Columbia University: arrests of dozens of protesters after protest for Palestine
New York police arrested dozens palaistine Activists who occupied part of the central building of the Columbia University Library on Wednesday night, ending a long confrontation, about a year after the anti -war protest of the students who swept the school.
Dozens of arrests in Columbia
Claire Sipman, the executive debt of the University’s president, said in a statement that she had asked New York police officers to help evacuate the building, after protesters had refused to leave despite the warning that the non -compliance would have resulted. A New York Police spokesman said police arrested « many people » who refused to move away.
A video posted online by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student activist team showed NYPD police officers with equipment entering the Butler Library Reading Room, as protesters united their hands and shouting: « We have nothing to lose except our chains! »
A man looks at a member of Columbia University Public Security through a door. Reuters/Ryan Murphy
The demonstration began hours before, Wednesday afternoon, when a large group of masked protesters, many of whom wore Keffiyeh, the traditional black and white scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian liberation, flooded the Koluba Buler Library and Central Library. On social media the Cuad.
Renaming the site to « Popular University of the Basel Al-Araj », some activists stood on offices with loudspeakers, while others hung a sign that read « Gaza Strike » and distributed leaflets calling on the university to « divest » Guardian post.
Handcuffs have been placed on the doors as fixtures are located in the Butler Library. Reuters/Ryan Murphy
« We will not become useless intellectuals, » they said in a statement posted online. « Palestine is our compass and we stand strong against violent oppression. »
The university first sent campus public security officers who warned activists that they would face disciplinary measures and possibly conception if they refused to leave. The protesters said they refused to show their identities and described a physical confrontation between them and the security officers. The university reported that two public security officers were injured, while protesters said they were « trapped » and did not allow them to leave the building.
At 18:00 (local time), students were notified that the library was closed and that the area « must be evacuated ».
We didn’t want it, but …
« To ask for the presence of New York Police is not the result we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to ensure the security of our community, » Sipman said in a statement, describing the actions of protesters ‘outrageous’.
A video shared on social media showed more than twelve demonstrators, handcuffed, driving out of the building by police and loaded on a New York police bus. The Columbia Daily Spectator student newspaper reported that about 75 protesters were arrested.
Protesters in favor of the Palestinians are loaded on New York Police buses. Reuters/Ryan Murphy
In an interview with a local NBC station on Wednesday night, New York Mayor Eric Adams described the protest as « unacceptable ». In a later statement, the mayor said he had received a « written request » from the University for police support.
New York Governor Katie Hokul, Democratic, said that « it is grateful to public security officials who kept students safe ».
People are photographing the Philanthropic protesters outside the Butler Library. Reuters/Ryan Murphy
« Everyone has the right to complain peacefully. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable, « she said in a statement.
« We are looking at the visa regime of the travelers and vandals who occupied the Columbia University Library, » wrote Mark Rubio, the Foreign Minister on Wednesday night. « The villains in favor of Hamas are no longer welcome in our great nation. »
The ‘fragile’ situation at university
The confrontation comes at a fragile time for Columbia, as the university is facing the suppression of Trump’s administration for its reaction to student protests against the Gaza war last spring. The administration accused the university of failing to protect Jewish students from anti -Semitism on campus and canceled $ 400 million federal funding for school research.
On Tuesday, the university announced a round of layoffs as a result of the cuts. University officials said they were working with the Trump administration in the hope of funding.
Last spring, protesters set up a camp and occupied Hamilton Hall, a campus building, which led to dozens of arrests and inspired similar demonstrations in universities across the country.
Since then, the university has undergone a number of changes in its leadership. In March, Columbia’s temporary president resigned after agreeing to almost all the sweeping demands of Trump’s administration – a decision that enraged teaching staff and critics who said the university had sacrificed its independence and academic freedom.
Among the changes was the ban on students from wearing masks to hide their identity and the rule that those who complain on campus must present their identity when asked. The school also stated that it has hired new public security officers who are authorized to arrest on campus.
The protest comes amid new tensions at the US universities for the Gaza war.
The Trump government has begun in recent months a sweeping repression of student demonstrators who participated in last year’s demonstrations in campuses, including the recently liberated Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Green Card and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested in March and remains in custody.
