2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses

As a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests, pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses began on April 17, 2024, before spreading to other universities in the United States and other countries. They 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 3, over 2,300 protesters have been arrested, including faculty members and professors, on more than 40 U.S. campuses. The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel and its affiliated entities, transparency over financial ties, and amnesty for protesters. In response, universities have suspended students, with some also expelled.

2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
Part of Israel–Hamas war protests
Clockwise from top: Columbia University University of Texas at Austin Cornell University George Washington University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles Stanford University
Date	April 17, 2024 – present (2 weeks and 2 days)
Location	United States Also: Argentina Australia Canada Egypt France Germany India Italy Japan Kuwait Lebanon Mexico Spain United Kingdom Yemen
Caused by	Opposition to: U.S. support to Israel Alleged genocide in Gaza Investments in Israel
Goals	Universities divesting from Israel
Methods	Protests, civil disobedience, picketing
Casualties
Injuries	15-25+ protesters hospitalized
Arrested	2,300+ protesters

Demonstrations spread 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, followed by over 200 arrests at the UCLA campus occupation on May 1. As of May 2, encampments have taken place on 80 U.S. campuses.

The occupations have resulted in the closure of Columbia University and the Cal Poly Humboldt for the remainder of the semester; votes of no confidence initiated by faculty members in California, Georgia, and Texas; and Portland State University pausing its financial ties with Boeing over its ties to Israel. 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. Some Jewish student demonstrators have insisted the protests are not antisemitic. The police response to the protests has also been criticized by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, and various Democrats.

Background

Further information: Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States § Universities

Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils relating 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.

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.

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.

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. 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. Maoist revolutionary slogans were listed on blackboards among protesters who breached Hamilton Hall at Columbia. 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.

Concern has been raised over the presence of outside groups at protests. Far-right agitators and white nationalists have been spotted 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 stated that they had seen evidence that outside agitators and "professionals" such as Lisa Fithian and Sami Al-Arian had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate their protests.

Many protesters have donned masks and kaffiyehs, 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. Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League stated that individuals dressed like "bank robbers" have the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side." Protesters have expressed fears of having reputational and professional harm from identification.

Analysis

The Guardian described 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 historical 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.

Former Columbia University student leaders from the era of protests against apartheid in the 1980's, including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti and historian Barbara Ransby, described the "intersecting issues of war, racism and colonialism" as a focal point in the movements of 1968, the 1980's, and 2024 — and that the similarities are clear among the unique periods. The New York Times stated that scholars noted the current protests are starkly different than those against the Vietnam War or apartheid South Africa. According to Timothy Naftali, protests against Vietnam in the 1960's did not result in a constituency that felt attacked as an ethnicity, and that 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 come as a Republican messaging opportunity 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.

As of 28 April 2024, protests that occurred outside of the US were "sporadic and smaller, and none [started] a wider student movement." The "partisan political context" was described as a reason for the intensity of protests in the United States. The status of Columbia 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. NPR described the protests abroad as "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". Although not at the intensity of protests in the United States, the protests have gained traction abroad, inspired by protests in the United States.

Antisemitism allegations

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.

First encampment protest at Columbia University

Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University on April 23, 2024

Signs displayed along side of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University on April 22, 2024

This section is an excerpt from 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation.[edit]

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, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, on the university's campus, demanding the university divest from Israel. The encampment was forcibly dismantled the next day 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. When negotiations on divestment failed, 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 were not antisemitic.

Other universities

Main article: List of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in 2024

Alabama

Pro-Palestinian protest at UA, May 1, 2024.

The pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Alabama took place from 4 to 6:30pm at the UA Student Center. Hundreds of protesters showed up on the pro-Palestinian side, with around a hundred of so counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags. The demands of the pro-Palestinian protesters was to cut ties with Lockheed Martin, the renaming of Hewson Hall, named after former Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, and the disclosure of investments from UA's endowment fund. The Lockheed Martin website deleted the mention of UA as a partner university before the protest; one of the several demands published by the protest's organizers.

The protest ended peacefully at 6:30, and there were no injuries.

Arizona

On April 25, dozens gathered to protest on the Old Main lawn at Arizona State University in Tempe. Campus police announced several people were arrested "for setting up unauthorized encampment, in violation of university policy and the ABOR Student Code of Conduct." On April 27, the Arizona State University Police Department arrested 69 protesters after the unauthorised encampment was established on campus.

On April 25, a protest was held at the University of Arizona in Tucson. An encampment was set up on April 29.

On April 30, an encampment was set up at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Within the same night, the university and Flagstaff Police Departments made 24 arrests and deconstructed the site.

California

Encampment at UC Berkeley on April 25, 2024

The Cal Poly Humboldt campus in Northern California was shut down by officials on April 22 after students occupied a university building and barricaded its entrance. On April 26, the university closed the campus for the remainder of the semester with classes conducted remotely due to the occupation.

Signs at the Stanford University encampment

Student protesters put up more than a dozen tents on Sproul Plaza at University of California, Berkeley, stating they would remain until the university divested from companies involved with the war. University officials pledged to remove protesters who put up tents or "disrupted academic activity" by force.

The University of Southern California (USC) canceled a pro-Palestinian student's valedictorian speech citing a need to "maintain campus safety and security" after pro-Israel groups accused her of antisemitism. Some student organizations, including the editorial team of USC's student newspaper, criticized the choice to cancel the speech. The decision was followed by protests, with students attempting to establish an encampment. About 93 people were arrested during the night of April 24 including one arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, with no reports of injuries. USC later canceled many of its speakers for commencement before canceling the commencement altogether, citing safety concerns.

Protest art on the campus of San Diego State University where KPBS studios broadcast from.

