Columbia extends negotiations with pro-Palestine protesters as Mike Johnson visits campus: Live

LIVE – Updated at 17:50

After a tense night of negotiations and protests at Columbia University, leaders on campus have agreed to extend talks with pro-Palestinian student protester encampments for another 48 hours.

School administrators initially set a midnight deadline for encampments to disband from campus but changed their tune around 3am after students agreed to remove some tents and non-students as well as stop discriminatory or harassing language among protesters.

Some Jewish students have faced antisemitic harassment leading to safety concerns on campus.

In return, the school will allow talks to continue and delay increasing police presence on the already locked down campus.

The development arrives as the protest encampments at Columbia have spurred similar protests at colleges and universities around the United States including NYU, Yale, the University of Minnesota, the University of California Berkeley and more.

More than 100 people have been arrested at Columbia alone in connection to the protest encampments which are asking the school to divest financial ties to the war in Gaza.

Key Points

• NYPD arrests NYU students for ‘disorderly’ conduct and ‘trespassing’
• Cal Poly Humboldt closes campus amid ‘dangerous’ situation
• At least 45 arrested at Yale University after riot police storm campus during pro-Palestinian protest
• Columbia moves classes online for the rest of the semester
• Robert Kraft pulls funding to Columbia

University of Southern California students join protest

17:50 , Graig Graziosi

Students at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles is joining with other university students across the US to protest Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

A statement shared on Instagram from the Divest from Death Coalition, which includes students, faculty and Los Angeles residents, said “our choice of ‘occupation’ draws attention to the complicity of USC in the Israeli occupation, USC’s displacement of the South Central community, and USC being an occupying force on the unneeded land of the Tongva people”.

The group said it was joining the nationwide call by students for universities to make their finances public and to, “divest from Israeli violence” and “defend Palestinians”.

AOC calls out the press for coverage of campus protests a day after a UN report details Israel’s mass graves

17:23 , Graig Graziosi

On Tuesday, the UN released a report saying inspectors found “mass graves” in Gaza, some of which were allegedly filled with the elderly, the wounded, and women. Some of the Palestinians buried in the mass graves appeared to have had their hands tied before they were killed.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out the press for giving ample air time to cover ongoing campus protests — a topic that is quickly spiraling into a culture war flash point — rather than zeroing in on the discovery of the mass graves.

House Speaker Mike Johnson calls for Columbia president to resign

16:49 , Graig Graziosi

House Speaker Mike Johnson has called for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign, accusing her of being “weak” and “inept” in her handling of the ongoing protests at the university.

Mr Johnson appeared on the Hugh Hewitt radio show on Wednesday, saying that during a visit to the campus later today he planned to join “with some of my colleagues from the House Republicans from New York to call on the president of the university to resign.”

“This President Shafik has shown to be a very weak, inept leader. They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They are expected to run for their lives and stay home from class? It’s maddening,” Mr Johnson said, per Fox News. “What we are seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable and every leader in this country, every political official, every citizen of good conscience has to speak out and say that ‘this is not who we are in America.’ And we got to have accountability and that is what my colleagues and I will be working on.”

Earlier this year Mr Johnson pushed to have the faces of Capitol rioters caught on video blurred when the footage is released to the public “in order to protect the innocent,” and he previously insinuated that some of the rioters were just visitors taking a walk in the Capitol.

“I made a commitment immediately after I got the gavel that we would start releasing that,” Mr Johnson said in April, referencing the Capitol riot footage. “Originally we were trying to blur some of the faces to protect the innocent, you know, people who were there and just happened to be walking through the building.”

NY Mayor Eric Adams’ ‘tent’ curiosity shared by far-right figures like Marjorie Taylor Green

16:30 , Graig Graziosi

New York Mayor Eric Adams insinuated that the protest happening at colleges and universities in New York City may be connected by an outside influence.

“People who peacefully protest for an issue, they’re not throwing bottles and chairs,” Mr Adams said. “There are people who come, they have nothing to do with an issue and they want to aggravate.”

There is no factual evidence to support the idea that an outside influence is infiltrating college or university pro-Palestinian protests in order to make them more aggressive.

But Mr Adams offered some possible evidence to his theory: “Why is everybody’s tent the same?” he said. “Was there a fire sale on these things?”

