Topline
About 100 people were arrested Saturday morning as police broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment on Northeastern University’s campus, the university announced, the latest crackdown by law enforcement as tensions rise on college campuses nationwide amid growing concerns about antisemitism.
Key Facts
The Northeastern University Police Department detained about 100 people as law enforcement began clearing an “unauthorized encampment” on the university’s Boston campus Saturday morning, the college said.
Students who were arrested were subsequently released after they showed a valid ID from the university, according to Northeastern, which said the students will face disciplinary action rather than legal action.
Northeastern said the encampment started as a student demonstration but was later “infiltrated by professional organizers” who have no affiliation with the university.
Protesters allegedly used antisemitic slurs during a demonstration Friday night—including “Kill the Jews”—which Northeastern said “crossed the line,” adding the university cannot “tolerate this kind of hate on our campus.”
Huskies for a Free Palestine, a Northeastern activist group, denied the university’s claims that protesters were yelling antisemitic slurs, writing on social media that law enforcement’s response to the protest was “based on a fabrication.”
The group also told The Boston Globe it was not “‘infiltrated’ in any way, shape or form by ‘professional protestors,’” adding the protest was “comprised primarily of students.”
Key Background
Student protesters have spawned pro-Palestinian encampments at college campuses across the nation this month. Protesters have called on universities to divest their endowments from manufacturing companies that supply weapons to the Israel Defense Forces. Several encampments have been broken up by law enforcement, resulting in the arrests of hundreds combined at Columbia University, the University of Texas in Austin, the University of Southern California, Yale University and Emory University, among others. Other student protests have taken place at New York University, the University of California, Brown University, the University of Michigan and Harvard, in addition to several others.
Chief Critic
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced protests on U.S. campuses earlier this week, referring to pro-Palestinian encampments as “antisemitic mobs” with “horrific” student activity. Netanyahu compared the protests to “what happened in German universities in the 1930s,” adding the protests are “unconscionable” and should “be condemned and condemned unequivocally.”
Further Reading
Police Clear 100 Protesters From Pro-Palestinian Encampment At Northeastern University (Boston Globe)
Texas Troopers Arrest University Of Texas Students During Protest (Forbes)
Who Is Nemat Shafik: Columbia University’s President Faces Calls To Resign Over Protests (Forbes)
