Now California police are also taking action against pro-Palestinian protesters. On Thursday morning (local time), officials began clearing the protest camp on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. Barricades were torn down and dozens of people were arrested.
Riot police took action with batons, protective shields and pepper spray. Activists tried to stop the police. They chanted ‘push them back’. Some held makeshift shields and umbrellas in their hands, others armed themselves with helmets, goggles and respirators, as seen on TV footage (see video above).
The university management had previously ordered the camp to be disbanded. Violent clashes broke out on Wednesday evening when a masked group of suspected pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the tent camp with sticks and poles. University officials blamed unspecified “instigators” for the altercations and announced an investigation. Until the incident, activists in the tent camp set up last week had behaved largely peacefully.
Late Tuesday evening, New York police had already broken up a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the campus of the elite Columbia University. New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke of a total of about 300 arrests at Columbia University and the City College of the American metropolis. In Dallas, police who cleared a protest camp on the University of Texas campus took at least 20 people into custody and were expected to spend the night in jail, Fox4 reported.
The demands of the demonstrators
The reason for the protests and clashes is the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militant, radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas. The demonstrators are demanding, among other things, an end to American support for the war in the Gaza Strip and a stop to cooperation between their universities and Israeli institutions and companies.
Critics accuse the radical part of the protest movement in particular of anti-Semitism and downplaying Hamas; it denies Israel’s right to exist and sparked the Gaza war with an unprecedented massacre on October 7. In contrast, protests are taking place in many places showing solidarity with the Israeli side and demanding the release of the hostages still held captive by Hamas.
Last but not least, the wave of protests in numerous major US cities led to the US House of Representatives voting to expand the legal definition of anti-Semitism. MPs voted on Wednesday in favor of a cross-party draft that stipulates that the Ministry of Education will in the future be guided by the definition of anti-Semitism of the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance (IHRA). According to this, anti-Semitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which can be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Anti-Semitism is directed, in word or deed, against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as against Jewish community or religious institutions.” It is also a form of anti-Semitism to deny the Jewish people the right to self-determination, for example “by claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” the IHRA definition says.
Critics of the plan, including the civil rights organizations ACLU, warn of a restriction on free speech.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
