Campus pro-Palestine protests live: More arrests overnight as tension escalates

Former president Donald Trump called the pro-Palestinian protests at colleges and universities “a disgrace” and blamed President Joe Biden for igniting them with “the wrong signal.”

Before heading into Manhattan Criminal Court for his hush-money trial, Mr Trump held a brief press briefing outside of the courtroom, as he does every day.

“What’s going on at the college level and the colleges Columbia, NYU University, this is a disgrace,” Mr Trump said. “And it’s really on Biden. He has the wrong signal, he has the wrong tone, he’s got the wrong words.”

Mr Trump claimed Mr Biden was “no friend of Israel” nor a “friend of the Arab world”.

“But what he’s done to Israel is abandoned them, and he’s tried to be as nice as he can to the other side – call it the Arab world. But that’s not working either because they get him and he’s an incompetent man. Peace will never happen with a guy like this.”

Columbia University announced on Monday they will be moving the rest of the semester’s classes hybrid as the campus faces growing tensions.

“ Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” an announcement from the university said.

So long as classroom technology permits, classes on the school’s main campus will be hybrid – meaning classes will be offered the opportunity to move online or in-person.

Arts and practice-based programmes will be in-person with “generous accommodations”. Classes in the medical centre or Manhattanville campus will be in-person with accommodations based on religious reasons or approved disability accommodations.

Monday afternoon, students at the University of California, Berkeley began a sit-in on the steps of Sproul Hall to protest the Gaza war and the school’s financial ties to Israel – as Columbia University students take the national stage for their protest encampments.

Students held signs saying, “UC you have blood on your hands” and “Let Gaza live.”

A spokesperson for the university told Berkeley Side that the school has no plans to change its investment policies and practices.

“With three weeks left in the semester, Berkeley is prioritizing students’ academic interests,” Dan Mogulof said. “We will take the steps necessary to ensure the protest does not disrupt the university’s operations.”

Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Kraft Group, announced he will pull funding to Columbia University until “corrective action” is taken to reduce antisemitic harassment on campus amid protests over the Gaza war.

In a post from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, a nonprofit organisation founded by Mr Kraft, the American businessman said that he is “no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff” and is, “not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.”

Mr Kraft is an alumna and a longtime donor to the school. His funding helped establish The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life.

Dozens of students were arrested on New York University’s (NYU) campus last night after leaders at the university told police that students were “trespassing” and behaving in a “disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing” manner.

NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted a photo on X revealing an email NYU leaders sent to the NYPD asking for police pressence on campus.

“ Following negotiations this morning, additional protestors breached our barriers in violation of our clear instructions and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community,” an email from an NYU leader said.

“At this point we consider all protestors occupying Gould Plaza to be trespassers and we would like the NYPD to clear the area and take action to remove the protestors.”

Google fired 28 employees early last week following protests on Tuesday in the company’s offices against their cloud contract with the Israeli government.

Dozens of Google workers made their way inside Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office at the Sunnyvale office, as well as on the 10th-floor commons in New York City, according to No Tech for Apartheid, the organisation that led the protests.

Google announced that it had since dismissed 28 workers from employment at the company after the protests, claiming they physically hindered the work of others and displayed “unacceptable behaviour”.

“A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations,” a Google spokesperson told The Independent on Thursday.

Amelia Neath has the story:

The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors criticised school president Minouche Shafik for calling the New York Police Department (NYPD) on student protesters last week.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Administration’s suspension of students engaged in peaceful protest and their arrest by the New York City Police Department,” the group said in a statement on Friday.

The NYPD arrested some 100 students last week after Ms Shafik requested their presence on campus. However, Police Chief John Chell later noted that the students who were arrested “were peaceful…and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” per the Columbia Spectator.

On Monday, Columbia faculty also staged a walkout in support of student protesters.

Columbia University officials have called for students to de-escalate tensions and “rebuild ties”.

Lawmakers on the national stage have also weighed in. “The Squad”, a group of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives, responded to the protests after Representative Omar’s daughter was detained as part of the Columbia arrests.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Squad member, criticised her arrest.

The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors also criticised Columbia’s president for calling in the NYPD on student protesters last week.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Administration’s suspension of students engaged in peaceful protest and their arrest by the New York City Police Department,” the group said in a statement on Friday.

Several faculty members staged a walkout on Monday to protest the previous week’s arrests, according to Columbia Law Professor Bassam Khawaja.

Meanwhile, a rabbi with Columbia University said Jewish students are not safe on campus. Rabbi Elie Buechler, who is affiliated with Columbia/Barnard Hillel, sent a message to 300 Jewish students warning them to leave campus ahead of Passover on Monday.

“The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Buechler wrote.

However Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the school’s centre for Jewish life, said that it does not believe students need to leave campus. But the organisation did say school officials and police must “do more to ensure the safety” of Jewish students.

The university’s president moved classes online on Monday due to tensions, while one rabbi called for Jewish students to leave campus over fears of antisemitic violence and harassment on Monday, the first day of Passover.

For the past week, hundreds of pro-Palestine student activists have demanded that Columbia divest its financial ties with Israel due to the country’s war in Gaza, launching street demonstrations and building a massive encampment on the college campus, leading the school to call in the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Here’s everything you need to know about the protests at Columbia, and other major US universities: