New Delhi: Anti-Israeli protestors at Harvard University in the US raised the Palestinian flag over the John Harvard Statue in Harvard Yard, a spot which is reserved for the American flag. This was done during protests against the war in Gaza which is being spread to universities across the US. The total number of arrests nationwide has reached 900 since the April 18 mass arrests at New York’s Columbia University.
The incident at Harvard University on Saturday came as Pro-Palestinian protestors have refused to end their ongoing agitation at the Ivy League School campus. As per India Today, a Harvard spokesperson termed the incident as “a violation of the University Policy” and they added that the individuals involved will be subject to Disciplinary action.
Approximately 275 persons were taken into custody at many universities on Saturday alone, including Arizona State University, Indiana University in Bloomington, and Washington University in St. Louis. As per a University Newspaper The Harvard Crimson “Three Palestinian Flags were raised in the campus on Saturday evening. As Harvard Yard Operations staff removed flags, protestors shouted shame and chanted”Free Palestine” and “From River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free”.
On Sunday, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to news agency Reuters, protesters scaled a barrier that the school had erected to divide the school’s two sections. Students at George Washington University in Washington, DC, set up scores of tents in a park and on a nearby street as part of ongoing protests on Sunday, according to CNN. Protesters chanted “Free Palestine” as they waved Palestinian flags and others wore traditional keffiyehs.
At a refugee camp in Southern Gaza’s Rafah, Palestinian students staged a display of solidarity to express gratitude for the support seen on US college campuses, as per a report from CNN. The students held banners which said, “Students of Columbia University, continue to stand by us”.
During the protests reports came in of the vandalisation of property at the University of Southern California. The university said that it was carried out by individuals who are part of a group which has continued to illegally camp on the university’s campus. Speaking about the ongoing protests, White House national security secretary John Kirby stated that while President Joe Biden “knows that there are very strong feelings,” local law enforcement will be in charge of overseeing the protests.
In a message on Sunday, Tufts University’s Medford-Somerville campus in Massachusetts said the encampment protest “must end ideally peacefully and voluntarily” to “celebrate the class of 2024 at Commencement without disruptions”. In a statement, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluthsaid talks negotiations between student protesters and administrators to end the protests came to a stalemate when “students made clear on social media that they will not accept anything less than their original demands”.
The pro-Palestinian camp at Columbia University has persisted over the past two weeks as a result of the administration and protesting students’ inability to reach an agreement. There were no arrests over the weekend. In an interview with NBC News on Sunday Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the nationwide protests “a dangerous situation”. “There’s also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable. I’ve been shocked to see that in this country”.
