The largest mobilization since the beginning of the Gaza war shakes up US universities

It is the 15-M of Gaza, the Occupy Wall Street – the protest movement that in 2011 cried out against capitalism in its very cradle – with kufiyas. The US campuses are experiencing the largest mobilization since the war broke out in Gaza, with protest camps from east to west of the country, in a stark twist to the demonstrations that have already been touring universities since October. With Columbia (New York) as the epicenter, the campers, of 100% pro-Palestinian affiliation, have contributed to reactivating the debate, already muted, on anti-Semitism, which at the end of last year caused the resignations of the rectors of Harvard and Pennsylvania . Jewish students and teachers say they feel threatened and raise the risk of an open confrontation.

Camps on several campuses in the country have been evicted by the police, with numerous arrests – the latest, on Monday night at the public University of New York -, and have led the rectors to adopt exceptional measures, such as the deployment of police and numerous security guards at the entrances, delimited by fences; the closure of the facilities to strangers – only students can enter, after scanning their ID – and the adoption of remote classes until the end of the semester to avoid a greater influx to the campus. This is what Columbia has decided, where this Tuesday hundreds of students remained camped in dozens of tents clustered in a circle on one of the center’s esplanades.

Most of them masked behind masks, despite the fact that it is an open-air protest, or under Palestinian scarves, they do yoga, play music, play cards or, for the most part, finish their class work: the last school day is December 29. April. They have taken over from a first camp dispersed by the police last week, with a hundred arrests. The camp is as well organized as that of the 15-M or that of the indignant of the Greek crisis: there are food services, a medical care tent; generators; program of activities, with board games or yoga exercises, and a large sign that establishes the rules, the first of which is to commit to continuing camping and not giving up even a millimeter of space “in solidarity with the Palestinian people.” On Monday night, the Jewish students camped out celebrated the traditional sederthe dinner that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover.

With the support of numerous teachers, the protesters are no longer asking only for a ceasefire in Gaza (they have been doing so since the war began), but now also for the readmission of the students arrested last week, some of whom – the number—were expelled from campus, and also that the university divest of companies linked to Israel. Jewish students, for their part, claim that criticism of Israel for its offensive against Gaza has led to blatant anti-Semitism and makes them feel insecure. The confrontation between them is already a clear divide, while important donors, mostly Jewish, have announced that they plan to withdraw funding from departments and centers until corrective measures are taken. This is the case of the owner of the New England Patriots football team.and Columbia alumnus Robert Kraft, who maintains a center for Jewish students at that university.

The sudden intensity that the pro-Palestinian protests have gained has not taken the rectorates by surprise: they are a testament to the dozens of marches and demonstrations that cross New York almost daily, also supported by a large number of progressive Jews. But, unlike the last quarter of 2023, this time the reaction from the university authorities has been blunt, allowing the police to take action: those arrested in Columbia last week were evicted tied with plastic ties and escorted by agents.

The growing mobilization against the Gaza war and for a ceasefire also translates into added pressure for the president, Joe Biden, who in recent weeks has modulated his initial strong support for Israel – with touches of attention to the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu to alleviate humanitarian suffering in the Strip―, especially after receiving tens of thousands of punishing votes in the primaries from progressive Democratic voters of Arab origin.

The precarious balance between freedom of expression and security and inclusivity on campuses has practically been blown up. From coast to coast in the United States, principals have spent the last six months struggling to draw a clear line, but failing to act decisively—or tepidly—has cost them the support of parents, politicians, illustrious students and, ultimately, , from students on both sides: either for tolerating the protests, as Columbia initially did, or for asking the police to disperse the first encampment last week. Members of Congress went to the campus this Monday to take an interest in the maintenance of order, because the debate on anti-Semitism on campuses is the new front of the cultural and political wars in the United States.

The Columbia flame has caught easily. In Michigan, Berkeley, Minnesota, the public university of New York or MIT, whose rector was also seriously questioned in a Congressional hearing that put the prestigious Ivy League universities on the ropes for their lukewarmness in condemning the antisemitism. In Yale, police detained fifty protesters on Monday, accusing them of breaking and entering. After the police action, the protest overflowed even further and the students ended up blocking an intersection. At the public university of New York there were also several arrests, while the rector’s office issued a statement according to which in the rally in front of the Faculty of Business, in the heart of the city, in which they say people not linked to the university participated, ” There were intimidating chants and several anti-Semitic incidents were reported.”

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