On April 25, protests spread to multiple Californian universities. Hundreds of people occupied an administration building at UC Santa Barbara on April 25; tents were set up inside the building but no occupation was planned, according to an organizer, and no police were present. A protest march was held at the University of California, Irvine on April 25, followed by an encampment on April 29. An encampment was set up at Stanford University. The following day, tents went up at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park for an encampment organized by SJP. Other encampments were set up at San Francisco State University, California State University, Sacramento the University of California, Riverside, and Occidental College on April 29. The same day, a peaceful protest was held at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

The UCR statue at the University of California, Riverside adorned with pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist symbols

On April 27, three demonstrations were held at three of the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California during alumni events at the schools. At 10:00 a.m., around 36 protesters disrupted a speech by Harvey Mudd College president Harriet Nembhard. At 3:15 p.m., around 50 protesters formed a blockade during a parade at Pomona College. About half an hour later, an encampment was set up at Pitzer College during a music and food festival.

On April 30, Students for Justice in Palestine organized a walkout at San Diego State University (SDSU) to protest spending on "weapons corporations that kill Palestinians." About 1,000 people rallied near Hepner Hall and marched to the Student union without incident. The day after, an encampment was established at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and a walk-out was held at the University of San Diego (USD).

On May 1, two protests were held at the University of California, Santa Cruz. One was in support of labor reform while the other called for the University of California to divest. The two protests merged into a singular protest, which ended with an encampment being set up near a campus bookstore. Protests were also held at the Northridge, Los Angeles, and Fresno campuses of the California State University System, both in support of Palestine and for International Workers' Day. Musician and leftist activist Tom Morello attended the protest at CSU Northridge and performed for students. A protest was also held at the University of California, Davis, and a die-in was held at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

On May 2, an encampment was set up at Chapman University. Hundreds marched in a protest at California State Univeristy, Long Beach. They renamed an administration building after Refaat Alareer, a Palestinian writer from Gaza who was killed by an Israeli air strike in December.

On May 3, the University of California, Riverside announced that the university will create a task force which will explore the removal of the university's endowment from the UC Investments Office with consideration of companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery and to present a report to the university's board of trustees by the end of the Winter 2025 quarter. The university also announced that its School of Business will terminate its trips to Israel, among other places, and that the university will modify its approval process for all study abroad programs to ensure their compliance with the university's anti-discrimination policies. In turn, protest organizers have agreed to end the occupation of the area around the bell tower by that midnight.

UCLA

UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment looking toward Powell Library from Royce Hall on April 30th, 2024

Main article: 2024 University of California, Los Angeles pro-Palestinian campus occupation

On April 25, The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) chapter of SJP set up a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" between Powell Library and Royce Hall. Social media posts announcing the encampment directly referenced the arrests at USC, and aerial footage showed about 20 tents and a few hundred protesters. On April 28, clashes occurred between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters as Stand With Us rallied on the campus, in a protest organised by the Israeli American Council. On April 29, counter protestors threw live mice at the encampment. In response to the attack, the Council on American–Islamic Relations called on UCLA administration to investigate it as a hate crime.

In the early morning of May 1, pro-Israel counter protesters from outside the campus attacked the pro-Palestinian protesters' barricade, in an attempt to tear down the encampment. The group included people wielding sticks, poles, and metal fencing. The group also used fireworks and pepper spray, and bear spray during the attack. The LAPD allowed attacks on the encampment by counterprotestors to continue for four hours before intervening. During the attack, the pro-Israel group chanted “Second Nakba,” referring to the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes by Israeli forces in 1948. The following day, police dismantled the encampment, arresting 132 protesters and shooting multiple protestors at close range with rubber bullets.

Colorado

On April 22, a Colorado State University event with Senator Michael Bennet and former Senator Cory Gardner, moderated by university president Amy Parsons, was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Protesters from the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University set up an encampment at the Tivoli Quad on the shared Auraria Campus. Police detained several protesters.

Protests were also held at other colleges in Colorado. On April 29, rallies were held at Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado. On April 30, a protest was held at the University of Denver. On May 1, a die-in was held at the University of Colorado Boulder and a walk-out was held at Colorado College.

Connecticut

A rock at the University of Connecticut, painted in response to the arrest of protesters on April 30

On April 12, at Yale University, ahead of the university's Bulldog Days, when admitted freshmen would be visiting, a group of graduate students conducted a hunger strike to call attention to the university's investment in weapons manufacturers profiting off of the war in Gaza. Students supporting those striking grew daily until reaching critical mass after the events at Columbia University. Students at Yale University set up an encampment where sixty pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on April 22 on charges of trespassing. Yale administrators claimed that arrests were because students failed to leave after a warning that the protest posed "a safety violation". A letter signed by 300 Yale faculty stated the decision to charge the students "contradicts the institution’s commitment to uphold free assembly, speech and expression". On April 22, more than 1000 pro-Palestinian protesters organized a "March for a Free Palestine" around the encampment at the New Haven Green.

On April 25, an encampment was launched at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. One person was arrested. Five days later, university police arrested multiple people and dismantled the encampment.

On April 28, another encampment was set up at Wesleyan University in Middletown. On April 29, about 100 people were at the encampment, called a "Liberation Zone." University President Michael S. Roth said that he will not call in the police as long as it remains nonviolent.

On May 1, an encampment was set up at Trinity College in Hartford.

Florida

Group of Pro-Palestinian protestors at USF on April 30, 2024

On April 24, a protest organized by the "UF Divestment Coalition" took place at the Plaza of the Americas at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Nine people were arrested at another protest on April 29.

A protest was held at the University of Central Florida on April 26.

A planned encampment on Landis Green at Florida State University lasted only a few minutes on April 25 before being disbanded by university police and the use of sprinklers by school administration. On April 30 police arrested five protesters at another encampment on the FSU campus.

Three people were arrested at a protest and encampment at the University of South Florida on April 29. The following day, 10 people were arrested following a physical altercation between police and protesters. Police officers used tear gas on protesters.

An encampment was set up at the University of North Florida on April 30.

