2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses

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Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and in other countries, as a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. As of May 9, over 2,900 protesters have been arrested, including faculty members and professors, on over 60 U.S. campuses, with protests spreading across Europe. Some protesters have termed the movement as a "student intifada".

2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
Part of the Israel–Hamas war protests
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses - Wikidata
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses - Wikidata
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses - Wikidata
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses - Wikidata
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses - Wikidata
Clockwise from top:
DateApril 17, 2024 – present
(3 weeks and 3 days)
Location
United States
Other countries
  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • Australia
  • Bangladesh
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Denmark
  • Egypt
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iraq
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Spain
  • Tunisia
  • United Kingdom
  • Yemen
Caused byOpposition to
GoalsUniversities divesting from Israel
Methods
Casualties
Injuries15-25+ protesters hospitalized
Arrested2,900+ protesters

The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel and its affiliated entities, transparency over financial ties, and amnesty for protesters. The occupations have resulted in the closure of Columbia University and Cal Poly Humboldt; Portland State University pausing financial ties with Boeing, over its ties to Israel, and Trinity College Dublin agreeing to end certain investments in Israeli companies. Several other universities have made agreements with protesters in order for encampments to be dismantled, and some universities' graduation ceremonies have been cancelled. Universities have also suspended students, with some also expelled. The protests have been compared to the 1960s anti-Vietnam protests, the 1968 protests, and protests against apartheid in the 1980s.

Over 200 groups have expressed support for the protests, as well as Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and multiple progressive members of Congress. The protests have been criticized by President Joe Biden, former president Donald Trump, U.S. governors, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as antisemitic. Jewish student demonstrators at Columbia have insisted the protests are not antisemitic. The police response to the protests has also been criticized by various Democrats and human rights organizations.

Background

Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils related to the Israel–Hamas war have occurred across the U.S. since the conflict's start on October 7, 2023, alongside other Israel–Hamas war protests around the world. Pro-Palestinian protesters criticized U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel and Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and its war conduct, which some called a genocide.

Students occupying administrative buildings were arrested at the request of college administrators at Brown University in November and December 2023, and at Pomona College on April 5, 2024. In March 2024, after protesters occupied the president’s office at Vanderbilt University, the university suspended students and expelled three. These were "believed to be the first student expulsions over protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict", according to The New York Times.

Protests

Universities in the United States with Israel–Hamas war protests in April 2024. Columbia University is marked in red. Other colleges that had encampments are marked in green, and non-encampment protests are marked in blue.

This is a list of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in 2024 since protests escalated on April 17, beginning with the Columbia University campus occupation. In the United States, student protests have occurred in 45 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, with encampments, walkouts or sit-ins occurring on almost 140 U.S. campuses as of May 6. On May 7, protests spread further on European campuses after mass arrests at the University of Amsterdam; including occupation of campus buildings at Leipzig University in Germany, Sciences Po in France, and Ghent University in Belgium. As of May 8, protests have taken place in more than 25 countries.

Demonstrations initially spread in the United States on April 22, when students at several universities on the East Coast—including New York University, Yale University, Emerson College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Tufts University—began occupying campuses, as well as experiencing mass arrests in New York and at Yale. Protests emerged throughout the U.S. in the following days, with protest camps established on over 40 campuses. On April 25, mass arrests occurred at Emerson College, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas, as protests spread to Europe, Australia and Canada.

A continued crackdown on April 27 led to approximately 275 arrests at Washington, Northeastern, Arizona State, and Indiana University Bloomington. Several professors were among those detained at Emory University, and at Washington University in St. Louis, university employees were arrested. On April 28, counter-protests were held at MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). On April 30, approximately 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York; and pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the UCLA campus occupation, The following day over 200 arrests were made at UCLA. Hundreds of arrests ensued in May, notably at Art Institute of Chicago, University of California, San Diego and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

First encampment protest at Columbia University

 
Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University on April 23, 2024

A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City in April 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war related protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents on the university campus, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and demanded the university divest from Israel.

The encampment was dismantled when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus and conduct mass arrests. A new encampment was built the next day. The administration then entered into negotiations with protesters, which failed on April 29 and resulted in the suspension of student protesters. The next day, protesters broke into and occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to a second NYPD raid, the arrest of more than 100 protesters, and the dismantling of the camp. The arrests marked the first time Columbia allowed police to suppress campus protests since the 1968 demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

As a result of the protests, Columbia University switched to hybrid learning (incorporating more online learning) for the rest of the semester. The protests encouraged other actions at multiple universities. Several incidents described as antisemitic took place during the protests. Organizers have said they were the work of outside agitators and non-students. Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have said that the protests are not antisemitic. On May 6, the school administration announced the cancellation of the university-wide graduation ceremony scheduled on May 15 and said it would instead make "Class Days and school-level ceremonies" the "centerpiece" of its commencement activities.

