Concerned about the long-standing protests against Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza on some university campuses in the USA, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an end to the student demonstrations, which he described as “terrible”.
While pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread rapidly in universities in the USA, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu published a video message in English on the subject.
Netanyahu claimed that the demonstrations of students demanding an end to the bloodshed in Gaza were “antisemitic”.
Describing the demonstrations at US universities as “terrible”, Netanyahu called for these protests to be stopped.
Netanyahu argued that some state, local and federal officials in the US reacted to these anti-occupation protests, but more needed to be done.
Claiming that Israel was “unfairly accused of genocide”, Netanyahu stated that everyone should react against the demonstrations, which he claimed were “antisemitic”.
ACTION AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SPREADS
Pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University started a sit-in on the campus lawn to protest the school’s ongoing financial investments in companies that support the occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza.
Rector Minouche Shafik claimed that the action “posed a threat” to the functioning of the university and requested help from the New York police to disperse the demonstrators.
The police intervened in the sit-in protest by entering the campus and detained around 108 students, and the school administration suspended around 80 students who were involved in the protest.
In the statements made by the US Congress members, the New York Governor’s Office and the Municipality, it was claimed that the students who had been on guard duty for a week exhibited “antisemitic” behavior.
Rector Shafik’s attitude had brought back to the agenda the discussions about the “freedom of expression” restrictions that started against Palestinian students at universities in the USA after October 7, 2023.
While the protests continued at Columbia University, the demonstrations began to spread to other regions.
Demonstrations were held at other leading schools in the USA, such as New York University (NYU), Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University, The New School and the University of North Carolina.
HARD INTERVENTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
About 200 students protesting Israel’s Gaza operation and its actions against Palestinian civilians began to gather at the University of Texas Austin campus at noon. In the first stage, the police detained 17 people who they claimed were leading the group. Meanwhile, a fight broke out between the security forces, including the cavalry units, and the students.
The police called on the demonstrators to disperse, but the students continued their protest by sitting in the university garden. The increasing number of students in front of the campus gym was surrounded by security forces.
*The visuals of the news were provided by AP and AA.
