Protesters across US, European Campuses Call for Divestment from Israel
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Student protesters at Columbia University vowed to continue occupying campus until the administration commits to divesting from Israel over its military crimes in Gaza, part of a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations sweeping college campuses in the US and Europe.
"It is day 10 of this demonstration, and it's a beautiful Friday afternoon here in New York," a protester at Columbia said.
"The students are praying on campus now. There is a Muslim evening prayer happening right now, and in a couple of hours, there will also be a Shabbat Jewish dinner, this evening."
"The students say there is growing camaraderie among the group, and it's very welcoming, not hostile, not anti-Semitic."
They spent 11 hours with the administration on Thursday and another hour Friday morning discussing divestment, with no firm deadline to leave.
But "they haven't been promised that that won't happen either."
The University of Texas at Austin has also seen protests, with calls for the president's resignation over a police crackdown.
Professor Pavithra Vasudevan said outrage remains over the president's response to "protests that have been nothing but peaceful."
"They have been nothing but a spontaneous and organized expression of people's feelings about what's happening," she said.
"At a time when the university is fully repressing any conversation about Palestine."
At George Washington University, there is "outrage, not just at what is happening in Gaza, but at the reaction from university authorities."
The university warned those protesting on private property face "disciplinary actions" for "disrupting university operations."
But protesters say there is no real disruption, only a "demarcated area away from the main thoroughfare."
In Paris, students blocked Sciences Po University demanding it "break their complete silence" on Palestine.
"We have a few demands but one of them is to start investigating all of the ties they (Sciences Po) have with ... Israel," said protester Hicham.
In London, students protested outside University College London over its research ties to arms companies supplying Israel.
"We believe...we have a responsibility to hold our institution to account for its complicity in genocide and in war crimes, and in occupation and in apartheid," said James Collinson of UCL Action for Palestine.
