A hundred pro-Palestinian students, who had launched an occupation of the lawns of the prestigious New York University Columbia, were arrested Thursday by the police, the day after the intervention in Congress by their president who defended herself from accusations of anti-Semitism on campus.
• Read also: Accused of anti-Semitism, American Columbia University defends itself before Congress
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“Police officers responded to ensure the safety of the campus, students and staff. They made more than 108 arrests and ensured that there was no violence or injuries,” New York Mayor Eric Adams, who has authority over the New York police, announced at a press briefing. the city.
AFP
Protesting against the war waged by Israel in Gaza, these students demanded that Columbia University, which notably has an exchange program with Tel Aviv, boycott all activities linked to Israel.
The arrests for “trespassing” and the dismantling of a few dozen tents that had been set up on Wednesday on the campus lawns attracted other dozens of demonstrators in support, who still faced the police outside the enclosure. of the university, noted AFP journalists.
AFP
A little more than 24 hours after their installation, university president Nemat Shafik requested police intervention, saying in a letter to the faculty that the organizers had “violated a long list of rules” relating to security .
According to the New York Times, the daughter of the Democratic representative to the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar was one of the students arrested and was issued a summons to appear in court.
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, American campuses have been the scene of tensions and voices have been raised to denounce a rise in anti-Semitism.
AFP
The Republicans took up the subject and after a heated hearing in Congress, the president of the University of Pennsylvania Elizabeth Magill, then her Harvard counterpart Claudine Gay resigned, in December and January respectively.
Nemat Shafik was heard on Wednesday, the day pro-Palestinian students from Columbia set up tents on the lawns. In front of American elected officials, she assured that “anti-Semitism (has) nothing to do on our campus.”
In 1968, Columbia University experienced a historic protest movement against the Vietnam War and discrimination against African-Americans.