Georgia

Students at the Georgia Institute of Technology held a pro-Palestine rally on April 24. The next day, students at Kennesaw State University participated in a walkout. A second walkout was held on May 1, with around 100 students from the Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus also participating.

On the morning of April 25, police arrested demonstrators at an encampment at Emory University. Students had established the encampment that morning in solidarity with the people of Gaza as well as in protest of Cop City. Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta Police and University Police began clearing the encampment within three hours of its establishment. Tasers on restrained students and tear gas were used to arrest at least 20 students. Caroline Fohlin, the chair of Emory's philosophy department, was one of the arrested. A video of police using a taser on a restrained protester at Emory went viral, but vice president of public safety Cheryl Elliott said the person did not appear to be associated with Emory. Elliot also sent an email to the Emory community saying that "chemical irritants" were necessary for crowd control due to direct assaults of officers. On 27 April, faculty placed themselves between police and students, leading Representative Ruwa Romman to say, "it never should've been necessary".

On April 29, police arrested 16 people at an encampment at the University of Georgia.

Illinois

On April 22, students at Loyola University in Chicago held a protest. On April 30, a protest was held at Northern Illinois University.

Hundreds of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students rallied on April 24 to demand the university divest from BlackRock. On April 26, the university announced that the group had 30 minutes to remove its tents. After 45 minutes, one person who was not a student was arrested for interfering with university staff's attempt to take the tents down.

On April 25, students at Northwestern University established an encampment on the south campus of the school's Evanston campus. Several dozen students started the encampment; and the crowd grew to over 1,000 by Thursday evening. In response to the protests, the university declared an interim addendum to the student code of conduct prohibiting tents from being erected on campus. On April 29, Northwestern made an agreement with the protestors, in which most tents would be dismantled in exchange for the reestablishment of an Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility and increased inclusivity efforts on campus.

On April 26, students from the University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and Roosevelt University held a protest march and called for the universities to cut ties with Israel. Three days later students established an encampment on the University of Chicago campus.

On April 30, an encampment was set up at DePaul University.

Indiana

An encampment at Indiana University Bloomington on April 29

On April 19 demonstrators at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis marched on Monument Circle in response to the government's response to the war.

On April 25, US Senator Todd Young was being interviewed by Purdue University president Mung Chiang on campus when the event was interrupted by demonstrators. Organizers with SJP and Young Democratic Socialists of America quickly set up an encampment. The chief of the Purdue Police claimed the students were not allowed to have tents, but later, a University spokesman claimed that students were allowed to have tents.

At Indiana University, police arrested 33 protesters after an encampment was set up on the Dunn Meadow lawn. The "IU Divestment Coalition" made demands including the resignation of the President of the University, the Provost and the Vice-Provost, the end of the institution's collaboration with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, a naval installation close to Bloomington, and the cutting of financial ties with Israel. The latter would be in violation of a state law blacklisting companies that adhere to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). On April 25 and 27, an Indiana State Police sniper was posted on the roof of the Indiana Memorial Union, overlooking the encampment on Dunn Meadow, pictures of which circulated on social media. 23 further students and faculty were arrested on April 27, including one of the organizers, who was banned from campus for five years.

On April 26, students at the University of Notre Dame held a rally calling for divestment from weapons manufactures. Police arrested 17 people during an encampment at Notre Dame on May 2.

Iowa

A protest was held at Iowa State University on May 1.

A planned three-day protest began at the University of Iowa on May 3. Protest organizers stated they did not plan to set up an encampment.

Kansas

Around forty people protested outside of the Wichita State University student center on April 26, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

An encampment was set up outside Fraser Hall at the University of Kansas on May 1.

Louisiana

A walkout took place at Tulane and Loyola University in New Orleans on April 26. St. Charles Avenue was closed due to the march. Students demanded that both Universities divest from companies profiting from Israel's war. A pro-Palestinian protest was also held outside of the Louisiana State University student union. The following day, 10 people were arrested at a protest involving Loyola and Tulane University students where, according to the New Orleans Police Department, four officers were injured while clearing Jackson Square of protesters.

Maryland

A sit-in organized by SJP took place at University of Maryland in College Park on April 23. The group planted Palestinian flags in Hornbake Plaza.

Students rallied and marched through campus at Johns Hopkins University on April 24. Over 100 demonstrators held a rally on April 29 organized by the "Hopkins Justice Collective", subsequently setting up an encampment on campus, before dispersing the following day. Protesters set up an encampment on April 29. The following day, Johns Hopkins announced an agreement had been reached with the protesters and the encampment dispersed.

Massachusetts

Encampment at Harvard University on May 2, 2024

On April 19, students at Boston University protested in solidarity with Columbia students. Two days later a pro-Palestinian protest was held at Smith College.

On April 24, 2024, students set up an encampment at Harvard University on Harvard Yard. The encampment was organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, a coalition of several pro-Palestine groups, which demand that Harvard discloses and divests from investments in Israel. The protests resulted in changes for final exam locations. During the protests, students ...have flipped maqluba, hosted prayers, danced Dabke, and eaten Shabbat dinner, and the protesters, joined by some faculty members, have emphasized a peaceful character of the demonstration, which was also confirmed by Harvard police chief. During the encampment, access to Harvard Yard has been restricted to Harvard ID holders. Harvard University considered the demonstration a 'direct violation' of its policy.

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology protested for the university to cut research ties with the IDF. A solidarity encampment with at least a dozen tents also appeared at Tufts University.

On the evening of April 21, 2024, students at Emerson College set up an encampment in the Boylston Place alleyway in solidarity with those arrested in similar protests. The students called for Emerson to divest from any associations with Zionist ties. During the night of April 24, about 108 people were arrested at the protest with video showing officers forcefully moving through the crowd and throwing protestors on the ground, who had linked arms and used umbrellas to resist. Four officers were reportedly injured with non-life threatening injuries. School administrators stated that the protestors had been warned to leave beforehand as the alleyway was not solely owned by the school and that city authorities had threatened to become involved. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she ordered police to take down the Emerson encampment for public safety reasons.

