Over 130 arrested at New York University as Pro-Palestine protests escalate

As students across the United States hold pro-Palestine protests at different universities, over 130 people were arrested overnight during protests at the New York University campus.

The protest at American universities, which has been ongoing for months, flared up now after more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested last week on the Columbia University campus in Manhattan.

At New York University, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody late Monday after they refused orders to disperse. All of them were later released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges, news agency Associated Press reported.

According to a New York University spokesman, many individuals who were not thought to be affiliated with the university joined the protests, and the situation “dramatically changed” on Monday, breaching the barriers erected around the encampment.

The spokesman, quoted by news agency AFP, called the demonstrations “disorderly, disruptive, and antagonising behaviour,” along with “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents.”

“Given the foregoing and the safety issues raised by the breach, we asked for assistance from the NYPD. The police urged those on the plaza to leave peacefully, but ultimately made a number of arrests,” the official was quoted as saying.

A New York University law student, Byul Yoon, however, called it a “really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus.”

“Antisemitism is never OK. That’s absolutely not what we stand for, and that’s why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today,” Yoon added.

Meanwhile, the police also arrested 60 protesters in Connecticut, including 47 students at Yale University, after they refused to leave an encampment.

Along with Columbia and New York University, other prestigious institutions including Harvard, MIT, the University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley also witnessed the pro-Palestine protests.