POLICE IN RIOT gear have detained about 100 people as they broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northeastern University in Boston today, the latest in a series of crackdowns on pro-Palestine demonstrations on US campuses.

The campus protests have posed a major challenge to university administrators across the country who are trying to balance commitments to free expression with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and hate speech, although many of the protests have Jewish participants. 

Students are demanding that their universities divest from Israeli companies and institutions as they also call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people.

Today’s arrests in Boston came after some protesters resorted to “virulent anti-Semitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’” Northeastern University said in a statement on social media platform X.

Police have carried out large-scale arrests at universities in recent days, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse demonstrators.

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— Northeastern U. (@Northeastern) April 27, 2024

In its statement, Northeastern said campus police backed by local law enforcement moved in to clear “an unauthorized encampment”.

“What began as a student demonstration two days ago was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern,” the college said.

It added that detained individuals who produced a valid school ID have been released and will face disciplinary proceedings, rather than legal action.

“Those who refused to disclose their affiliation were arrested,” the school said.

Police stand on the campus of Northeastern University as they clear an encampment on the campus in Boston. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A growing movement

Tensions have also escalated at the University of Pennsylvania, where the college president ordered a campus encampment to be disbanded immediately after what he said were “credible reports of harassing and intimidating conduct.”

Meanwhile, Columbia University in New York, where the protests originated, announced yesterday that it would not be calling police back to campus after more than 100 people were arrested last week.

A sign posted at the entrance of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on the West Lawn of Columbia University, New York. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“To bring back the NYPD at this time would be counterproductive, further inflaming what is happening on campus, and drawing thousands to our doorstep who would threaten our community,” the leaders of the school said in a statement, referring to the New York Police Department.

The decision was made even as Columbia signaled it had barred from campus Khymani James, a leader of the campus protests who had said in a video in January that “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” and “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”

A banner reading God Bless Israel' being pulled behind a single engine plane is seen between campus building of Columbia University, New York. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“Chants, signs, taunts and social media posts from our own students that mock and threaten to ‘kill’ Jewish people are totally unacceptable, and Columbia students who are involved in such incidents will be held accountable,” the school said.

Yesterday, Huffington Post reported that pro-Israel demonstrators at the college’s gates shouted things like “Go back to Gaza” and “Go home terrorists”. 

The protests have been condemned by politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties. Among them have been President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.

Protesters across numerous campuses have promised to continue their demonstrations until their demands are met. 

With reporting from AFP