Violence against protesters

 
The LAPD reportedly fired nonlethal munitions at protesters to clear the UCLA encampment.

The police response to the student protesters was described as disproportionate and violent, including by the United Nations. Police departments employed a range of tactics, including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls, using tasers, mass arrests, clearing unauthorized encampments, and beating both students and professors. According to The Lantern, rooftop snipers were deployed at Ohio State University. According to CNN, some journalists covering the protests have been "assaulted, arrested and barred access" by police. Students also faced violence at the hands of counter-protesters. One protester at Columbia University was hospitalized after a counter-protester rammed his car into a group of picketers.

A report from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project found that police interventions at U.S. student protests linked to conflict issues surged fourfold in April. Authorities notably increased arrests and forcible dispersals, especially at protests where there were counter-demonstrators. Nonetheless, at events where student protesters were unchallenged, the police were more likely to act against pro-Palestine rallies, doing so over four times more often than against pro-Israel ones. The report also found that 99% of student protests since October have remained peaceful.

Pro-Israeli attack at UCLA

At the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on April 30, 2024, a pro-Israel group attacked the pro-Palestinian protesters' camp, attempting to breach the barricades surrounding the encampment. The attackers, reported to have come from outside of campus, carried Israeli flags and assaulted students with sticks, stones, poles, metal fencing, and pepper spray. They played loud audio of a child crying, threw wood and a metal barrier into the camp, and shot fireworks into the encampment. The counter-protesters called for a "Second Nakba", referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948.

Fifteen people were reported injured, including one who was hospitalized. Student journalists for the Daily Bruin described being targeted by the counter-protesters and were punched, kicked, and beaten. Witnesses said the LAPD intervened after nearly four hours of attacks by the pro-Israel counter-demonstrators.

Overview

Demands

Many of the protests involve student demands that their schools sever financial ties to Israel and companies involved in the conflict, as well as an end to U.S. military support for Israel, as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Some protests have also demanded that the universities sever academic ties with Israel, support a ceasefire in Gaza, and disclose investments. Student demands have varied among the different occupations, including for universities to stop accepting research money from Israel that supports the military, and an end to college endowments investing with managers who profit from Israeli entities.

Student protesters called on Columbia University to financially divest from any company with business ties to the Israeli government, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon. NYU Alumni for Palestine called on New York University to "terminate all vendor contracts with companies playing active roles in the military occupation in Palestine and ongoing genocide in Gaza, namely Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar and General Electric". Pro-Palestinian protesters demanded that the University of Washington cut ties with Boeing. Students at the University of Vermont demanded the cancellation of a planned commencement speech by Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

After several mass arrests, the demands have also included amnesty for students and faculty who were disciplined or fired for protesting. The protests on many campuses are created by coalitions of student groups, and are largely independent, but some have claimed that they were inspired by other campus protests. All have disavowed violence.

Impact

In April 2024, the occupations resulted in the closure of Columbia University and Cal Poly Humboldt for the remainder of the semester and votes of no confidence initiated by faculty members in California, Georgia, and Texas. In response to protests, Columbia and the University of Southern California also canceled their graduation ceremonies due in May.

On April 28, Portland State University (PSU) announced it was pausing its financial ties with Boeing, including gifts and grants, over its ties to Israel. PSU President Ann Cudd wrote in a campus-wide letter, "the passion with which these demands are being repeatedly expressed by some in our community motivates". On May 6, Trinity College Dublin agreed to end its investments in Israeli companies that are listed on the United Nations Human Rights Council "blacklist" after an encampment on Fellow’s Square was erected. This included three of the 13 Israeli companies the university's endowment fund had invested in.

Other universities have said they will consider divestment demands regarding Israel-affiliated companies. Some have agreed to disclose their investments and committed to increase awareness about Palestine. Universities that have come to agreements with protesters over certain demands, in order for encampments to be dismantled, include Northwestern University on April 29; Brown University and Evergreen State College on April 30; the University of Minnesota on May 1; Rutgers University on May 2; Goldsmiths, University of London and University of California, Riverside on May 3; and Thompson Rivers University on May 4. Additionally, Wesleyan University and University of California, Berkeley have allowed encampments on campus to continue. On May 8, the University of Barcelona senate voted to break ties with Israel.