On April 25, students at Boston's Northeastern University circled their encampment on the school's Centennial Commons and chanted as police approached. Police left the scene shortly afterward. Students from Berklee College of Music joined the Northeastern encampment.

On April 27, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at the university. School officials alleged the student demonstration was infiltrated by outsiders who yelled antisemitic slurs such as "Kill the Jews." A video circulating on social media later showed a counter-protestor holding an Israeli flag had attempted to provoke a response by yelling "kill the Jews."

A protest was held at Boston College on April 26. During the protest, an organizer read a letter written by a BC student who had been arrested at Emerson and banned from the BC campus.

Demonstrators at the University of Massachusetts Amherst protested the inauguration of UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes, calling on him to cut ties with military groups and drop charges against people who had been charged during previous protests at UMass Amherst. Three days later, an encampment was built on campus. The encampment was dismantled the following day.

A walk-out and protest was held at Simmons University on May 1.

Michigan

On April 24, students set up tents on The Diag, in front of the Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Counter protests handed out small Israeli flags near the encampment to show support for Israel.

On April 25, students at Michigan State University in East Lansing set up a solidarity encampment in the same "People's Park" area that hosted an anti-Vietnam War encampment in 1970.

On April 26, a group of protesters interrupted a meeting of the Board of Governors at Wayne State University. One person was arrested.

On April 28 protesters established an encampment at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. The day after, an encampment was set up at Northern Michigan University. A protest had previously been held at NMU on April 22.

Minnesota

Nine University of Minnesota students were arrested on April 23 while attempting to set up an encampment on the Minneapolis campus. US Representative Ilhan Omar joined protestors. Protests resumed the following day. On May 1, protesters dismantled their own encampment after the U of M agreed to consider their demands.

On April 26, a group of student protesters at Hamline University held a sit-in protest at the university president's office building. After 29 hours the protesters moved to an encampment on the lawn in front of the building.

A protest was held at Concordia College in Moorhead on April 30.

Missouri

About 50 protesters from the university and the community gathered at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. An alumnus of the school who is a current student at Columbia University spoke at the event. Police from Richmond Heights, St. Louis County, St. Louis Metro, and Washington University were called to disburse the small crowd. On April 27, more than 80 protesters were arrested, including Green Party U.S. presidential candidate Jill Stein and her campaign managers, according to the campaign's communications director. During the arrests, police broke the ribs of history professor Steve Tamari.

On April 29, students held a protest march at the University of Missouri, while students at University of Missouri–Kansas City set up an encampment.

New Hampshire

Around 200 people demonstrated at Dartmouth College's campus on April 25. Another protest was held at the University of New Hampshire on the same day, where demonstrators called for UNH to divest from companies based in Israel. Additional protests were held at both universities on May 1, with police arresting protesters at both locations as they attempted to set up encampments. Police in riot gear arrested 90 people at Dartmouth. Among the arrested included history professor Annelise Orleck, who described the police actions as "brutal" and "punitive", after she was tackled and knelt on by police.

A protest was held at Keene State College on April 29.

New Jersey

On April 22, faculty and staff at Princeton issued a pledge to withhold labor from Columbia University until it meets their demands to reinstate students who were wrongly suspended for protesting, remove the NYPD from Columbia campus and reverse the suspension of two pro-Palestinian student groups. On April 24, plans for a "Princeton Gaza Solidarity Encampment" were intercepted by the conservative leaning National Review. On April 15, about 100 students started an encampment in McCosh Courtyard, declaring "We're gonna be here until the University divests." Two people were arrested before 10 am.

Demonstrations took place in Princeton University and Rutgers University on April 29, with an encampment being built on the College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick. Two days later, protesters at Rutgers' Newark campus set up an encampment in front of Rutgers Law School. The encampment on College Avenue was later disbanded after the university gave a deadline to leave or face action by law enforcement.

New Mexico

On April 24, a solidarity encampment set up near the duck pond at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Protesters demanded that the university divest from Israel and arms manufacturers that are known to use research from UNM faculty and students. Police detained 16 people at the student union on the night of April 29.

An encampment was set up at New Mexico State University on April 29.

New York

People's University for Palestine at Cornell University

From top clockwise: A mural in solidarity with Gaza. The encampment on April 25, 2024. Group of Students performing Palestinian music. Diagram displaying the "People's University for Palestine" encampment as of 29, 2024. Example of reading material handed out during "Teach-In" sessions.

Students at Barnard College joined the encampment at Columbia University. 53 students were arrested and suspended, but the college reversed "nearly all" the suspensions.

Police took down tents outside the Stern School of Business at New York University on April 22. 133 protesters were arrested. Helga Tawil-Souri, a professor at NYU, said, "They brought in the police—hundreds of policemen in riot gear". Solidarity sit-ins were also held at NYU's campuses in Berlin, Germany, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Authorities at NYU have alleged that some participants in the protests had no link to the university, and Columbia's president alleged that people not affiliated with the university had joined the protests, exploiting and increasing tensions on campus.

On April 22, 2024, Cornell University undergraduates supported, by a 2–1 margin, a referendum calling for a permanent ceasefire and divestment from weapons manufacturers supporting Israel. On April 25, 2024, Cornell students erected an encampment, calling on the university to divest from companies involved with the "ongoing genocide" in Gaza. Cornell University suspended four student protesters on April 27, 2024. Three days later, Cornell administrators threatened students with a second wave of suspensions. Two additional students were suspended by Cornell. One of the suspended students stated, "We’ve had death threats. We’ve had – while we were praying Salat al-Jum’ah – we’ve had police videoing and take pictures of us".

