University students rising up against ties with Israel (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

[EasterIssland]

Many university students are raising up against the ties their universities have with Israel. Students are asking for this agreements to stop
I can see this is happening in USA which has been in the news quite a lot but I can also read news about Paris as well as UK.

I really doubt much will change but I’m glad people are against these agreements. We can’t change what Israel / Hamas do. But we should be able to change what our governments / universities do.

You find what that obnoxious man has to say interesting? Are you the daily mail link poster too because that would explain a lot?

Yes and yes - pray tell me what it explains please? Are you conflating ideology in The Daily Mail with The Jewish Chronicle?

There are many links to The Guardian and other links with different ideologies yet I do not make implied personal criticisms of the posters. As a user of this forum, you will need to accept that people have different opinions to yourself.

Demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian encampment set up outside University College London allegedly spat at a group of counter-protesters and told them to “go back to Poland” in an apparent instance of antisemitism.
UCL students have pitched tents near the main campus building to show their opposition to the institution’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Saturday, around 100 Palestinian supporters, many of whom were not students, banged drums and waved flags outside the university while chanting “free Palestine” over a megaphone.
In response, a group of around 50 Israel-supporting demonstrators, attended as part of a counter-protest.
They positioned themselves on the other side of the street to avoid a direct confrontation and more than 40 Metropolitan Police officers were on the scene with a fleet of marked police vehicles parked nearby.
Despite the police presence, a small group left the Pro-Palestinian crowd and subjected the counter-demonstrators to abuse and anti-semitic chants.
Video footage seen by The Telegraph shows a woman, not believed to be a student, holding a Palestinian scarf seemingly shouting “Long life to Hamas”.
Another clip, posted on social media, shows a man spitting on the ground in front of the counter-protesters before being moved on by police.
Pro-Palestine protestor spitting at a counter-protestor outside UCLJonathan Cohen KC, who attended the counter-demonstration, said: “There were members of the Palestinian protests, who were openly praising Hamas.
“We were spat at, we were told to go back to Poland.
“Anybody who thinks that the streets of London are safe for Jews is simply wrong.”
Scotland Yard said the man who had spat at the group was later arrested, along with four other people.
In relation to the video of the female protester, a spokesman said: “An investigation has been launched into this matter and enquiries are ongoing.”
Another pro-Israel protester told the Telegraph that the police response had been “entirely unequal”.
When three counter-protesters carrying signs saying “Hamas are terrorists” and holding Israeli flags walked across the street in response to the provocation, officers immediately grabbed the men.
Despite this, police allegedly allowed the pro-Palestine activists who had similarly crossed the road, to shout in the faces of the Israel supporters for several minutes.
A spokesperson for the Met said that on Saturday, officers “policed a number of protests across London”.
A total of seven arrests were made, including five at the UCL protest.
They added: “Four people – who were part of a pro-Palestine protest near a central London university – were arrested in relation to the displaying of a banner that appeared to be supporting a proscribed organisation.”
“Another man was arrested in the vicinity for a public order offence after he was seen to spit towards a counter-protest.”
A pro-Israel demonstrator says the police response had been 'entirely unequal' CREDIT: GUY BELL/SHUTTERSTOCKAde Adelekan, the deputy assistant commissioner said: “Our objective for [Saturday’s] policing operation was to protect the rights of everyone to protest while ensuring others were able to visit London unhindered.
“We policed a number of events across the capital, the vast majority of which passed off peacefully.
“Our response was proportionate – we engaged with protesters and intervened where crimes were committed.”
The demonstrators at UCL have been among a growing number of tent camps protesting against the war in Gaza, which have been seen at universities including Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol.
It has led to “serious” government concerns that the campus protests could escalate to the sort of scenes witnessed in the US, where pro-Palestinian protests at Ivy League universities turned violent.
A UCL spokesperson said: “We continue to have a small protest with tents on our campus. This has so far been peaceful and in line with our codes of conduct. The normal business of the university has been going ahead as usual.
“We are, however, also aware there have been protests outside our university on public streets which have been organised by external groups.”

Well that’s appalling behaviour being reported here. It says the police have arrested the people who committed these crimes and are investigating others.
I’m not keen on all these counter protests from either side, it is a recipe for trouble.
Counter protests should be held at different times and in different locations.