Participants

Some of the protests are organized by groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, founded in 1996 as a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization; IfNotNow, founded during the 2014 Gaza War; and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has over 200 North American chapters. In late 2023, SJP chapters were banned or suspended on university campuses at Brandeis University, Columbia University, and Rutgers University. In Florida, chapters were ordered to disband. In response, SJP chapters at the University of Florida and University of South Florida filed federal lawsuits. Pro-Palestinian students were also doxxed by Accuracy in Media at Harvard, Columbia, and Yale University.

Participants include students, faculty and non-campus individuals of various backgrounds, with both Jews and Muslims participating. Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia have said that their movement is anti-Zionist, and several protests on campuses have been organized by anti-Zionist groups. According to The Jerusalem Post, protesters at Harvard University in a press conference declared the campus occupation movement a "student intifada", a term echoed by protesters at George Washington University, Stanford University and Indiana University Bloomington; as well as Palestinians in Gaza, while calling for an escalation in protests. Protesters have identified a wide range of other ideologies as motivating them, such as antiracism, intersectionality, anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, policing, the impact of climate change, and Indigenous rights. At Coloumbia, Maoist revolutionary slogans were listed on blackboards among protesters who breached Hamilton Hall.

Protesters have criticized Joe Biden and his administration's support for Israel. The protests have hosted teach-ins, interfaith prayer, and musical performances. Some protests invited people to tour or speak, such as Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, who was invited to and visited Columbia's protest. The Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour said, "These young people are reaffirming and demonstrating that the tide is shifting on Palestine, that the Palestinian people have solidarity not just across the United States of America, but across the world".

Concern has been raised over the presence of outside groups at protests. Far-right agitators and white nationalists have been seen at some protests seeking to sow chaos and violence. Experts have raised concerns over far-right groups attempting to infiltrate protests to cause harm, and subsequent reactions from militant far-left activists aligned with the anti-fascist movement. During arrests in New York on May 2, police announced that nearly half of those arrested at Columbia and CCNY were unaffiliated with either school. Mayor Eric Adams said that they had seen evidence that outside agitators and "professionals" such as Lisa Fithian and the wife of Sami Al-Arian had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate their protests.

Many protesters have donned masks and keffiyehs, which has increased concerns from provosts and deans that outsiders have infiltrated protests. Some Jewish students fear that the anonymity gives greater license for evading consequence. Protesters have expressed fears of having reputational and professional harm from identification.

Analysis

The Guardian called the protests "perhaps the most significant student movement since the anti-Vietnam campus protests of the late 1960s". Protests at Columbia University have been compared to the 1968 protests due to their scale and tactics, and as echoing the 1968 movement. According to The Independent, protesters studied the 1968 movement. A Columbia undergraduate said that student organizers learned from the experiences of older generations, calling the movement "completely built" on the legacy of the 1968 protests. Mark Rudd, who led protests against the Vietnam War at Columbia in the 1960s, said, "For me, it’s the most normal thing in the world to look at the murder of 34,000 people and the displacement of close to 2 million in Gaza and say, ‘Hey, stop!"

Former Columbia University student leaders from the era of protests against apartheid in the 1980s, including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and historian Barbara Ransby, said the "intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism" were focal points in the movements of 1968, the 1980s, and 2024—and that the similarities are clear among the periods. The New York Times reported that some scholars consider the current protests starkly different from those against the Vietnam War or apartheid South Africa. According to Timothy Naftali, protests against Vietnam in the 1960s did not result in a constituency that felt attacked as an ethnicity, and the "demonstrations now are creating a feeling of insecurity in a much bigger way than the antiwar demonstrations during Vietnam did."

Far-right influencers and some Republicans have portrayed the protests as violent, a "Marxist takeover," and "terrorism". The New York Times noted that the protests have come during a presidential election year in which Democrats have "harnessed promises of stability and normalcy to win critical recent elections," and that the protests are a messaging opportunity for Republicans to divide Democrats. Johns Hopkins political science professor Daniel Schlozman remarked that Republican fixation on criticizing universities as bastions of leftist ideology has resulted in them portraying the protests as examples of radicalism on race and gender issues and highlighting them as a way to divide the Democratic coalition.

On April 28, The New York Times commented that protests that have occurred outside the U.S. were "sporadic and smaller, and none [started] a wider student movement". The "partisan political context" was given as a reason for the intensity of protests in the U.S. Columbia's status as an Ivy League school, its proximity to New York City and national news media, and its large population of Jewish students were described as fueling increased media attention and political scrutiny that helped spread the protests.

