Pro-Palestinian Protests Continue at NYU

Around 200 students from New York University gathered in Washington Square Park, New York on Tuesday, Apr. 23 to continue their pro-Palestinian protests after their campus was cleared by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

More than 130 students and faculty members were arrested on Monday, Apr. 22 when the police cleared the university plaza filled with tents. 

The plaza was barricaded with a wall of wooden ply on Tuesday and campus officers prohibited students from entering the grounds. 

During the protests on Monday, faculty members surrounded students to protest students from arrests, which led to both being arrested. 

NYU's administration said that public safety officials "witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonising behaviour that has interfered with the safety and security of our community."

NYU's protest camp was started after one was set in Columbia University's Upper West Side Campus. 

Yale University in Connecticut also witnessed over 60 arrests of students because of the pro-Palestinian tent camp.

Pro-Palestinian rallies also happened at Stanford University on Tuesday.  

Protests at Columbia University and other institutions are calling for these institutions to divest from financial connections to Israel's operations in the West Bank and Gaza. 

NYU has a presence in Israel because of its global study programme since 2013 in Tel Aviv. Student protestors are calling for the university to shut down its Tel Aviv campus. 

NYU does have a history of divesting because it eliminated financial ties to South Africa's apartheid system in 1985. 

There has been a rise in protests across various universities in America since October 2023. 

Pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University have gone viral since last week when students camped on university grounds but more than 100 students were arrested on Thursday, Apr. 18. 

Nonetheless, protests at Columbia University continue and the university recently announced that all classes will be held virtually for the rest of the year. 

This announcement came about after Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots and one of the largest donors, pulled funding from the university.

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza also visited Columbia University on Tuesday and spoke at the protestor encampment. 

He said, "Gaza now sees you...so thank you so much for all [that] you do."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Hidden Palestine (@hiddenpalestine)

American political scientist and activist Norman Finklestein also joined students at the encampment at Columbia University. 

Image source: @cherylderricottestudio Instagram page