A group called "The New School's Students for Justice in Palestine" established a solidarity encampment inside the University Center building on April 21. On April 25, a student-built encampment was established at the West Harlem campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). The encampment was joined by a number of Hasidic Jews. The same day, students at the Fashion Institute of Technology occupied the school's Shirley Goodman Resource Center building.

More than a dozen tents were spotted at a solidarity encampment at University of Rochester's River Campus on April 23. On April 24, the university's faculty senate stated its intention to investigate its ties to Israel. An encampment was set up at Syracuse University on April 29.

On April 25, peaceful protests were held at Hofstra University and St. John's University. A peaceful protest was held on April 29 at Adelphi University.

Beginning on April 28, an encampment was established at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. Two days later, students at Stony Brook University formed an encampment on the Staller Steps.

A protest was held at Fordham University on April 25. Five days later on May 1 an encampment was set up, which was cleared by the NYPD later in the day.

On April 30, nearly 300 students were arrested at Columbia and CCNY. One day prior, members of the Professional Staff Congress voted to strike on May Day in support of the CUNY students' demands, an action considered significant due to the prohibition of strikes by public sector workers under the Taylor Law.

An encampment was set up at Binghamton University on May 1. Police at the University at Buffalo arrested several people as they tried to set up an encampment. Earlier in the day a peaceful protest was held at nearby Buffalo State University.

On May 1, an encampment was set up at SUNY New Paltz. On May 2, police arrested 133 people and dismantled the encampment.

An encampment was set up at SUNY Purchase on May 2. Police arrested 70 people the following morning.

North Carolina

A solidarity encampment zone at University of North Carolina at Charlotte was set up on April 22. They were told by security to disembark but they decided to remain until at least April 25 when the Board of Trustees meets again.

Another encampment was set up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on April 26. After negotiations, the organizers agreed to take the tents down in exchange for being allowed to stay at the site. Students from North Carolina State University and Duke University joined to form the "Triangle Gaza Solidarity Encampment."

A pro-Palestinian rally was held at Duke University on April 26. Police arrested a woman during a protest at North Carolina State University on April 30. The protest had been organized to support demonstrators at UNC-Chapel Hill.

An encampment was set up at Wake Forest University on May 1. Campus police dismantled it on May 3.

A protest march was held at North Carolina A&T State University on May 3.

Ohio

On April 19, SJP organizers at Miami University staged a walkout with about 15 students in support of protestors that had been arrested at Columbia. The University of Cincinnati SJP chapter promoted the Ohio State University encampments. The same day, students at Case Western Reserve University held a die-in during Admitted Students Day. Police detained at least twenty people at an encampment at Case Western on April 29.

After a gathering at a campus amphitheater and a protest outside of a board meeting, two students at Ohio State University (OSU) were arrested for criminal trespass on April 23. Two days later, a third student was arrested outside of the Ohio Union during a Gaza encampment around 10 am, with campus police demanding that the protestors vacate the space since they had not reserved it.

On April 25, the OSU student newspaper The Lantern initially reported that there were state troopers on the roof of the Ohio Union, saying that they were unarmed and citing Ben Johnson, a university spokesperson, who had said that they had only been using surveillance scopes. The Lantern later deleted the article and published a new version as Johnson later said that the troopers used long-range firearms, starting at around 10 pm.

On April 29, students at Oberlin College held a rally and established an encampment. The month before, student representatives of Students for a Free Palestine and Jews for a Free Palestine met with administrators to discuss a formal divestment from Israeli companies.

On May 2, an encampment was set up at Miami University.

Oklahoma

Demonstrations were held at the University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa on May 1.

Oregon

Main articles: 2024 Portland State University pro-Palestinian campus occupation and 2024 University of Oregon pro-Palestinian campus occupation

Student encampment at the University of Oregon, May 1 2024

Oregon State University students held a campus protest on Friday, April 26. Protests were also held at Lewis & Clark College and Reed College.

Following protests at Portland State University, university president Ann Cudd announced on April 26 that the school would pause all ties to Boeing. While the university does not currently invest in the company, it had previously accepted philanthropic gifts from Boeing. Protesters also set up an encampment at the Portland State University library.

An encampment was set up outside of the University of Oregon library on April 29.

Pennsylvania

Students at Swarthmore College built a solidarity encampment on campus. At University of Pennsylvania, college leaders announced they would be holding a "listening session" but students expressed disinterest. UPenn students created their own encampment on April 25, with several dozen faculty members also present. A small counter protest was held near the encampment, with one student claiming the encampment was "disgraceful" leading him to want to show support for Israel and Jewish people. On April 25, students at Haverford College set up an encampment, and two days later students at nearby Bryn Mawr College did the same.

Students at University of Pittsburgh declared a "Liberation Zone" on the lawn outside the Cathedral of Learning and made demands that the University declare and divest from investing in Israel. City police and campus police asked the group to move off-campus to nearby Schenley Plaza and the group agreed.

On April 24, hundreds of demonstrators marched through Philadelphia, stopping at Drexel University, Temple University, City Hall and finally setting up a solidarity encampment at University of Pennsylvania. On May 1, the seventh day of the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, a man was arrested after spraying the encampment with an unknown chemical substance.

Protests were also held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania State University in State College, Millersville University, Dickinson College in Carlisle, and Villanova University.

Rhode Island

Brown University encampment, April 2024.

At 6 am on April 24, about 80 students set up tents on the Main Green at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Their demands were to drop charges against 41 students who took part in a sit-in last December and that the University divest from "companies enabling and profiting from Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territory." On April 30, encampment organizers came to an agreement with Brown's governing body to clear the Main Green encampment in exchange for the body to vote on divestment from companies affiliated with Israel in October 2024.

Following the clearing of the Brown University encampment, protests were held at the Rhode Island School of Design and Salve Regina University on May 2.

