NYPD officers detain an individual as pro-Palestinian protesters collect outdoors of Columbia University in New York City on Thursday. Officers cleared out a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration, a day after college officers testified about anti-Semitism earlier than Congress.
Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images
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Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images
NYPD officers detain an individual as pro-Palestinian protesters collect outdoors of Columbia University in New York City on Thursday. Officers cleared out a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration, a day after college officers testified about anti-Semitism earlier than Congress.
Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images
New York City law enforcement officials in riot gear started making dozens of arrests at Columbia University Thursday afternoon, after college president Minouche Shafik requested for assist clearing protesters from a pro-Palestinian encampment.
In a letter sent to the NYPD, Shafik mentioned “the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger” to the varsity.
“With great regret, we request the NYPD’s help to remove these individuals,” Shafik wrote.
The college’s student-run newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, reported that “over 100 individuals” have been arrested at the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” starting round 1 pm.
The protest and encampment have been organized by activists who need Columbia University to divest from firms that function in Israel. Protesters additionally need a cease-fire in Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state.
The conflict at Columbia got here a day after the college’s leaders, together with Shafik, testified before a Congressional hearing in Washington DC that antisemitism was a rising concern.
Columbia trustee Claire Shipman responded to 1 lawmaker’s query, saying “we have a moral crisis on our campus.”
In an e mail despatched to NPR, a corporation referred to as the Institute for Middle East Understanding mentioned protests at the college would proceed.
President of Columbia University Nemat Shafik testified earlier than a House committee Wednesday. On Thursday she urged NYPD officers to interrupt up a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus in New York City. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
“Despite the University’s threats, the Gaza Solidarity Encampment will remain until Columbia University divests all finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid,” the group mentioned.
In a statement posted on Columbia University’s website Thursday, Shafeek mentioned that asking for police assist to clear the protest encampment was “an extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances.”
“This morning, I had to make a decision that I hoped would never be necessary,” she mentioned.
Meanwhile, the daughter of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Ohmar was suspended from Barnard College on Thursday for participating within the Columbia University protest.
“Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated,” Isra Hirsi, age 21, wrote on social media. “We will stand resolute until our demands are met.”
NPR’s Elissa Nadworny contributed reporting.
