Protests against the war in Gaza have been escalating on college campuses across the United States, with demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and severing financial ties with Israel. The protests began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread to other campuses, leading to over 1,600 arrests.
These demonstrations have caused disruptions to university operations, with some schools canceling classroom teaching due to the presence of protestors. They have become a political controversy, with Republican politicians like Donald Trump calling on President Joe Biden to take action against the protestors. Criticisms of the demonstrations as anti-Semitic have emerged, resulting in some Jewish students and teachers feeling unsafe on campus. However, there are also Jewish demonstrators who believe the protests are valid criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The scale of these protests on college campuses is being compared to student movements of the past, such as those in the 1960s and 1980s against the Vietnam War and apartheid. While these demonstrations have not reached the same level as those movements, they represent a significant student activism movement in the 21st century. Despite criticisms and controversies surrounding the protests, demonstrators continue to express their concerns and demand action on the ongoing war in Gaza.
