Palestinian flag is raised over Harvard statue taking the place of the Stars and Stripes that typically flies proudly above founder’s memorial

A Palestinian flag was raised above a statue at Harvard University as anti-Israel protest continued to rock college campuses, taking the place of the American flag that usually flies above the founder’s memorial.

Video from Saturday evening showed a group of pro-Palestinian protesters dressed in keffiyehs raising a large Palestinian flag over the iconic statue of John Harvard.

The Harvard Crimson reported student protesters hung the flag and two others on the Ivy League campus around 6:30 p.m.

At 6:34 p.m., Harvard University police officers called the school’s Yard Operations to remove the flag flying over the statue.

The past few days pIn the aftermath of the October 7 attack, protests have erupted on campuses nationwide Israel Through Hamasand the continued retaliatory attacks on Gaza that followed.

School administrators have called on police to remove encampments and protesters at schools including Harvard, Columbia, Emory, NYU, USC, the University of Texas, Cal-Berkley and Brown.

Other images showed the Palestinian flag draped on John Harvard’s lap, along with a keffiyeh around his neck.

As staff members took down the flags, protesters heard chants of “Shame!” call. to them, along with other chants such as “Free, free, Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Harvard spokesman Jonathan L. Swain said the protester’s actions were “a violation of university policy and the individuals involved will be subject to disciplinary action.”

After the flags were removed, protesters gathered inside and outside the encampment and made it clear they were willing to have their school IDs collected by administrators.

“Harvard, Harvard, take my ID. You can’t really scare me,” the protesters chanted.

They then held a vigil around the statue for a Palestinian killed in the war, The Harvard Crimson reported.

After the vigil, a large group of administrators, including Dean of Students Thomas Dunne, stormed the encampment with ID scanners.

As they gathered information from students, they handed each protester a piece of paper warning of disciplinary action, including the possibility of graduates having their degrees withheld.

“Repeated violations of university and school policies will result in increasingly severe sanctions. Students with pending disciplinary cases may not receive a diploma,” the slip said.

The Harvard Crimson said the American flag is typically flown outside Monday through Friday, but is lowered at 4 p.m. “for proper storage.”

Last week, the university tried to get ahead of growing protests by closing most of the gates of the famed Harvard Yard before classes on Monday.

The school also limited identification to people with school IDs and posted warning signs against setting up tents or tables on campus without permission.

On Wednesday, protesters continued to set up camp as they brought out fourteen tents following a demonstration against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

This isn’t the first time Harvard University has held a pro-Palestine protest or faced backlash for its response to the ongoing war, as the school’s former president Claudine Gay resigned in January.

Gay left the Ivy League University 28 days after her shocking response to congressional testimony about anti-Semitism on campus.

She refused to categorize calls for genocide against Jews as harassment and refused to concede that Jewish students had a right not to feel unsafe in Ivy League schools.

In her resignation letter, she vehemently claimed victimhood, attributing her decision to resign to “threats fueled by racial animosity.”

Gay, who has been accused of both plagiarism and anti-Semitism, emphasized that her departure is in Harvard’s best interests, allowing the community to weather a challenging moment with the focus on the institution rather than an individual.

“After consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in Harvard’s best interests to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution and not on any individual ‘, she says. wrote.

In addition to her December 5 testimony, Gay has also been accused of mounting claims of plagiarism.

She said it was “frightening” to find herself the target of threats, and “disturbing” to have her character questioned.

Gay will be replaced by Alan M. Garber, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, who sat behind her during the infamous hearing and nodded as she delivered her remarks.