Anti-Israel college protests sweep across America

Violent anti-Israel demonstrations are sweeping across the US, disrupting classes, events and threatening the safety of Jewish students.

By World Israel News Staff

Some 200 people were arrested on college campuses throughout the U.S. on Saturday, as chaotic anti-Israel protests roil campuses across the country.

The demonstrations, which have included large tent encampments at some schools, have disrupted studies and milestone events.

Columbia University has transitioned to remote learning, as Jewish and Israeli students have expressed fears for their physical safety on campus.

The University of Southern California (USC) recently announcing that it is cancelling its annual graduation ceremony due to concerns of the event being disrupted by anti-Israel protests.

On Saturday, 102 protesters were arrested by police at Northeastern University, near Boston, after they refused orders from administrators to disperse.

Renata Nyul, a Northeastern spokeswoman, told the New York Times that the campus protests had been “infiltrated by professional organizers” and that the “use of virulent antisemitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line.”

At Arizona State University in Tempe, police arrested 69 people after they established a banned tent encampment on campus.

ASU administrators said in a media statement that the demonstrators were warned multiple times to dismantle their tents and leave before they were ultimately detained.

“While the university will continue to be an environment that embraces freedom of speech, ASU’s first priority is to create a safe and secure environment that supports teaching and learning,” the school said.

80 people were arrested at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, including Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and several of her aides.

Also on Saturday, campus and Indiana state police arrested at least 23 people at the Indiana University Bloomington.

The demonstrators had “erected numerous tents and canopies on Friday night with the stated intention to occupy the university space indefinitely,” university officials said.

Police and school administrators have not said how many of those arrested on campuses are students enrolled at the schools.