Over 20 US universities join in Gaza protests: What we know

NEW YORK — Pro-Palestinian protests centered on the war in Gaza are spreading across US universities. Tens of campuses are seeing demonstrations with arrests exceeding 100 people as of Thursday. 

Demonstrations related to the war have occurred at universities since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7. But the scope intensified this month after students at Columbia University in New York City erected tents on the campus lawn, calling the display a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” The protesters are against Israel’s war and are calling on the university to divest from Israel, including halting investments in companies they say are linked to the war. The university has said it is supportive of dialogue, but has not announced any divestment. 

The Columbia encampment has drawn national and international attention and led to similar developments at other schools. The following is a breakdown of the Gaza-related protests at different US universities. 

Columbia

Columbia president Minouche Shafik gave the protesters a midnight Tuesday deadline to dismantle the tents. In a statement, Shafik said she supported the students’ rights to protest but that the encampment was disrupting campus life and raising safety concerns. A day earlier, the university gave students the right to attend classes virtually or in person for the rest of the semester.

However, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a post on X on Wednesday that administrators committed to negotiations on the encampment for another 48 hours.

Last week, the NYPD arrested more than 100 protesters in an effort to remove the encampment, according to the Associated Press, and Shafik testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee regarding allegations of antisemitism at the protests.

There have additionally been protests outside of Columbia University’s gates. In one widely circulated video, protesters were heard chanting, "Burn Tel Aviv to the ground" and, "Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets too."

Some Jewish students have said they are alarmed by some of the rhetoric at the protests, the Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Speaker of House Mike Johnson visited Columbia. Speaking at a press conference, the Republican lawmaker said, “Neither Israel nor these Jewish students on this campus will ever stand alone.”

Yet civil liberties groups have cautioned university officials against clamping down on political expression, arguing that schools can address both harassment and threats while still allowing space for free speech.

In an April 23 statement on the arrests, New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman said, "Officials should not conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism or use hate incidents as a pretext to silence political views they oppose."

Other members of Congress have praised the protests, including Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose daughter was arrested at and suspended from Columbia last week.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Democrat, called Columbia’s decision to mobilize the NYPD against the student protesters a “horrific decision” in a Wednesday post on X. Some Columbia faculty have criticized the arrests as well. In response to Ocasio-Cortez on X, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell defended the police's actions.

"Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school," he said on Wednesday. "They are seeing the consequences of their actions. Something these kids were most likely never taught."

NYU

Protesters occupied a plaza at New York University on Monday in solidarity with the Columbia encampment. A university spokesperson said in a statement that it closed the plaza and put up barriers in response. Later that day, the university alleged that additional protesters entered the area, including some it believes are not students, and said there were “disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior” as well as “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents reported,” prompting the school to call the police.

The NYPD arrested 120 people at NYU, according to the Associated Press.

Demonstrators gathered at Washington Square Park located near NYU’s campus on Tuesday to protest the crackdown, the local ABC affiliate reported.

New England

Protests broke out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and Emerson College on Sunday. On Wednesday, students took over the Harvard lawn. The same day, students set up an encampment at Brown University. At Yale, protests began last week, and 60 students were arrested on Monday, according to NBC’s local affiliates in the region.

California

Police arrested protesters at the University of Southern California on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. On Thursday, USC announced it is cancelling its main graduation ceremony this year, citing "new safety measures."

On Monday, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, shut down after masked protesters occupied a building and barricaded the school’s entrance. On Tuesday, students set up a Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of California, Berkeley, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Texas

Hundreds of local and state police cleared out protesters at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, making 34 arrests. The police acted on orders from the university and Governor Greg Abbott, the Associated Press reported.

Michigan

Protesters set up tents at the University of Michigan on Monday, calling for the school to divest from Israel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Florida

On Wednesday, a protest began at the University of Florida. School officials said they do not intend to remove the demonstrators, the local ABC affiliate reported.

Minnesota

Police cleared two encampments at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday after the school said that unauthorized tents violate its policies, the local CBS affiliate reported.

Omar, who represents the university area in Congress, addressed the protesters on Tuesday, saying she was “moved” by their activism.

Additional protests have been reported in recent days at Vanderbilt University, the New School, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern University, and the University of Pittsburgh. On Thursday, videos on X purportedly showed pro-Palestinian protesters storming the Fashion Institute of Technology, while local media reported encampments at the George Washington University and Emory University.

Outside of the United States, protests have occurred at Sciences Po in Paris. Agence France-Presse reported that protesters gathered at the university on Thursday after police broke up a protest the night before.

Reactions: The protests have elicited reactions from the Middle East. On Wednesday, Hamas said that the students’ rights are being violated.

“The America administration is violating the individual rights and the right of expression of university students and faculty who reject the genocide in Gaza,” said Hamas in a statement published by Al-Jazeera.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani made a similar statement the same day.

“News reports related to the widespread suppression and arrest of students from American universities by the police in this country because of their support for the Palestinian people are a violent breach of the right to vote, freedom of expression, and human rights, causing concern among public opinion worldwide,” said Kanaani in a post on X.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a Tuesday statement that it “denounces the oppressive practices of US university administrations” and expressed support for the protesters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the protests in a video address on Wednesday.

“Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities,” he said, comparing the situation to universities in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.