United States: In response to campus protests against the ongoing war in Gaza, mass arrests have been reported across the US. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was among the more than 100 demonstrators detained by police.
The demonstrators insist on the boycott of organisations and individuals who collaborate with Israel. However, some Jewish students keep informing some protesters of their alleged antisemitic demeanour. A representative for Jill Stein remarked that she was one of around 80 people detained at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. Currently, the Green Party nominee is not considered to be encountering any charges.
California State Polytechnic recently announced that it will divert to remote teaching due to the lasting demonstrations. As a result of the marches, numerous colleges and universities rescinded in-person classes and postponed graduation ceremonies.
The marches started in April when tents were first set up on the college green at Columbia. Afterwards, after the police vehemently terminated the tents and detained over 100 pupils, the marches spread across the country. Students at Yale University in Connecticut later pitched another demonstration camp.
More than 100 protesters were apprehended for infringing on the college grounds of Northeastern University in Boston. The Massachusetts State Police issued a report disclosing that the protesters were refusing to remove their tents, and thus, the police were compelled to clear the camp by themselves.
Following the incident, Northeastern University made a statement on X, describing that the protests were insinuated by professional organisers who held no association with the academy. According to the announcement, antisemitic offences were heard during the rallies, which the university cannot endure on its campus. However, the demonstration authorities refused these allegations vehemently.
Pro-Palestinian protesters came back to the University of Southern California’s Alumni Park within a few days after campus police were summoned to vacate a forenamed demonstration. The march was mostly peaceful, but the university management conveyed destruction to campus belongings after the march. The university stated that people who were part of the group that illicitly camped on the campus were answerable for the defacement, which caused harm to a statue and a fountain. As a result, the campus will be temporarily shut to non-residents.