Tennessee

On April 6, Vanderbilt University expelled three students following a 24-hour sit-in in an administrative building; according to the university, the students forced their way into the building and injured a community service officer. Students continued the encampment on campus. On April 30, a group of protesters held a sit-in at the All Saints Chapel at Sewanee: The University of the South.

On May 1, both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel peaceful protest groups arrived at the University of Tennessee campus. The protestors were given a deadline of 9 p.m. on May 2 to vacate the public space. When this deadline was not met, nine (seven students and two unaffiliated) were arrested and later released with citations.

Texas

Around 100 University of Texas at Dallas students participated in an April 23 occupation of a campus building, holding a sit-in in a hallway near the university president's office. UT Dallas students established an encampment on May 1, which was removed by the end of the day.

The Texas A&M University chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America held a march through the Texas A&M campus on April 23. The next day, students at the University of Texas at Arlington held a walk-out and protest. On April 25, a protest was held at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. A protest was also held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

The San Antonio chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the University of Texas at San Antonio SJP chapter organized an April 24 rally on the UTSA campus. At Rice University in Houston, protesters established a "liberated zone" on a campus green space. Also in Houston, students at the University of Houston held a peaceful protest outside the student center.

On April 24, the Palestinian Solidarity Committee student group at the University of Texas at Austin initiated a walkout and sit-in on the South Mall of the campus. According to The Dallas Morning News, students were arrested when Texas state troopers were deployed to disperse protesters. At least 50 troops in riot gear descended upon the encampment. The scene was later described by AP News as hundreds of local and state police, including some on horse back and holding batons, aggressively bulldozing into the protestors and arresting 57. One student called the protest peaceful, until the police presence and called the police and their action an "overreaction." In a tweet, Texas governor Greg Abbott stated the UT Austin protesters "belong in jail", leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to state, "The First Amendment applies to the State of Texas, whether Greg Abbott likes it or not".

A photographer with local television station Fox 7 Austin was arrested after reportedly being caught in a scuffle between law enforcement and students on April 24, with the station reposting the viral footage to Twitter, stating their employee was pushed by an officer into another before being thrown to the ground and arrested. Another Texas journalist was knocked down and seen bleeding before being handed off to emergency medical staff by police. The officers ended up leaving after a few hours and about 300 demonstrators moved back to sit and chant near the clock tower.

On April 25, charges were dismissed against 46 of those arrested at the UT Austin protest. A university statement said that almost half of the people who were arrested during the protest were not students or staff affiliated with the university and were part of "outside groups” US Representative Greg Casar joined protestors on April 25. That day, a previously planned demonstration by a local Texas State Employees Union chapter, initially intended to protest the anti-DEI legislation SB 17, incorporated additional pro-Palestine protest activity.

Over 90 people were arrested at UT Austin on April 29 at an encampment established that day. In a statement, the university claimed that protest organizers had issued threats to the school ahead of the demonstration. Protesters gathered outside the Travis County Jail that evening to protest the arrests.

On April 30 around 1,000 people held a protest at the University of North Texas. The demonstration lasted roughly two hours. Another protest was held at Texas State University.

On May 1, students at six universities in the San Antonio area delivered letters to their respective college presidents, with demonstrations being held at UT San Antonio, Texas A&M University–San Antonio, and San Antonio College.

Utah

On April 29, students at the University of Utah set up an encampment at the University of Utah Circle. Later that night, police dispersed the encampment and arrested 17 people.

On May 1, a protest was held at Utah State University.

Vermont

On April 28, encampments were set up at both the University of Vermont (UVM) and Middlebury College. Protestors at UVM held a "Liberation Seder" led by Jewish Voice for Peace and UVM Jews for Liberation. In addition to demands similar to those of other encampments, UVM students have called for the cancellation of a planned commencement speech by Linda Thomas-Greenfield. On 1 May, UVM said it would disclose the investments in its endowment portfolio in response to student demands.

Virginia

Protesters at the University of Virginia held a die-in on April 19. An encampment was later set up on April 30.

On April 26, students at the University of Mary Washington set up an encampment on the Jefferson Square lawn. On April 27, police arrested and charged 12 protestors with trespassing while clearing the encampment.

On April 26, students at Virginia Tech set up an encampment outside the Graduate Life Center. Protestors called on the Virginia Tech Foundation to disclose its investments and to divest from Israeli companies, and denounced an antisemitic harassment campaign led by Hokies for Israel and Hillel at Virginia Tech. On April 28, police cleared the encampment, arresting 82 people. The arrested included 53 students and several faculty members, including poliitical science professor Bikrum Gill.

On April 29, students set up an encampment outside of the library at Virginia Commonwealth University. That same evening, police in riot gear surrounded the encampment and shot tear gas at the peaceful protestors to clear the area. 13 people were arrested and charged with trespassing.

A protest was held at James Madison University on May 1.

Washington

Around 10 people set up an encampment at Evergreen State College on April 23. On April 25, students at Whitman College held a walk-out and protest at Ankeny Field, placing 340 white flags for Palestinians killed since October 7. A protest was also held at Washington State University in April 24. Protesters set up an encampment at the University of Washington on April 29.

Washington, D.C.

George Washington University encampment, April 28, 2024

A walkout occurred at American University in Washington, DC on April 23, 2024. On April 25, students from Georgetown University and George Washington University established a joint encampment in response to the International Court of Justice's ruling that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention. At 5:30 am, about 70 students set up 25 tents at University Yard. The campus police arrived at 6 am and informed them that they were only allowed to be on campus between 7 am and 7 pm. Around noon, 200 students took part in a rally. At 1 pm, 150 more marchers arrived at the encampment. At 2:30 pm, counter-protesters arrived. Protesters were joined by Howard University, George Mason University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Gallaudet University students. The Washington Post reported that the Metropolitan Police Department rejected an April 26 request from GWU officials to clear the site. By April 28, the encampment had spread past the barricaded University Yard into the surrounding streets.

Wisconsin

Protests were held and encampments were established at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee on April 29.