It was refreshing to hear UCL’s comments on its on its own students’ peaceful protest though:

A UCL spokesperson said: “We continue to have a small protest with tents on our campus. This has so far been peaceful and in line with our codes of conduct. The normal business of the university has been going ahead as usual.

https://x.com/muhammadsmiry/status/1787296867618795529?s=61&t=nilGqPeurpC5xVqZAZdZog. This is why the students are angry. The US and UK governments have been complicit in this for over six months. A genocide is taking place.

@TheKeenAmberHedgehog The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Sun, The Express and to a (marginally) lesser extent the BBC won’t tell you this because they don’t want you to know. They want you to believe that this is about two sides at war when it really isn’t, it’s about a heavily armed and highly sophisticated military power dropping bombs on people whose houses and former lives have been destroyed and are now living in tents in the one place they were told was safe. Despite all the talk of whether or not Israel will invade Rafah, the reality is that they already have bombs raining down on them every night. They are literally living on hell on earth with nowhere to go.

You said in one of your earlier posts that you are “old school “. How can you accept that a military superpower is pummelling a defenceless population, killing indiscriminately day after day, night after night. Soldiers pausing for photos with murdered kids’ toys, displaced womens’ clothing, the list could go on. Settler “protesters“ who block aid and jump onto trucks to slash open bags of flour in the hope of wasting them so they cannot go to feed starving population. Have you seen the photos of all the emaciated children? It’s truly heartbreaking.

This is why the students are protesting, the vast, vast majority of them peacefully. They have been bought up to believe that there is a difference between right and wrong actions. Then they have just had six months of witnessing a genocide unfold pretty much live on their mobile phones. They have waited for the ‘adults’ to intervene, but nothing. They can’t quite believe that Biden and Sunak are really this hopeless and evil so they wait a bit longer, sign petitions, attend local demonstrations, etc. Still nothing. Both countries still sending arms. Still horrific images coming out of Gaza day after day, night and night. They eventually come to the unfortunate and undeniable conclusion that no-one in a position of power is willing to do anything about this. The few who have tried have been quickly silenced and quietly removed.

They realise that either they stand up for the Palestinians or no one will. They have tried the petitions, etc, already. US and UK government brush them under the carpet, they just don’t care.

And now lots of “old school” individuals, who have managed to look the other way when tens of thousands of innocent Gazans have been murdered in the most horrific ways are offended.

Countless Children’s bodies have been blown apart and left in pieces. (Many of us on here have seen the photos on here daily). The UN estimate it could take 80 years to rebuild Gaza. But realistically the human scars will never be able to heal.

All of this and your issue is with the people protesting it?

Great post @Finallyloggedin

You might like this article, which expresses a similar sentiment. Please note I’m not sure I agree with the author here (if I take what she says literally) about this being something only young people are capable of, maybe it’s something that young people seem more capable of.

‘I spelled out the risks to Aidan: suspension, loss of housing and medical care, reputational harm, damage to career prospects. “The students in Gaza don’t have schools to protest in; they don’t have medical care to be taken away from them,” he replied. “This is nothing compared to what they’re experiencing.” It was a familiar sentiment on the part of students I had met by now, this throwing it back to Gaza as a sort of compass to maintain direction and remember the stakes. And it came with the heartbreaking, terrifying resolution that only young people are capable of, still unbroken by compromise or experience of how flooring the toll is when it arrives. In them, there is a compass too.’

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/06/gaza-protests-students-columbia-university

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/columbia-university-protests-israel-gaza-campus.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13386729/Oxford-Cambridge-students-solidarity-Gaza-pro-Palestine-protests.html

The "pro-Israeli" ghouls that attend the counter-protests are desperate to impugn malign motives to the student protesters. They can't seem to fathom being horrified by Palestinian kids having limbs amputated without anaesthetic or families being killed enough masse. It's very revealing.

Student have a spectrum of views both sides should be allowed to hold demonstration or no-one should allowed to do so - the comment regarding "pro-Israeli" ghouls is denying free speech to those who have a different opinion. We live in a country where we allow people freedom to hold different opinions.

Yes - when they operate within the boundaries of our laws. Some do not and then get arrested.

I posted this earlier on the thread, but perhaps you missed it. Anyone can protest as long as they adhere to the rules established by the university to prevent disruption of the academic environment or otherwise infringe on the rights of other students. Anyone breaking the law as part of a protest is obviously subject to arrest and criminal charges.