He wasn’t the only one to make that observation; far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ian Michael Cheong, a Malaysian man who blogs about conservative politics in the US, both hinted at some kind of conspiracy concerning the tents.

Brown University begins protest encampment

16:15 , Ariana Baio

Students at Brown University have begun a protest encampment on their campus in solidarity with Palestinians as well as other college and university students.

In a social media post, the students have asked Brown University to divest its endowment from companies “profiting from the genocide in Gaza and the broader Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.”

They’ve also asked the university to drop charges against the 41 students arrested in December for a sit-in and end the university’s use of the criminal justice system to penalize student protests.

At least 100 arrested in Brooklyn during pro-Palestine protest

16:00 , Ariana Baio

At least 100 people were arrested during a pro-Palestine protest near Chuck Schumer’s home in Brooklyn last night.

On the second night of Passover, a massive group of people, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, gathered near Prospect Park to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The protesters, wearing shirts that read “Jews Say Cease-Fire Now” laid out a large circular banner showing foods that would appear at a Seder.

Signs reading “Stop Starving Gaza” and “Stop Funding Genocide” appeared in the large crowd.

The protest arrived just after hundreds of people were arrested at New York University and Columbia University for setting up protest encampments in protest of the school’s financial ties to the war in Gaza.

But more arrests were in store after the protest blocked traffic.

The Independent has reached out to the NYPD for comment.

Protestors block the street near the home of US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters project a banner on the Brooklyn Public Library during a pro-Palestinian demonstration demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaz (AP)

Nancy Pelosi says Netanyahu should ‘resign’

15:30 , Ariana Baio

Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the house, said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “resign” as Israel faces mounting criticisms for it’s handling of the war in Gaza.

In an interview with Irish news outlet RTÉ, Ms Pelosi said that “We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself” but “we reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu”.

In response to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, the country has waged an aggressive campaign to eliminate Hamas, killing thousands of innocent Palestinians and contributing to a humanitarian crisis in the process.

“He should resign. He’s ultimately responsible,” Ms Pelosi said.

The representative questioned Mr Netanyahu’s view on peace and a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Senate passes bill extending aid to Israel

15:00 , Eric Garcia, John Bowden

The US Senate, on Tuesday evening, finally sent a three-pronged aid package with military assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to President Joe Biden’s desk, ending months of delays that administration officials and top brass were increasingly blaming for Ukrainian battlefield casualties.

Senators voted 79-18 for the aid package in a largely bipartisan fashion.

Three pieces of legislation that were part of the national security supplemental passed by the Senate, as well as one piece of sidecar legislation dealing with Russia/Iran sanctions, passed the House on Saturday. Combined, they will provide tens of billions of dollars in security and military assistance to US allies in three regions.

Much of the $26.38bn Israel bill is centred around restocking Israeli munitions required for its defences as well as the siege of Gaza, where Israel is attempting to wipe out Hamas militants. $4bn is included for resupplying the Iron Dome defensive grid, and $1.2bn is include for the so-called “Iron Beam”, a ground-based laser system used to take out drones and missiles.

$3.5bn is set aside to help Israel procure weapon systems, while nearly $7bn is marked for restocking US supplies and funding operations in the region.

But some Democrats expressed disappointment at not being able to have amendments to hold Israel accountable as its military campaign in Gaza after the October 7 attack has led to 34,000 deaths. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had proposed amendments to restore funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and require Israel not receive unfettered assistance.

“I think it’s beyond belief that, on an issue where the majority of the American people don’t want to continue to support Netanyahu’s war machine slaughter of women and children in Gaza, that we couldn’t even get an amendment to deal with that,” he toldThe Independent earlier in the day.

Mr Sanders’s colleague from Vermont Senator Peter Welch, who supports a ceasefire in Gaza, said that the Senate needed to vote.

“I would have preferred that we have separate votes on each of the items like the House did,” he said, but added that he thought Mr Biden was concerned about reducing civilian casualties.

In photos: Protests at Columbia University ahead of the midnight deadline

14:45 , Ariana Baio

Pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University hold signs advocating for the US to end aid to Israel on 23 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

NYPD officers in riot gear observe pro-Palestine protesters outside of Columbia University on 23 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

A pro-Palestine protester waves a Palestinian flag at Columbia University on 23 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

A New York Police Department officer surveys a group of pro-Palestine protesters outside of Columbia University on 23 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

Mike Johnson to speak at Columbia today

14:20 , Ariana Baio

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is set to meet with Jewish students at Columbia University today and deliver remarks about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses.

