Over 130 arrested at New York University campus amid massive protests over Gaza

Over 130 individuals were taken into custody during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at New York University throughout the course of the night, as student protests against the Israel-Hamas conflict gain momentum in the United States.

In recent weeks, protesters have taken over quads and disrupted campus activities at some of the most famous colleges in America.

The protests coincide with broad discussions against Israel’s invasion of Gaza after Hamas’s lethal incursion on October 7.

Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and other universities that are considered bastions of higher learning are battling to strike a balance between students’ demands for the freedom of expression and those who contend that universities are inciting hate speech and intimidation.

As demonstrations at Yale, Columbia University, and other campuses get more intense, the New York Police Department informed AFP on Tuesday that 133 people had been arrested at NYU and freed after receiving court summonses.

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Monday night marked the start of the Passover holiday, and authorities started holding protestors who had earlier defied orders to leave a campsite at NYU.

According to a representative for New York University, the decision to notify the police was made when more demonstrators—many of whom were not believed to be NYU students—suddenly broke through the barricades put up around the camp.

According to a statement posted on the school’s website on Monday, the spokesman said that this “dramatically changed” the situation, claiming “disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior” in addition to “intimidated chants and several antisemitic incidents.”

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According to the statement, the institution still supports student safety and freedom of speech.

However, the demonstrations have become loud enough and disruptive enough to catch the attention of President Joe Biden and his administration. Spokesman for the New York Police Department has mentioned that their officers had been physically attacked by demonstrators at NYU.

“Anti-Semitic hate on college campuses is unacceptable,” US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona posted on X on Tuesday, expressing concern about the unrest.

At Columbia University in New York, where the protests started last week, a sizable contingent of protesters set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the campus.

However, after university officials sent the police to Columbia’s campus on Thursday, more than a hundred demonstrators were taken into custody. This action appeared to heighten tensions and encourage a larger turnout over the weekend.

Images posted on social media late on Monday night seemed to depict Jewish students who support Palestine having customary seder dinners inside of protest zones on various schools, including Columbia.

Additionally, there were protests at Yale, MIT, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, where at least 47 people were detained on Monday for not complying with orders to disperse.