On May 3, NPR called the protests abroad "a growing global student movement", with student protests in the United Kingdom focusing on "an increasingly high-profile nationwide campaign to end British arms exports to Israel". According to NBC News, the protests abroad, inspired by protests in the U.S., did not have the intensity of protests in the U.S. By May 7, protests had escalated in Europe after mass arrests at the University of Amsterdam, with occupations of campus buildings in Germany, France, and Belgium, and encampments on several European campuses. The Associated Press described protests at Science Po in Paris as "echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States".

Several protests have been criticized for antisemitism. Some protesters have asserted that such claims are a weaponization of antisemitism, and denied that protesters are antisemitic. Media coverage of the protest has been criticized for being sensationalized and failing to focus on the protesters' demands and grievances. The lack of student protesters' voices in most media coverage has also been criticized.

Responses

United States

Faculty and staff

Rebecca Karl, a professor at NYU, stated that historically, "there have been a number of confrontations that have been dealt with by universities in ways that stress that we are not a violent institution... I'm personally very concerned". Wadie Said, a professor at the University of Colorado, stated, "The First Amendment is the hallmark of freedom.. You see that being curtailed based on viewpoint discrimination, which is something not supposed to be allowed under the First Amendment". Jeremi Suri, a UT Austin professor, stated, "I witnessed the police – the state police, the campus police, the city police – an army of police... stormed into the student crowd and started arresting students".

Jody Armour, a professor at USC, stated, "We need to stop allowing people to weaponise anti-Semitism against real, valid protests." In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it." Randall Kuhn, a UCLA professor, stated, "I find it repugnant to sit by while Palestinian professors are being killed, while academic buildings are being bombed relentlessly."

Organizations

The Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Afaf Nasher criticized the use of police force to break up the protests, stating it undermined academic freedom. Civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised free speech concerns over the mass arrests that were seen during the protests. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described some of the responses from law enforcement as "disproportionate in their impacts" and was "troubled" by how they were being dealt with. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that while "hate speech is unacceptable," it is "essential in all circumstances to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration." Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, called the "violent dismantling of pro-Palestine encampments and arrests of student protesters" against the protesters "a dangerous assault on our democracy".

Several labor unions, that previously supported a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war, have expressed support for the protests, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU stated it "proudly stands in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff exercising their right to speak up". In contrast, Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League stated that protestors concealing their identities were dressed like "bank robbers" and had the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side." Greenblatt also accused pro-Palestinian groups including Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine of being "Iranian proxies".

A coalition of over 200 organizations published an open letter expressing support for the protests. Signatories include:

Political

On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests, calling them antisemitic while also criticizing those who "don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians." Former President Donald Trump, stated that the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was "peanuts" comparative to the ongoing protests. House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at Columbia on April 24 stating that "Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the "lawlessness" during the protests at Columbia University, saying it is "unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systematic intimidation or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of Oct. 7."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the situation at Columbia and other campuses as "inmates run[ning] the asylum." Texas Governor Greg Abbott, stated that the protesters "belonged in jail" and continued claiming that the protests were "hate-filled, antisemitic protests" and anyone engaging in them should be expelled. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised criticism to the colleges and universities that did not do enough to protect its students, which could lead to antisemitic incidents. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell described the protests as "a dangerous situation" and stated "there's also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable". McConnell accused the "student radicals" of supporting Hamas. Multiple conservative politicians and commentators spread the antisemitic conspiracy theory that George Soros funded the protest movement, including Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Ira Stoll, Isabel Vincent, and Kari Lake.

After the mass arrests seen at UT on April 24, many voiced their disapproval over Abbott's handling of the decision and the police tactics. Texas state Democrats claimed that Abbott's Department of Public Safety had "more courage to arrest peaceful student protesters than when an active shooter entered an elementary school in Uvalde." U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticised the deployment of police against the Columbia University protest, describing the decision as "escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act". Farrah Khan, the mayor Irvine, California, said: “I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students' rights to peacefully assemble and protest."

The Fairfax County branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement denouncing the arrests of students at Virginia schools. Virginia representatives Rozia Henson, Joshua Cole, Adele McClure, Nadarius Clark, and Saddam Salim released a joint statement condemning the arrests of student protestors in Virginia. After visiting the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said “The First Amendment comes from here, this is Philadelphia, we don’t have to do stupid like they did at Columbia.” Rep. Sara Jacobs wrote on X: "I’m deeply concerned that the response to peaceful protests at UCSD is to call in riot police,” she said. “A militarized response further escalates the situation and doesn’t help keep students safe."

