weeks, Butler Lawn has become the epicenter of demonstrations demanding a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, inspiring similar movements at other universities in the United States.
The escalation began on Thursday, April 18, when Columbia Chancellor Nemat Minouche Shafik brought in the New York police anti-riot squad to forcibly disperse the tent village set up by demonstrators. In the aftermath, police detained more than 100 students.
“I took the emergency decision due to the very seriousness of the situation,” Shafik wrote, and expressed “deep regret,” in an email distributed to all members of the university.
Even so, the university still suspended students who were detained. Since then, tents have appeared again on campus grounds.
Solidarity between lecturers and campus staff
Last Monday (22/4), hundreds of university employees staged a walk-out in solidarity with the student protests. As a result, university management announced that half of the learning activities would be carried out virtually until the end of the academic year.
The students protested the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties due to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to the health ministry under Hamas in Gaza, the death toll reached 34,000 people. The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, reported that at least 13,000 of the civilians killed were children.
The Israeli military operation carries out an anti-terror mission and the release of around 240 hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terror attack on October 7 2023, which killed 1,200 people.
However, the war waged by Israel created a situation that aid organizations describe as a humanitarian disaster. Currently, the civilian population in Gaza is experiencing a shortage of food, water and medicine. The situation became increasingly critical when Israel insisted on launching a ground attack on Rafah.
“We demand that our voices be heard to end the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza,” wrote Columbia University Apartheid Diverst, a pro-Palestinian student group, on Instagram, last Monday. “Our university was involved in this violence and that is why we are protesting.”
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Protests spread across campuses
In recent days, pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia’s campus have spread to other universities. At nearby New York University, the number of demonstrators swelled with the arrival of hundreds of other students on Monday. There, the protest ended in chaos when campus authorities also brought in security forces, who then arrested several students.
Harvard University in Boston took the early step of closing its main campus grounds on Monday. Tent and tables can only be used in the field after obtaining permission.
At Yale University in Connecticut, police on Monday detained 45 demonstrators who were later charged with minor crimes. All have been released on condition that they comply with an invitation to appear in court, police said.
Protests at elite US educational institutions have also spread to many other campuses.
Accusations of antisemitism
Pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses are suspected to be fueled by antisemitic ideology. New York University management, for example, reported that there were “intimidating chants and a number of antisemitic incidents” during the demonstration.
Columbia Chancellor Shafik said antisemitic bullying also occurred on his campus. “The dispute has only escalated in recent days,” he said. “These tensions were exploited and amplified by individuals who had no connection to Columbia and came to campus to advance their own agendas.”
Student groups rejected accusations of antisemitism directed generally at the demonstrations. According to them, the incident was caused by individual actions.
“We firmly reject any form of hatred and are wary of individuals who are not students trying to disrupt the solidarity built by our students, whether ethnic Palestinians, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, blacks and all pro-Palestinian colleagues who represent diversity in this country. ” wrote the student coalition on its Instagram account.
Israel is not popular with the younger generation
The widespread student protests are believed to reflect US youth’s rejection of President Joe Biden’s response to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
Historically, the US is Israel’s largest ally and arms supplier. But the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties and intense domestic protests prompted Washington to scale back its support.
However, the White House’s pressure on Israel to expand the safe zone and open access to humanitarian aid is considered insufficient. The students demanded that the US government insist on a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stop military aid to Israel.
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