NY Mayor Eric Adams asks ‘why is everybody’s tent the same?’

14:00 , Ariana Baio

New York Mayor Eric Adams insinuated that the protest happening at colleges and universities in New York City may be connected by an outside influence.

“People who peacefully protest for an issue, they’re not throwing bottles and chairs,” Mr Adams said. “There are people who come, they have nothing to do with an issue and they want to aggravate.”

There is no factual evidence to support the idea that an outside influence is infiltrating college or university pro-Palestinian protests in order to make them more aggressive.

But Mr Adams offered some possible evidence to his theory: “Why is everybody’s tent the same?” he said. “Was there a fire sale on these things?”

ICYMI: Nine people arrest at University of Minnesota

13:00 , Ariana Baio

Nine people were arrested on Tuesday at the University of Minnesota after students were asked to disperse a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus.

Early on Tuesday, the group were asked to disperse or face arrests if they chose to stay past the time. Those nine who chose to remain were arrested without incident.

A spokesperson for U of M told CBS News that it “supports and respects free speech through lawful protest,” but that “tents are not allowed on any University property for any purpose without a permit.”

It is unclear if the nine individuals, who were released Tuesday afternoon, were students.

Biden condemns antisemtism at university demonstrations amid campus arrests

12:00 , Eric Garcia

President Joe Biden has condemned antisemitic protests at campuses like Columbia University, while at the same time saying people should understand what is happening to the Palestinians.

The remarks came as Columbia held classes virtually after a wave of protests regarding the war in Gaza. Student-led protest encampments garnered national attention, which led to some Jewish students saying they felt unsafe.

“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” he said in response to questions from reporters on Monday. “That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

Faculty seek to censure Columbia president

10:00 , Katie Hawkinson

An organisation of Columbia University and Barnard College professors is calling to censure the school’s president over her handling of pro-Palestine student protests.

The Columbia and Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors will submit a censure proposal to the university’s senate, according to the Columbia Spectator, a student newspaper. The university senate, a policy-making body for the school, is made up of administrators, faculty, staff, alumni and students. They are expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on the censure submitted by the faculty members.

The censure condemns university president Minouche Shafik’s decision to ask the New York City Police Department to remove and arrest students staging a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the campus. Officers arrested some 100 students on Thursday. This decision “violated the fundamental obligations of shared governance,” the censure text, obtained by The Independent, reads.

“We are calling for the censure of President Shafik, not for her resignation,” the censure reads. “We are calling for a recommitment to our core values on the part of our president, her administration, and the Board of Trustees. At the same time we condemn unequivocally any political interference in the governance of our university. That power rightfully belongs in the first instance to the faculty.”

Columbia donor Robert Kraft announces he will pause funding

07:00 , Ariana Baio

Watch: Columbia faculty walk out after pro-Palestinian protesters arrested

05:00 , Ariana Baio

In photos: Pro-Palestine protest in Washington Square Park

03:00 , Ariana Baio

New York University (NYU) students and faculty participate in a protest against Israel’s war in Gaza at Washington Square Park on April 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images)

New York University (NYU) students and faculty participate in a protest against Israel’s war in Gaza at Washington Square Park on April 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images)

New York mayor weighs in on Columbia pro-Palestine chaos and blames ‘organizing effort’

02:07 , Mike Bedigan

New York mayor Eric Adams has claimed that there is a “concerted organising effort” amid the various New York campus protests that is seeking to caus unrest in the city.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Adams seemed suspicious of tents used in protest encampments.

“[There] is a number of people, who are really trying to use [the protests] to cause violence in our city, and we’re gonna seek them out and we’re gonna identify them,” he said.

He added: “Why is everybody’s tent the same? Was there a fire sale on those tents? There some organizing going on there’s a well concerted organizing effort and what’s the goal of that organizing?

“That’s what we need to be asking ourselves.”

Emerson College students hold encampment protest

01:00 , Ariana Baio

Students at Emerson College in Boston have set up tents as part of the protest encampment to stand in solidarity with Palestine and call on the university to divest financial ties to the Gaza war.