Addressing students at the City University of New York on April 26, imprisoned Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the protests stating "It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes", declaring protesters to be "on the right side of history". College Democrats of America, the student wing of the Democratic Party, endorsed the protests and criticized President Biden's response to the protests. Massachusetts State Rep. Mike Connolly said: "I’m here really in solidarity with these protesters, and I’m hoping that the MIT administration will honor free speech and will honor the tradition of dissents in this country, in particular dissents to war, which is what really calls us here today."

Legislation

On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 on a 10–0 vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill would require the California State University system and California Community Colleges system to enact policies which would prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination if they are "intended to and reasonably understood by the victims or hearers" to either "interfere with the free exercise of rights under the First Amendment or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution" or to "call for or support genocide. The bill would also restrict the right to assemble on campuses with "reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions." The bill has received support exclusively from Jewish and Zionist organizations while being opposed by the ACLU and the University of California, Davis School of Law, stating that the bill is unconstitutional.

Three Republican members of the U.S. House introduced a bill that would require anyone convicted of unlawful activity on a college campus to perform community service in Gaza for six months. The bill was widely derided as a political stunt and is exceedingly unlikely to pass.

Opinion polls

According to YouGov, 47% of Americans oppose the campus protests and 28% support them. American Muslims support the protests by 75% to 14% while Jewish Americans oppose them by 72% to 18%. Younger adults under 45 are more likely to support them than older adults. 33% believed the response to the protests was not harsh enough, 16% believed it was too harsh, and 20% believed the response was about right. 48% of Americans above 45 believed the response was not harsh enough, compared to only 16% under 45.

According to Axios, 8% of college students have participated in the protests. 34% blame Hamas, 19% blame Netanyahu, 12% blame the Israeli people, and 12% blame Biden. 81% of students supported holding protesters accountable for destroyed property and illegally occupied buildings, 67% claimed occupying campus buildings is unacceptable, 58% considered refusal to disperse unacceptable, and 90% opposed blocking pro-Israel students. Students were more likely to support the pro-Palestinian encampments, with 45% supporting them strongly or moderately, 30% neutral, and 24% strongly or mildly opposed. Among those who participated in anti-Israeli protests, 58% said they would not be friends with someone who had marched for Israel while 64% of students who marched in favor of Israel said they would still be friends with anti-Israeli protesters.

Other countries

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific" and antisemitic and must be quelled. Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Israel–Hamas war and expressing support for the protests. Many Israeli academics and civilians, alongside columnists in Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz, expressed disdain for the protests, with one describing the general reaction as "seeing them as an attack on the country and not just its government".

After being invited to visit the Columbia protest, Palestinian Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza said his experience was great and he appreciated students wanting to know more and educate themselves, and that it was an honor to raise awareness about the Gaza Strip. Bisan Owda said the protests made the Gazan populace feel "heard". Displaced people in Gaza expressed gratitude to the student protesters, holding signs such as "Thank you, American universities".

In response to the protests at Columbia, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs said, "In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order... After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad." Chinese state media expressed support for the protests: the People's Daily wrote that American students are protesting because they "can no longer stand the double standards of the United States" and former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin said that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined." In Iran, former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized Saudi Arabia's and Jordan's reported consideration of normalizing relations with Israel, saying, "American student protestors being brutalised by US security forces have a much greater claim to protecting Palestinians than the Custodians of Holy Mosques". In Tunisia, the General Union of Students released a statement expressing "gratitude and admiration for the student movements at American universities, drawing inspiration from their remarkable history of war rejection, as witnessed during the Vietnam War".

The New York Times published an article that cited NewsGuard, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and Recorded Future on how the media of Russia, China, and Iran have covered the events. It concluded that those countries have made overt and covert efforts to capitalize on the protests to denigrate democracy, inflame partisan tensions, criticize Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election, support Trump, and express support for Hamas and Palestinians generally.

After the three-day occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France Gabriel Attal said he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", calling the protests "an ideology coming from North America". The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticized the protesters' actions, saying, "universities are places where cultural engagement, even heated, even harsh, must be open 360 degrees, where engagement with strong ideas that are completely different, must be expressed not with violence, not with boycotts, but knowing how to engage".

Sana'a University in Yewen offered education to students suspended due to protests. Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University in Iran, has offered scholarships to U.S. students expelled for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. This offer, reported by Press TV, extends to students and professors affected by the demonstrations against Israel's actions in its conflict with Hamas. Moazzeni suggests that other universities in Shiraz and Fars Province may also be prepared to support these students. At the same time, Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs launched a program aimed at helping Jewish students who feel unsafe at U.S. universities continue their education at Israeli universities.

See also

Notes

References