On May 1, police in riot gear cleared the encampment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, arresting 34 people. Two professors, Sami Schalk and Samer Alatout, were among the arrested; Alatout was bloodied by police. Three members of the police were injured. Also on May 1, a protest was held at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Other

An encampment was set up outside the Biden School for Public Policy at the University of Delaware on April 24.

A protest was held outside the library at the University of Idaho on April 25.

The evening of May 1, protesters held a demonstration in front of the University of Kentucky library in Lexington.

Dozens of students held a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Mississippi, but were escorted into a building by police after counter-protesters intimidated the pro-Palestinian protesters into ending the event early.

A protest was held outside the University Center at the University of Montana on April 28. Protesters demonstrated outside a fundraiser where Donald Trump Jr. and other Republicans were meeting.

A protest was held outside of the Nebraska Union at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on May 1.

A pro-Palestinian protest was held at the University of Nevada, Reno on April 26.

Several protests were held at the University of South Carolina. Two people were arrested after one protest, which was held in a dining hall.

About 30 people attended a rally organized by "Maine Students for Palestine" at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

On April 28 a protest march was held at West Virginia University.

Other countries

Argentina

On April 25, around 20 students held a sit-in in the lobby of NYU Buenos Aires, aiming to show solidarity with NYU protesters in Manhattan and calling on the institution to cut ties with Israel.

Australia

"Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at the University of Sydney

On April 23, an encampment was set up at the University of Sydney, in the main Quadrangle, underneath the historic clock tower. Students have been supporting the camp by donating food, materials and supplies. Chief executive of the university, Vice Chancellor Mark Scott is allowing the protests to continue, despite incidents such as graffiti that are being investigated, because protest and free speech are "part of who we are", noting other protests related to issues such as the World War I conscription debate and the Vietnam War anti-war movement.

On April 25, University of Melbourne students began an encampment on the South Lawn of the main campus in Parkville. Protestors and counter-protestors have been regularly interacting, including a standoff where both groups stood on either side of a moat, but there has been no violence reported thus far.

An encampment was started at Monash University on 1 May. The next day, the camp was attacked by counter-protesters draped in the Australian and Israeli flags, who destroyed the camp kitchen and shook a protesters tent whilst she slept. Police attended, but no arrests were made, with 10 people being given a move-on direction. A GoFundMe was started to fund the repair of the damage caused. Following this incident, the Victorian Greens issued a statement calling for better protection of protesters from universities and the police.

Students at the University of Queensland held a rally and set up an encampment on April 29, with a rival pro-Israel camp also set up.

Other encampments were established at the Australian National University on April 29 and Curtin University on May 1.

Canada

On April 22, students set up an encampment at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton.

About 80 tents form the encampment at McGill University, Montreal

On April 27, an encampment of around 20 tents was set up on the grounds of McGill University in Montreal, calling on the institution to cut financial ties with Israel. Students of nearby Concordia University and Université du Québec à Montréal also participated. Police officers of the SPVM monitored the protest. In a statement, McGill said encampments were not permitted on campus but did not say whether they would be forcibly removed. On April 29, the encampment had grown to more than 80 tents. After dialogue with student representatives failed, the university requested police assistance on April 30.

On April 29, an encampment of about 30 tents was set up on the Point Grey campus of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. About 100 protesters were present on its first day, calling on the institution to divest from Israel.

On May 1, an encampment was built outside Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa. On Vancouver Island, encampments were set up at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University. An encampment was also briefly set up at the University of Western Ontario, lasting a day before disappearing.

On May 2, students at the University of Toronto set up an encampment of about 50 tents at King's College Circle.

Egypt

Students at the American University of Cairo held a protest on April 22, calling for the university to divest from Hewlett Packard and Axa.

France

On April 25, students at Sorbonne University in Paris set up an encampment in support of Palestine in the university's main courtyard. Four days later, police removed dozens of students from the courtyard.

Sciences Po

Main article: 2024 Sciences Po pro-Palestinian occupation protest

At Sciences Po, in Paris, an encampment of about 60 students was broken up by the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité on April 24. A group of students decided to stay before the police withdrew. On April 26, protesters then occupied a campus building and barricaded themselves inside the university.

Germany

On April 25, students at New York University Berlin held a rally in solidarity with students at New York University.

India

On April 30, students at Jawaharlal Nehru University protested against a planned visit to the campus by US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and in solidarity with protestors in the United States. Garcetti's visit was postponed due to the protests.

Italy

Student protests occurred at La Sapienza, Rome and Politecnico di Napoli (Naples).

Japan

Protests were held at the University of Tokyo.

Kuwait

On April 29, a sit-in was held at the College of Science of Kuwait University, in Kuwait City. The protest involved faculty and students.

Lebanon

On April 30, over 200 people gathered in a campus square at the American University of Beirut, with permission from the administration to protest for two hours. Demonstrations were also held at the Lebanese American University and other universities.

Mexico

On May 2, pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment outside of the National Autonomous University of Mexico's main office in Mexico City.

New Zealand

On May 1, pro-Palestinian protesters led by staged a protest outside the University of Auckland. Though the protesters had initially planned to camp overnight, organiser Layan Khalil, co-president of the University of Auckland's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, called off the encampment after the Vice-Chancellor sent an email stating the University would allow protests and rallies but not overnight encampments. Police and university security monitored the protest.

Spain

On April 29, more than 60 students and faculty members of the University of Valencia set up an encampment inside a faculty building. This was done with the knowledge of the faculty's dean, although she denies giving consent. Protesters called on their institution to cut ties with Israeli universities, and stated their intention to eventually move the encampment outside.

Tunisia

On April 30, students at the Institute of Press and Information Sciences held a sit-in rally.