Students at Emerson College listen to a speaker as they occupy a ‘tent city’ in an alley adjacent to the college campus as they protest Emerson’s ties to Israel, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 22 April 2024 (EPA)

Watch: Trump describes college pro-Palestine protests as a ‘disgrace’

Wednesday 24 April 2024 00:00 , Ariana Baio

University of Minnesota student protesters re-establish encampment

Tuesday 23 April 2024 23:00 , Ariana Baio

Where are protest encampments happening?

Tuesday 23 April 2024 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Across the United States, college and university students are holding protest encampments in solidarity with Palestine amid the Gaza war. Many have called on their institution’s leadership to divest from financial ties to companies that may or may not supply Israel with monetary or military needs.

Protest encampments have taken place at Columbia University, New York University, University of Michigan, University of California – Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, Yale, Rutgers, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, Emerson College, MIT, University of Maryland, Tufts, Washington University, Standford and more.

In photos: Pro-Palestinian protest at Yale University

Tuesday 23 April 2024 21:30 , Ariana Baio

Several hundred students and pro-Palestinian supporters rally at the intersection of Grove and College Streets, in front of Woolsey Hall on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. April 22, 2024. (AP)

New York University students set up a

Protesters gather at the corner of Grove and College Streets after an encampment at Beinecke Plaza was broken up. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators call for Yale to disinvest from military weapons manufacturers, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S., April 22, 2024. (REUTERS)

Faculty seek to censure Columbia president after 100 arrested

Tuesday 23 April 2024 21:00 , Ariana Baio

The Columbia and Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors will submit a censure proposal to the university’s senate, according to the Columbia Spectator, a student newspaper. The university senate, a policy-making body for the school, is made up of administrators, faculty, staff, alumni and students. They are expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on the censure submitted by the faculty members.

Katie Hawkinson reports:

Faculty seek to censure Columbia president after 100 student protesters arrested

New York Rep compares protests at Columbia to white supremacist rally

Tuesday 23 April 2024 20:30 , Ariana Baio

New York Representative Dan Goldman said it was “appropriate” to compare “antisemitism” at the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University to the 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Mr Goldman, who represents New York’s 10th congressional district, said that Jewish students on Columbia’s campus were facing intense antisemitic harassment on campus as students stage protest encampments urging the university to divest financial ties to the Gaza war.

Some Jewish students have come forward with allegations of harassment and a rabbi tied to the university has urged Jewish students to return home while tensions remain high on campus.

He equated that harassment to the antisemitic white supremacist rally in which a group lit torches and chanted “Jews will not replace us” and one man rammed his car into a group of counter-protestors, killing one woman.

“I think the comparison is appropriate. I’m not sure the fact that there was one vicious actor who ran over a woman and killed her means the scenarios are the same or different,” Mr Goldman said.

“The reality is there was horrible antisemitic rhetoric in Charlottesville and there is now horrible antisemitic rhetoric espoused and spoken by either students or agitators at Columbia University. Both of them are unacceptable,” Mr Goldman said.

Students at University of Pittsburgh occupying lawn in protest

Tuesday 23 April 2024 20:05 , Ariana Baio

A group of people, including University of Pittsburgh students, have set up an encampment protest in solidarity with other college and university students protests across the country in asking their schools to divest from investments that could be supporting to war in Gaza.

Tuesday afternoon, the group of students, and non-affiliates, set up tents outside of the Cathedral of Learning and signs saying, “Free Palestine” and “Stop Genocide.”

Pro-Palestinian student protestors flood Washington Square Park

Tuesday 23 April 2024 19:20 , Ariana Baio

Students from New York University (NYU) and affiliates are in Washington Square Park to show their solidarity with the 120 people who were arrested last night after demonstrating with protest encampments on the school’s campus.

Harvard students rally with MIT after campus bans pro-Palestine organisation

Tuesday 23 April 2024 19:00 , Ariana Baio

After Harvard College’s administration suspended a pro-Palestinian group from campus for violating the school’s policy, a group of Harvard students joined MIT’s protest encampment.

Harvard’s Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) was suspended from the college after staging a protest in Harvard Yard with unrecognised student organisers, The Harvard Crimson reported.

Trump calls campus pro-Palestine protests a ‘disgrace’

Tuesday 23 April 2024 18:30 , Ariana Baio

Donald Trump has branded the pro-Palestine protests sweeping college campuses across the US a “disgrace” as Jewish students are warned to stay home and the Columbia president faces calls to resign.

