A video showing an anti-Israeli protest leader saying that Zionists "don’t deserve to live" and should be killed fuelled the protests at Columbia University. Meanwhile, students who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country, have said they reached an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met.
PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTS ACROSS US UNIVERSITIES: THE LATEST
A total of 550 anti-Israeli protesters have so far been arrested from across the United States, as the police used chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel's war with Hamas. The office of New York-based Columbia University president Minouche Shafik issued a statement retreating from a midnight deadline to dismantle a large tent camp with around 200 students.
On Friday, Columbia University's embattled president came under renewed pressure as a campus oversight panel sharply criticised her administration for clamping down on a pro-Palestinian protest at the Ivy League school. President Nemat Minouche Shafik has faced an outcry from many students, faculty and outside observers for summoning New York police to dismantle a tent encampment set up on campus by protesters against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Students on Friday blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gaza, demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on US campuses. Chanting their support for the Palestinians, the students displayed Palestinian flags at windows and over the building's entrance. Several wore the black-and-white keffiyeh headscarf that has become an emblem of solidarity with Gaza.
