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Over 40 pro-Palestine protestors held at Yale University amid antisemitism row in US campuses
Police on Monday swarmed Yale University’s Connecticut campus early Monday and arrested "scores" of students staging pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Police on Monday swarmed Yale University’s Connecticut campus early Monday and arrested "scores" of students staging pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
In videos that have surfaced on social media, officers can be seen asking protesters to clear out from an anti-Israel protest encampment or face arrest.
At least 47 protesters were arrested and taken by police, a university spokesperson told The Post.
“Today, members of Yale’s police department isolated the area and asked protestors to show identification; some left voluntarily. When others did not comply after multiple requests, the Yale Police Department issued summonses to 47 students,” the spokesperson said.
For the safety of whole Yale community in mind, the university decided to grant permission to arrest those who refused to leave the Plaza.
Yale University will take disciplinary action, including reprimand or suspension, against arrested students, the school said.
Protestors were heard chanting, "Arab blood is not cheap, for the martyrs we will speak," and "YPD (Yale Police Department) or KKK, IDF they're all the same."
Several of people with teary eyes started singing “We shall not be moved.”
Despite the arrests and law enforcement presence, posts on social media claim that the pro-Palestinian demonstrators have relocated to a different area of the campus.
The arrests come after Jewish student journalist covering the anti-Israel rally at Yale claims she was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag amid the ongoing protests at the campus.
Sahar Tartak, the editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, was reportedly "singled out for wearing Hasidic Jewish attire," which led to her being mobbed by mocking demonstrators, reported The New York Post.
Tartak is cited as stating, "There’s hundreds of people taunting me and waving the middle finger at me, and then this person waves a Palestinian flag in my face and jabs it in my eye".
US universities continue to witness anti-Israel protests
US universities are witnessing a plethora of anti-Israel protests after Israel launched war against Hamas following October 7 attack that claimed lives of 1,200 Israelis. Over 33,000 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed amidst the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, Columbia University announced that all classes would be held virtually on Monday in view of Jewish students safety following the arrest of more than 100 pro-Palestine protesters.
The move was taken to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps,” university President Minouche Shafik said.
Columbia has seen several demonstrations against Israel's management of the Gaza War. According to The Boston Globe, pro-Palestinian students at Boston's Emerson College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have established camps in support of demonstrators at Columbia University.