The former president waded in on the drama as he headed into court for day six of his hush money trial in Manhattan.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, he blamed the escalating protests across college campuses on President Joe Biden, claiming he has been putting out the “wrong signal” on Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza.

“He has the wrong tone. He’s got the wrong words. He doesn’t know who he’s backing. And it’s a mess,” Mr Trump told reporters outside the court.

He continued: “The signals he puts out are so bad. And I can tell you he’s no friend of Israel, that’s for sure, and he’s no friend of the Arab world.”

Dan Gooding reports:

Trump calls campus pro-Palestine protests on college campuses a ‘disgrace’

University of Michigan students set up protest encampment

Tuesday 23 April 2024 18:00 , Ariana Baio

Students at the University of Michigan protesting the Gaza war set up encampments at the Diag on Monday night, following in the footsteps of similar protest encampments at colleges and universities across the United States.

The protest, which called for the school to stop investments in companies tied to Israel and ending the war in Gaza, was peaceful. Though police looked onward nearby there were no “significant” encounters, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Columbia University faculty say they are ‘alarmed’ by university response to protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 17:20 , Ariana Baio

Some faculty members in the Department of Sociology at Columbia University have raised concerns about how university leaders treat student protestors, saying they were “alarmed” at the decision to call the NYPD.

In a formal statement, posted on X, 18 faculty members in the sociology department laid out several reasons they are “alarmed” that the university chose to get law enforcement officials involved and then suspend students.

“First, reliable reports (as well as our own eyewitness impressions) are that the student encampment was not violent and did not threaten violence,” the faculty wrote.

They added that the decision to call the NYPD violated the shared governance principle at the university and protecting free expression on campus.

“The relevant Senate committee was not consulted, as required by university rules, but merely notified and the action proceeded despite the Senate committee objecting to it and advising against it,” they wrote.

Faculty members added that the suspension of students “seem to us, irregular, unnecessary and resting on shaky legal ground.”

They asked the university to reverse suspensions but in the meantime said they planned to keep their courses open to suspended students who will receive a final exam and grade to obtain credit.

The open letter included a disclaimer that the view of the faculty members undersigned did not reflect the views of the entire department.

In photos: Protests around Columbia University on Monday night

Tuesday 23 April 2024 17:00 , Ariana Baio

A man waves an Israeli flag near pro-Palestinian protestors outside of Columbia University on 22 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

A man holds a sign in support of Gaza outside of Columbia University on 22 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

Pro-Palestinian protestors peacefully chant and march outside of Columbia University on 22 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers survey protests taking place outside of Columbia University on 22 April (Valentina Botero / The Independent)

NYU faculty and students arrested are released from jail

Tuesday 23 April 2024 16:40 , Ariana Baio

As of 8am, the more than 100 faculty, students and community of New York University (NYU) who were arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest last night have been released from jail, an Instagram account associated with the campus movement said.

Columbia University faculty walkout in solidarity with suspended students

Tuesday 23 April 2024 16:30 , Ariana Baio

Members of Columbia University’s faculty held a walkout on Monday in solidarity with the approximately 100 students who were arrested and suspended over the weekend for participating in encampment protests.

Teachers held signs that read “Unsuspend our Students” and “Bold. Beautiful. Suspended” in support of student protestors.

Barnard professors walk out of class in support of students suspended for protesting for Palestine at Columbia University on April 22, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images)

Cal Poly Humboldt closes campus amid ‘dangerous’ situation

Tuesday 23 April 2024 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Pro-Palestinian protests at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), Humboldt have escalated to the point of the school closing campus on Tuesday.

On Monday, approximately 100 students convened near Siemens Hall in protest of the Gaza war and the university’s financial ties to Israel. Later in the afternoon, police were called to the scene due to alleged fights that broke out, according to a local report.

By 5pm PST, students began occupying Siemens Hall. Protestors barricaded themselves inside the building with furniture, blocking entrances and elevators with tents. They also, allegedly, vandalized parts of the building.

Classes were canceled and the courses that were in progress were evacuated.

In a notice to faculty, students and staff, CalPoly Humboldt said that campus was closed and people were “advised to avoid the area of the building, as it is a dangerous and volatile situation.”

