Defiant Columbia students return to ‘Gaza solidarity camp’ despite NYPD arrests as they moan president is trying to silence them
- Students from the Ivy League college rebuilt the pro-Palestinian camp on Friday
- NYPD told DailyMail.com that officers arrested more than 100 people in 48 hours
- Ten of these have been mainly charged with obstructing government administration
Rebel students from Columbia have returned to their ‘solidarity camp in Gaza’ despite facing more than a hundred arrests and fiery counter-demonstrations yesterday.
Students at the Ivy League college rebuilt the pro-Palestinian encampment Friday morning as they vowed to resist the “silence” of college officials.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik, who testified before Congress on Wednesday about anti-Semitism on campus, reported students to the NYPD, and footage shows police piling a group of protesters into a large police van on Thursday.
NYPD told DailyMail.com that officers arrested more than 100 people during the two-day sit-in on Wednesday and Thursday. Ten have been charged so far, mainly for resisting arrest and obstructing government administration.
A small number of more unruly protesters have also been charged with assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and intimidation, the department added.
Defiant Columbia students have returned to their ‘Gaza solidarity camp’ despite facing more than 100 arrests and fiery counter-demonstrations yesterday
Students at the Ivy League college rebuilt the pro-Palestinian encampment Friday morning as they vowed to oppose the ‘silence’ of college officials
The pro-Palestinian students returned to the university’s Butler Lawns as early as 5 a.m. on Friday
Several fights also broke out when demonstrators were confronted by pro-Israel counter-protesters.
The pro-Palestinian students returned to the university’s Butler Lawns as early as 5 a.m. on Friday. Footage from later in the morning shows them clapping and singing ‘we will not be moved’.
A student read through a megaphone a message sent by someone from Gaza thanking them for their “continued support of the Palestinian cause.”
Dozens of students listened to her speech, repeating each sentence while wearing keffiyehs — a monochrome-patterned scarf that serves as a symbol of Palestinian identity — and waving the national flag.
A livestream from the lawns showed hundreds of students beating drums and singing at night.
Protester Maryam Iqbal shared The nation: ‘Being suspended from Palestine is an honor. The more they try to silence us, the louder it gets.”
On Thursday, dozens of police officers dressed in riot gear arrived to disperse the camps.
Columbia President Shafik said they were called after “attempts to resolve the situation were rebuffed by the students involved.”
“As a result, NYPD officers are now on campus and the camp clearance process is underway,” she said.
Videos posted by organizers showed people being handcuffed as protesters chanted “shame on you” at officers.
NYPD officers arrested more than 100 people at the camp on Wednesday and Thursday
The encampment was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) – a student-led coalition of several groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice For Peace.
They gathered to protest what they called “the university’s continued financial investments in companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and military occupation of Palestine.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, was among those arrested — and she was seen on footage looking concerned as she was handcuffed by police.
The staunch Democrat’s daughter had previously been suspended from her college, Barnard College, for joining the protest on the Upper West Side.