Instead of being contained after last week’s arrests of around a hundred protesters at Columbia University in New York, the demonstrations and protests have spread to more universities, across the United States.
Jewish students have expressed concern about anti-Semitic elements and fear of being on university campuses where protests are underway.
Call in
When the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, visited Columbia University on Wednesday, he called on the university’s chancellor to resign if she cannot end the “chaos.”
– If this is not quickly calmed down and there is a stop to threats, then it may be time to call in the National Guard, said Johnson.
A university spokesperson said rumors that the university was considering calling in the National Guard were not true. It is dialogue that counts as a means of restoring order.
At Wednesday’s demonstrations at the University of Southern California, the police arrested a number of the participants and everything was peaceful. It was different in Austin, Texas, when the police went in with hundreds of men, horses and batons against students at the university there. A photographer from the Fox 7 channel in Austin was pulled to the ground and arrested, and another reporter was beaten to death in the brawl.
“The police overreacted”
A Texas student, Dane Urquhart, believes that the police overreacted and that everything would have gone smoothly if the police had not acted with such force.
“Given all the arrests, I think it’s going to lead to a lot more demonstrations,” Urquhart said.
After the arrests, however, the police left the area and a crowd of 300 people sat down on the grass of the university campus and continued their protest.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on US authorities to end the protests at universities, actions he describes as shameful.