“The University is deeply concerned about the safety of the protestors who have barricaded themselves inside the building. The University is urgently asking that the protestors listen to directives from law enforcement that have responded and to peacefully leave the building.”

When protestors refused to leave voluntarily, the building was shut off and police were called in. Around 11pm PST, law enforcement officials arrested students.

Donald Trump calls college and university protests ‘a disgrace’ and blames Biden

Tuesday 23 April 2024 15:30 , Ariana Baio

Former president Donald Trump called the pro-Palestinian protests at colleges and universities “a disgrace” and blamed President Joe Biden for igniting them with “the wrong signal.”

Before heading into Manhattan Criminal Court for his hush-money trial, Mr Trump held a brief press briefing outside of the courtroom, as he does every day.

“What’s going on at the college level and the colleges Columbia, NYU University, this is a disgrace,” Mr Trump said. “And it’s really on Biden. He has the wrong signal, he has the wrong tone, he’s got the wrong words.”

Mr Trump claimed Mr Biden was “no friend of Israel” nor a “friend of the Arab world”.

“But what he’s done to Israel is abandoned them, and he’s tried to be as nice as he can to the other side – call it the Arab world. But that’s not working either because they get him and he’s an incompetent man. Peace will never happen with a guy like this.”

Columbia moves classes online for the rest of the semester

Tuesday 23 April 2024 15:15 , Ariana Baio

Columbia University announced on Monday they will be moving the rest of the semester’s classes hybrid as the campus faces growing tensions.

“ Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” an announcement from the university said.

So long as classroom technology permits, classes on the school’s main campus will be hybrid – meaning classes will be offered the opportunity to move online or in-person.

Arts and practice-based programmes will be in-person with “generous accommodations”. Classes in the medical centre or Manhattanville campus will be in-person with accommodations based on religious reasons or approved disability accommodations.

UC Berkeley students begin sit-in

Tuesday 23 April 2024 15:00 , Ariana Baio

Monday afternoon, students at the University of California, Berkeley began a sit-in on the steps of Sproul Hall to protest the Gaza war and the school’s financial ties to Israel – as Columbia University students take the national stage for their protest encampments.

Around 10 tents were pitched in the afternoon, according to Berkeley Side.

Students held signs saying, “UC you have blood on your hands” and “Let Gaza live.”

A spokesperson for the university told Berkeley Side that the school has no plans to change its investment policies and practices.

“With three weeks left in the semester, Berkeley is prioritizing students’ academic interests,” Dan Mogulof said. “We will take the steps necessary to ensure the protest does not disrupt the university’s operations.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters protest in front of Sather Gate during a planned protest on the campus of UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, April 22, 2024 (AP)

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024 in Berkeley, California. (Getty Images)

Robert Kraft pulls funding to Columbia

Tuesday 23 April 2024 14:30 , Ariana Baio

Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Kraft Group, announced he will pull funding to Columbia University until “corrective action” is taken to reduce antisemitic harassment on campus amid protests over the Gaza war.

In a post from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, a nonprofit organisation founded by Mr Kraft, the American businessman said that he is “no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff” and is, “not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.”

Mr Kraft is an alumna and a longtime donor to the school. His funding helped establish The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life.

NYU requested police presence after student ‘disorderly’ conduct

Tuesday 23 April 2024 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Dozens of students were arrested on New York University’s (NYU) campus last night after leaders at the university told police that students were “trespassing” and behaving in a “disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing” manner.

NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted a photo on X revealing an email NYU leaders sent to the NYPD asking for police pressence on campus.

“ Following negotiations this morning, additional protestors breached our barriers in violation of our clear instructions and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community,” an email from an NYU leader said.

“At this point we consider all protestors occupying Gould Plaza to be trespassers and we would like the NYPD to clear the area and take action to remove the protestors.”

Related: Google employees are fired after their pro-Palestinian protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 14:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Google fired 28 employees early last week following protests on Tuesday in the company’s offices against their cloud contract with the Israeli government.

Dozens of Google workers made their way inside Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office at the Sunnyvale office, as well as on the 10th-floor commons in New York City, according to No Tech for Apartheid, the organisation that led the protests.

Google announced that it had since dismissed 28 workers from employment at the company after the protests, claiming they physically hindered the work of others and displayed “unacceptable behaviour”.

