A new wave of student protests against the war in Gaza is spreading across US college campuses, leading to mass arrests of students.
The demonstrations have spread from Columbia University, where a protest camp was dismantled and more than 100 arrested, to Yale and other higher institutions in the country, while The authorities are looking for ways to control them..
On Monday night, police moved to break up a protest at New York University (NYU) and made several arrests.
The same day, dozens of students were detained at Yale, while Columbia canceled in-person classes.
Similar camps are replicated at the University of California at Berkeley, MIT and others in the most prominent universities in the country.
Demonstrations and heated debates over Israel’s war in Gaza and free expression have rocked US campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which kicked off the Israeli military campaign in the Strip.
When asked about the university protests on Monday, US President Joe Biden said he condemned both “the anti-Semitic protests” and “those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians.”
Graduation ceremonies in doubt
The authorities of these prestigious and influential universities have difficulty calming tempers on their campuses and for the most part they have failed.
One of their biggest concerns is the upcoming graduation ceremonies.
The University of Southern California (USC) sparked criticism and protests last week when canceled the traditional graduation speech of its most outstanding studenta Muslim who has advocated on behalf of the Palestinians.
A day later, USC announced that it would also not have the usual speakers or honorees at the ceremony that brings together 65,000 people on campus.
Separately, the University of Michigan announced on its website that it will designate a special zone for activists outside the locations where graduation ceremonies will be held, adding that it will not try to prevent peaceful protests, but that will take action if illegal actions occur.
Tension on campus
The campus protest movement was in the spotlight last week after New York City police were deployed to the Columbia University campus, where arrested more than 100 protesters.
In a statement issued Monday, Columbia announced that all classes would be held virtually, with the institution’s president, Minouche Shafik, citing incidents of “intimidating and harassing behavior.”
Shakif expressed that tensions on campus had been “exploited and amplified by individuals not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to promote their own agendas.”
At New York University, activists set up tents outside the Stern School of Business Administration.
As has happened at other universities, NYU protesters are demanding that administrators reveal and divest “its financing and donations received from arms producers and companies with interests in the Israeli occupation”.
As night fell on Monday, police began arresting protesters there.
Hours earlier, nearly 50 activists were arrested at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where authorities said hundreds of people had gathered.
Protest camps have also been erected at the University of California at Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan, Emerson College and Tufts.
Accusations of anti-Semitism
Authorities at New York University say they have received reports of “intimidating chants and several anti-Semitic incidents”. This issue has clouded the protests more widely.
Recently released videos appear to show some protesters near Columbia expressing support for the Hamas attack on Israel.
Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Manning, who visited Columbia on Monday, said she saw protesters calling for the destruction of Israel.
The Hasidic group Chabad of Columbia University said that Jewish students had been subjected to yelling and hurtful rhetoric.
It is also reported that a rabbi affiliated with the university sent a message to 300 Jewish students at Columbia, advising them to avoid campus until the situation “improves dramatically.”
Members of protesting groups who have issued public statements deny anti-Semitism, noting that his criticisms are reserved for the State of Israel and its defenders.
In a statement Sunday, the group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said it “firmly rejects any form of hate or discrimination” and criticized “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us.”
In the crosshairs of Congress
In his own statement, Shafik reported the creation of a working group in Columbia to “achieve a resolution to this crisis”.
The university and Shafik, who last week traveled to Capitol Hill in Washington to testify before a congressional committee about the university’s efforts to confront anti-Semitism, are being urged to resolve the situation.
A group of federal lawmakers, led by New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, signed a letter Monday calling for Shafik to resign over what Stefanik described as “the failure to put an end to the horde of students and agitators urging acts of terrorism against Jewish students.”
The protests in New York also caught the attention of Democratic Representatives Kathy Manning, Jarred Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer and Dan Goldman.
Gottheimer said Columbia would “pay the price” if it fails to ensure that Jewish students feel welcome and safe at the university.
Meanwhile, in a letter posted online, North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, who chairs the House Education Committee, wrote that “Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and security” It constituted a violation of the obligations that subject federal assistance and must be “immediately rectified.”
The protests have also prompted Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots football team and a prominent Columbia alumnus, to warn that he would stop supporting the university until it takes “corrective action.”
The issue of freedom of expression
Some university faculty have blamed Columbia for its handling of the protests and for calling for police intervention.
A group of teachers declared themselves “stunned that [la presidenta Shafik] “would not defend the freedom of thought that is central to the educational mission of a university in a democratic society.”
They also criticized Shafik’s willingness to appease legislators who sought to interfere in university affairs.
In a statement sent to the BBC on Monday night, the university’s own Knight Institute for the First Amendment called for an “urgent course correction.”
It cited university rules to state that outside authorities could only be involved when there was a “clear and present danger to the persons, property or substantial operation of any division of the university.”
“For us It is not obvious how a camp and protests would represent such a danger.even if they did not have authorization,” the statement said.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the taking of another 253 hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, more than 34,000 people have died in Gaza, most of them children and women, due to the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory.
*With reporting from James FitzGerald and Bernd Debusmann Jr of BBC News
Click here to read more stories from BBC News Mundo.
You can also follow us on Youtube, instagram, TikTok, xFacebook and in our new whatsapp channelwhere you will find breaking news and our best content.
And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.