Here's a good summary of how the law works in the US about student protests. The right of the protestors to swing their fists stops at the noses of the other students, to recall my earlier analogy.

https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/fires-faq-student-protests-campus

And two relevant excerpts:

Are all forms of protest protected?

No. While the First Amendment protects your right to speak your mind with only limited exceptions, public colleges are allowed to maintain reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions—in other words, viewpoint-neutral rules on where, when, and how you can demonstrate on campus—in order to prevent disruption of the educational environment. For example, a college can prohibit loud amplification near school buildings during hours that classes are in session. But the rule has to be applied even-handedly. The school can’t allow the College Republicans to use a megaphone but forbid the College Democrats from doing so—or vice versa.

I want to occupy an administrative building. Can I do that?

If you do, be aware that you may be arrested or face punishment through your college’s disciplinary process. The First Amendment does not protect civil disobedience—nonviolent unlawful conduct undertaken intentionally as a form of protest. Examples might include occupying a campus building or participating in a “die-in” that blocks traffic on a campus street. Such forms of protest may be a violation of criminal law (e.g., trespassing or disorderly conduct) or a violation of the student conduct code, so you should be prepared to face potential punishment from either or both systems.

Apparently this is now starting at Oxford and Cambridge and I wonder if any thought has been given to Jewish students.

The protest seems legitimate but calls to defend Israel i.e. reduce trade seems to be wanting to harm the country economically.

I hope we don't see the level of anti semitism that has occured elsewhere as this has resulted in a lot of fear on US campuses.

@mids2019 Well, if they agree with the actions of the current Israeli government (and I see no reason why Jewish students should be assumed to do so), they'll have to...hear a view they disagree with, I guess? Which is sort of the point of attending university in the first place. Something Gazan students can't do at the moment, since the universities have been blown up and they have had to flee for their lives.

Looks like graduate workers in UofC are going to vote to strike in response to the violent force the university has used against peaceful protest.

“The largest union of academic workers, which represents more than 48,000 graduate student workers throughout the University of California system, will hold a strike authorization vote as early as next week in response to how universities have cracked down on students’ Gaza protests.

“The use and sanction of violent force to curtail peaceful protest is an attack on free speech and the right to demand change, and the university must sit down with students, unions, and campus organizations to negotiate, rather than escalate,” read an announcement of the strike vote from UAW local 4811.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/02/university-of-california-union-strike-vote-gaza-protests

thank you @PeasfullPerson , I’m going to read the full article asap.

Also just saw that they are protesting in Israel https://x.com/bri_guy_ny/status/1786965040223895623?s=61&t=nilGqPeurpC5xVqZAZdZog

@mids2019 I’m sure many Jewish students will be taking part in the protests. As I just read elsewhere, not despite the fact that they are Jewish but because of it. Jewish people have been doing a stellar job worldwide of saying “Not in our name”. It’s time the world started listening to them.

Both sides should act within the law

I had the gut feeling we would end up with protesters and counter- protesters clashes in UK universities too.
They should keep the protests at different times and places.
All within order and peace.
As the Rafah offensive seems to have started, tempers will fly high and this can get on UCLA and Columbia levels.

https://x.com/kendietweets/status/1787483204238163994?s=61&t=nilGqPeurpC5xVqZAZdZog

Jewish activist protesting at Oxford University.

https://x.com/rachael_swindon/status/1787517412352385060?s=61&t=nilGqPeurpC5xVqZAZdZog

Proud father of a student protesting - “What she has done is worth 10 PHDs”

the man in blue getting into the face of the girls and committing hate crime has been identified as a uni professor

https://twitter.com/gazanotice/status/1787462255753277511

https://x.com/mivasair/status/1787271096447766665?s=61&t=nilGqPeurpC5xVqZAZdZog

Rabbi David Mivasair

Israeli flag ripped from hands of Jewish student at Cambridge pro-Palestine protest.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/06/uk-university-protests-pro-palestinian-oxford-cambridge/

Trinity College Dublin to divest from investments in Israeli companies that feature on UN ‘blacklist’

https://twitter.com/IrishTimes/status/1787549165280796967?t=JtaknungVbCRU6nPO3s8Pg&s=19