“A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations,” a Google spokesperson told The Independent on Thursday.

Amelia Neath has the story:

Google fires 28 staff after protests against Israeli government contract

ICYMI: National organisation criticizes Columbia president for calling police on students

Tuesday 23 April 2024 13:00 , Katie Hawkinson

The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors criticised school president Minouche Shafik for calling the New York Police Department (NYPD) on student protesters last week.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Administration’s suspension of students engaged in peaceful protest and their arrest by the New York City Police Department,” the group said in a statement on Friday.

The NYPD arrested some 100 students last week after Ms Shafik requested their presence on campus. However, Police Chief John Chell later noted that the students who were arrested “were peaceful…and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” per the Columbia Spectator.

On Monday, Columbia faculty also staged a walkout in support of student protesters.

What have people said about the protests at Columbia University?

Tuesday 23 April 2024 12:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Columbia University officials have called for students to de-escalate tensions and “rebuild ties”.

Lawmakers on the national stage have also weighed in. “The Squad”, a group of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives, responded to the protests after Representative Omar’s daughter was detained as part of the Columbia arrests.

Ms Hirsi said that police kept her zip-tied for around seven hours and she spent eight hours in custody. She told Teen Vogue that she was left “homeless and hungry” after Columbia suspended her, blocking her from her dorm and the college dining hall.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Squad member, criticised her arrest.

The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors also criticised Columbia’s president for calling in the NYPD on student protesters last week.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Administration’s suspension of students engaged in peaceful protest and their arrest by the New York City Police Department,” the group said in a statement on Friday.

Several faculty members staged a walkout on Monday to protest the previous week’s arrests, according to Columbia Law Professor Bassam Khawaja.

Meanwhile, a rabbi with Columbia University said Jewish students are not safe on campus. Rabbi Elie Buechler, who is affiliated with Columbia/Barnard Hillel, sent a message to 300 Jewish students warning them to leave campus ahead of Passover on Monday.

“The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Buechler wrote.

However Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the school’s centre for Jewish life, said that it does not believe students need to leave campus. But the organisation did say school officials and police must “do more to ensure the safety” of Jewish students.

President Joe Biden’s administration also condemned alleged acts of antisemitism on Columbia’s campus.

Pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrators protest outside of Columbia University on Monday as tensions rise on the college campus in New York (AFP via Getty Images)

Columbia suspends in-person classes as arrests made and Jewish students report threats. What’s behind the protests?

Tuesday 23 April 2024 11:00 , Katie Hawkinson

All eyes are on New York’s Columbia University as the school contends with pro-Palestinian protests and rising concerns about antisemitism.

The university’s president moved classes online on Monday due to tensions, while one rabbi called for Jewish students to leave campus over fears of antisemitic violence and harassment on Monday, the first day of Passover.

For the past week, hundreds of pro-Palestine student activists have demanded that Columbia divest its financial ties with Israel due to the country’s war in Gaza, launching street demonstrations and building a massive encampment on the college campus, leading the school to call in the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Here’s everything you need to know about the protests at Columbia, and other major US universities:

What’s behind the pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University?

ICYMI: Watch as Pro-Palestine protesters occupy Columbia university lawn as arrests made

Tuesday 23 April 2024 10:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Pro-Palestine protesters occupy Columbia university lawn as arrests made

SEE IT: Encampment, protests on Columbia University’s campus

Tuesday 23 April 2024 09:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Columbia University students have been staging pro-Palestinian protests for nearly a week as a rabbi urges Jewish students to leave campus (REUTERS)

Columbia University is seeing an uptick in pro-Palestinian protests, such as the one pictured on 20 April, since school officials testified to Congress last week about potential antisemitism on their campus (AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-Palestinian protesters have established an encampment, pictured above on Sunday, on the Columbia University campus (Anadolu via Getty Images)

SEE IT: At least 45 people arrested at Yale pro-Palestine encampments

Tuesday 23 April 2024 08:00 , Katie Hawkinson

White House condemns ‘despicable antisemitism’ and ‘terrorist’ rhetoric at Columbia pro-Palestine protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 07:00 , Katie Hawkinson

The White House denounced alleged antisemitism at Columbia University ahead of Passover as protests against the war in Gaza persist.