United Kingdom

In England, students from the University of Warwick occupied the campus piazza on the evening of April 19. On April 22, students from the University of Leicester Palestine Society held a protest. On April 26, a rally was held by students of University College London (UCL) on campus, though they had been campaigning for months. UCL Action for Palestine won a meeting with senior members of university's management, also on 26 April, to discuss divestment and propose aiding Palestinian students whose universities had been destroyed.

On May 1, encampments were established at the University of Bristol, the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester, and Newcastle University, as well as a joint one between the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

As of February and March, similar protests and calls for divestment had already been occurring at Goldsmiths, University of London, the University of Leeds, and the University of Bristol. After a campaign from students, the University of York announced on 27 April it "no longer holds investments in companies that primarily make or sell weapons and defence-related products or services".

Yemen

In the city of Dhamar, students and faculty members of the Thamar University organized a protest in solidarity with their European and American counterparts while also showing their opposition to Israel.

Responses

Domestic

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" and that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it."

Law enforcement

Police departments have employed a range of tactics against protesters including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls, the use of tasers, mass arrests, and the clearing of unauthorized encampments. According to The Lantern, roof top snipers were deployed at Ohio State University. According to CNN, journalists covering the protests in some cases have been "assaulted, arrested and barred access" by police.

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.

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

• 350.org
• Al-Haq
• Alliance of Baptists
• American Baptist Churches USA
• American Friends Service Committee
• American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
• Arab American Institute
• Beyt Tikkun
• Council on American-Islamic Relations
• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Dream Defenders
• Fight for the Future
• Future Coalition
• Gen-Z for Change
• Greenpeace USA
• Highlander Research and Education Center
• Hindus for Human Rights
• Indian American Muslim Council
• Islamic Society of North America
• Just Foreign Policy
• Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
• Justice Democrats
• Public Accountability Initiative
• Mondoweiss
• National Iranian American Council
• National Lawyers Guild
• North American Students of Cooperation
• Oakland Institute
• Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
• Our Revolution
• Pax Christi USA
• Peace Action
• Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
• People’s Action
• Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness
• Progressive Democrats of America
• Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
• Project South
• Rising Tide North America
• RootsAction Education Fund
• Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
• Starr King School for the Ministry
• Transnational Institute
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
• US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• Veterans For Peace
• Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press
• World Beyond War
• Working Families Party
• IfNotNow
• Young Democrats of America Black Caucus
• Movement for Black Lives
• Sunrise Movement
• Jewish Voice for Peace
• Palestine Legal
• Unitarian Universalist Association

Political

On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests calling them antisemitic and "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 he was committed "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.

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 Abbotts 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.

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.

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.”

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.

Legislation

On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 (Glazer) 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. The author, Senator Steve Glazer, has made it clear that the bill is directly related to the protests by stating:

SB 1287 is about making sure that California universities are places where everyone can share their thoughts and ideas freely. We want to protect free speech and academic freedom while also preventing any form of harassment or discrimination. The need has been highlighted by incidents of antisemitism that have resulted from the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. By having the [institutions of higher education] set clear rules and reporting systems, we're making sure that universities can maintain an environment where everyone feels respected and can learn without fear of intimidation, harassment, or violence.

As stated by the ACLU:

This SB 1287 goes beyond such protections in ways that would likely lead colleges and universities to silence a range of protected speech based on viewpoint alone. It provides no clear standards for identifying forms of conduct or speech that will be “reasonably understood by the victims or hearers” to “call for or support genocide.” It is also overly broad and will likely sweep in a wide range of protected speech and expression. The lack of clear standards also means that the bill provides inadequate notice of the types of speech and expressive conduct that it prohibits. It is therefore unconstitutionally vague in addition to being overbroad.

The analysis of the bill by the Judiciary Committee notes the following:

As currently in print, the bill has several provisions that are likely to be vulnerable to a First Amendment challenge. For example, the bill requires the CSUs and CCCs to impose time, place, and manner restrictions “for public protests and demonstrations” at institutions; this would create a content-based rule that seems unlikely to survive strict scrutiny. Likewise, the bill currently requires students and potential students to agree to comply with the bill’s provisions as a condition of continued admission or admission; but given that some of the bill’s provisions are vague, threatening expulsion or denial of admission for lack of compliance is likely to chill legitimate student speech.

Although the Senate's own staff remark that the bill in its current form is probably unconstitutional in its targeting against the freedom of speech, the bill is currently pending before the Senate Appropriations Committee. It should also be noted that the bill contains a severability clause, which is often inserted when a legislature thinks that a bill or a portion thereof may be unconstitutional.

Public and students

Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian activist, stated, "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".

International

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific," anti-Semitic and must be quelled. Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently to the PM's claim that universities were experiencing antisemitism, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Israel–Hamas war, as well as expressing support for the pro-Palestinian protests.

Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza spoke about the protests after being invited to visit the Columbia protest, saying 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 stated 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 stated, "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", while former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."

In a May 2 article about how the media of Russia, China, and Iran, described as America's adversaries, have covered the events, The New York Times cited; NewsGuard (American company that rates media outlets for propensity to misinformation), the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (anti-extremism advocacy organization), the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (American think-tank and pro-Israeli lobbying group), the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Australian security policy think-tank), and the American cybersecurity company Recorded Future; to conclude that there have been overt and covert efforts by those countries to capitalize on the protests to denigrate democracy, inflame partisan tensions, criticize Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election, support Donald Trump, and express support for Hamas and Palestinians generally.

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".

After the three-days of occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France, Gabriel Attal, stated he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", describing protests as "an ideology coming from North America".

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticised the protestors' actions, stating that "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”.

The Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa University offered education to students suspended due to protests.

See also

• 1933 anti-Nazi boycott
• 2024 Columbia University protests
• Accusations of United States complicity in Israeli war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war
• Anti-apartheid movement in the United States
• Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
• History of higher education in the United States
• Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States
• International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
• Kent State shootings – Vietnam war protests resulting in student deaths
• Occupy Wall Street
• Protests of 1968
• Student protest