Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been spreading across US college campuses, mirroring the protests of the 1960s against the Vietnam War. In just one week, starting from April 18th, over 400 arrests have been made at various universities across the country. The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York when around 100 young people started protesting.
The movement has since expanded to other campuses, including those in California, Georgia, Boston, and Florida. Police have been confronting demonstrators and making arrests at different universities, including Emerson College in Atlanta, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, and Georgetown and George Washington University in Washington DC.
Students on these campuses are demanding that universities sever ties with companies that do business with Israel. They have organized encampments, sit-ins, and demonstrations to make their voices heard. Protests are ongoing at schools such as Columbia University, Harvard, New York University, and UC Berkeley.
In Atlanta, Noelle McAfee, the chair of the philosophy department at Emory University was handcuffed and escorted off campus by an officer for participating in a protest. Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota also showed up at Columbia University to support the protesters. Her daughter Isra Hirsi was among the group of pro-Palestinian protesters who were cleared from the university by police last week.