Student demonstrators have demanded that the university divest from “companies complicit in genocide” as the country engages in war for the seventh month since the October 7 attacks. The protests have continued into a fifth day on Sunday, but accounts of antisemitism and violent rhetoric have cropped up.

The White House condemned any hate-filled, targeted speech.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protect, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.

Kelly Rissman more:

White House condemns ‘despicable antisemitism’ at Columbia protests

Students at several east coast schools begin staging similar pro-Palestine encampments

Tuesday 23 April 2024 06:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Students at several universities in the Boston, Massachusetts area are staging pro-Palestinian encampments, similar to those at Columbia and Yale this week.

Encampments have been reported at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University and Emerson University, NBC Boston reports.

Students at the University of Michigan are also staging a similar protest.

These protests are cropping up as Columbia University moves classes online on Monday, the beginning of Passover. The New York Police Department arrested some 100 students last week, later noting they were protesting peacefully.

Meanwhile, riot police stormed Yale University and arrested at least 45 students as they staged their own pro-Palestine protest on Monday.

ICYMI: Columbia professor and journalist say no violence during student protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 05:01 , Katie Hawkinson

Keith Gessen, a professor for Columbia Journalism School, backed up an NBC News correspondent who reported she did not see any violence or aggression at the school’s pro-Palestine encampments late last week.

“Our team spent long hours reporting on and around Columbia’s campus on Thursday & Friday…I didn’t see a single instance of violence or aggression on the lawn or at the student encampment,” Antonia Hylton of NBC News wrote on X.

“If you’re watching or sharing videos from the last few days, provide context,” she continued. “The public protests happening on the street are not the same as the encampment inside. Don’t imply students at Columbia/Barnard are involved in events that they were not present or responsible for.”

Mr Gessen re-tweeted her, noting her reporting “is correct.”

These comments come after Columbia University’s president called in the New York Police Department late last week. Officers arrested some 100 students.

Police Chief John Chell later noted that the students who were arrested “were peaceful…and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” per the Columbia Spectator.

ICYMI: Columbia University president warns that some not affiliated with the school are co-opting protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 04:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik updated students on Monday regarding pro-Palestinian protests on the New York City campus.

“These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas,” Ms Shafik said. “We need a reset.”

Ms Shafik announced classes would be virtual on Monday in the same statement.

Last week, the school’s head called in the New York Police Department to arrest some 100 students involved in pro-Palestine protests. Police Chief John Chell later noted that the students who were arrested “were peaceful…and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” per the Columbia Spectator.

Yale University president condemns some protesters on campus

Tuesday 23 April 2024 03:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Yale University President Peter Salovey sent students an email on Sunday warning the school “will pursue disciplinary actions according to its policies” amid ongoing demonstrations.

“Many of the students participating in the protests, including those conducting counterprotests, have done so peacefully. However, I am aware of reports of egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts,” he wrote.

“Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities,” he continued.

A day later, riot police stormed Yale’s campus, arresting at least 45 students in connection with the protests.

Ilhan Omar’s daughter claims she’s ‘homeless and hungry’ after Columbia suspension over pro-Palestine protests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 02:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar‘s daughter said she has been left homeless and hungry since she was reportedly suspended from Barnard College for participating in protests against Israel‘s war in Gaza.

Isra Hirsi, Ms Omar’s daughter, said she and two of her classmates from Barnard were the first of nearly 100 students protest Israel’s war in Gaza to be suspended following the protest.

Ms Hirsi made the comments in Teen Vogue.

Students from Columbia and Barnard opposed to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza gathered on Wednesday to form an “encampment” on Columbia’s south lawn.

On Thursday morning — approximately 24 hours after the encampment was formed — Ms Hirsi and approximately one hundred others were arrested when Columbia President Minouche Shafik authorised the NYPD to forcibly shut down the demonstration.

Ilhan Omar’s daughter claims she was left homeless over pro-Palestine protest

Columbia faculty hold walkout protesting arrests

Tuesday 23 April 2024 01:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Several faculty members also staged a walkout on Monday to protest the previous week’s arrests, according to Columbia Law Professor Bassam Khawaja.

The demonstration comes after the Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors also criticised school president Minouche Shafik for calling the New York Police Department (NYPD) on student protesters last week.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Administration’s suspension of students engaged in peaceful protest and their arrest by the New York City Police Department,” the group said in a statement on Friday.