From the US to Australia, students are calling for their universities to divest and sever ties with Israel.
Apr 29, 2024
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations and sit-ins are spreading at universities across the United States and in several campuses around the world.
Columbia University in New York, one of the most prestigious universities in the US, has emerged as the centre for student activism since Israel’s war on Gaza began more than six months ago with protests both in support of the war and against it.
On April 19, more than 100 protesters were arrested on the campus as police cleared an encampment set up by students.
On April 22, Columbia administrators announced that classes would be held in hybrid mode until the end of the spring semester.
What are the protesters demanding?
The pro-Palestine students and faculty members at Columbia are calling for their university to divest from corporations that profit from Israel’s war on Gaza which has now killed more than 34,400 people and injured at least 77,500.
Where are protests happening?
Large-scale protests on university grounds have spilled over to at least 50 other campuses around the world, including Yale University, Virginia Tech, University of Texas at Austin and University of California at Berkeley.
Al Jazeera will update the list as more information becomes available:
Australia: University of Melbourne, University of Sydney
Canada: McGill University, Concordia University
France: Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), Sorbonne University
Italy: Sapienza University
UK: Leeds University, University College London, Warwick University
United States: American University, Arizona State University, California State Polytechnic University, Columbia College Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Drexel University, Emerson College, Emory University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Georgetown University, Humboldt, Indiana University Bloomington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University East Lansing Campus, Morehouse College, New York University, Ohio State University, Rice University, Roosevelt University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, Temple University, The City College of New York, The New School, Tufts University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of Chicago, University of Colorado, University of Connecticut, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina Charlotte, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, University of Texas Arlington, University of Texas Austin, University of Texas Dallas, University of Texas San Antonio, Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech, Washington University, Yale University and George Washington University
Where have students and faculty been arrested?
At least 900 students and faculty members have been arrested in the US over the past 10 days as protesters continue to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from companies enabling Israel’s nearly seven-month war on Gaza. The protests have grown violent as law enforcement agencies have tried to remove students and faculty from encampments and protest sites.
Several students have been suspended, put on probation and, in rare cases, expelled from their colleges.
Momodou Taal was among four students from Cornell University in New York state who were “temporarily suspended” on Saturday for setting up an encampment on campus.
He told Al Jazeera the protesting students received threats and were subjected to doxxing, the posting of their personal information on the internet without their consent. He said such students received no protection from their institutions.
Some universities have had to cancel graduation ceremonies while others have seen their buildings, quadrangles and courtyards occupied by the protesters and in some cases by encampments.
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