Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations Set to Take Place in New York and Across Other Cities amidst Rising Tensions on College Campuses
A coalition of Jewish groups opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza has announced that Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are planning to risk mass arrest on Tuesday. They intend to close down the Brooklyn street where US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resides in protest.
The demonstration is just one of twelve set to take place in various cities across the nation, such as Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.
College campuses across the country, from California to Massachusetts, have recently experienced a wave of significant demonstrations. Protesters at many of these campuses have erected encampments of tents to voice their opposition against Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has tragically resulted in the loss of 34,183 Palestinian lives.
In Brooklyn on Tuesday, protesters will hold a Passover Sedar, a ritual holiday meal and service, while urging Schumer to support an end to providing US weapons for Israel’s war in Gaza, organizers said in a statement.
“Hundreds will risk arrest while demanding Senator Schumer, who has recently spoken sharply against Netanyahu, take the next step and stop arming Israel,” the statement said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Since Friday, hundreds of students and others were arrested at Columbia, Yale and New York University, including the daughter of Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi.
The White House on Tuesday said it was monitoring the situation at college campuses closely, saying people have the right to publicly protest but not physical intimidation or calls for violence.
At Columbia in New York City, the university canceled in-person classes on Monday in a bid to defuse tensions on campus. On Tuesday, the school said classes for the rest of the year were hybrid – with students able to attend either online or in person.
New York City police arrested more than 120 protesters on New York University’s campus late on Monday, a police spokesperson said. Police said university authorities reached out for help, and protesters failed to clear by the deadline given by the university.
Israel’s deadly military onslaught in Gaza has been ongoing for over six months, killing over 34,000 people. Israel has been accused of carrying war crimes and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, amid indiscriminate bombardment, and a siege barring the entry of food, water and fuel to the enclave’s residents.
