2024-04-23 15:25:00
Protests once morest the war once morest Israel have increased at many universities in the United States. To avoid a campus security crisis, some Ivy League schools have increased enforcement measures, adopted online teaching or asked police to arrest protesters.
The academics interviewed said the Biden administration was trying to strike a balance between supporting Israeli policies and calming the wave of protests. However, if the situation worsens, it cannot be ruled out that Washington will take more measures to repress the demonstrators, even if it does. have a negative impact on President Biden 11 The re-election campaign will have an impact.
In order to mitigate and quell the anti-Semitic wave on campus, Columbia University on the East Coast announced Monday, April 22, that it would move to online classes; at least 47 protesters were arrested for refusing to leave the camp. On the West Coast, at the University of California at Berkeley, hundreds of students began setting up camp to protest.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demanded that the school end economic ties with Israel and academic programs funded by Israeli companies or donors. However, the school took a tougher stance, demanding that police enter the school to arrest protesters, restrict student activities to avoid crowd gatherings, and suspend pro-Palestinian activities.
American police began operations on the New York University campus on the evening of the 22nd and arrested more than 130 protesters. The school said many people outside the school joined the protest and broke through the fence installed by the school, so they decided to call the police. Police also arrested more than 100 people during a protest at Columbia University last Thursday (18).
In front of Columbia University, pro-Palestinian demonstrators held up a banner Monday reading “Israel killed 14,000 children” to protest Israeli military operations in Gaza. A large number of police officers were present to ensure security. (AFP) To prevent students from gathering to protest, Harvard University has restricted access to Harvard Square since last week and suspended pro-Palestinian activities on campus. Violators will be exposed to the risk of “permanent expulsion”. (AFP)
Columbia President Shafik said in an open letter to students Monday: “There have been too many incidents of bullying and harassment on campus in recent days… Anti-Semitic language, as well as any other use aimed at hurting and intimidating, “People’s language is unacceptable and we will take appropriate action.”
Academic: Protests unlikely to reverse US policy towards Israel
Liu Yongtao, a professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from Lianhe Zaobao that from the early days of the Israel-Kazakhstan conflict, sporadic protests broke out on American campuses, but they were finally repressed. The trigger for this new round of protests was the United States’ vote last Thursday (April 18) rejecting Palestine’s decision to become a full member of the United Nations, and the approval by the House of Representatives last Saturday , amounting to 13 billion dollars (around 7 billion euros). $17.7 billion) in military aid to Israel.
Liu Yongtao judged: “If the wave of protests continues to boil over, it cannot be ruled out that Washington will intervene to suppress it. Although this will cause Biden to lose support from ethnic minorities and will be very detrimental to his re-election campaign. the relationship between the United States and Israel is complicated. Even if protests intensify further, it will also be difficult to reverse Washington’s current policy toward Israel.
Many New York University protesters also camped on campus, and some clashed with police and were arrested when they refused to leave the camp. Videos posted on social media showed police dismantling the tents. (AFP) In addition to universities on the East Coast, protests also took place Tuesday in encampments at the University of California at Berkeley on the West Coast. (AFP)
John Donaldson, associate professor of political science at the School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University, also shared the same view and bluntly said that Biden was “helpless” during the campus protests.
Du Qiang told Lianhe Zaobao: “Regarding Israeli policies, Biden is under pressure from the left and right and cannot give up his support for Israel. Biden has already been criticized by moderates and others for criticizing (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu. I don’t control Netanyahu, even if people put pressure on him, so he can’t do anything.”
It is unclear whether this wave of protests will evolve into a nationwide student movement, but Wang Yong, professor at the School of International Relations at Peking University and director of the Center for American Studies, analyzed at Lianhe Zaobao that if If the protests worsen, they might eventually force the Biden administration to If the Biden administration takes control, it is not excluded that bloodshed might occur, or even be transform into a student protest movement once morest the government, which will greatly affect Biden’s election.
Liu Yongtao stressed that we must continue to ensure that this campus protest does not spread widely to the West Coast and become another trigger for division in American society. Furthermore, we must also ensure that the wave of protests does not spill over onto European campuses and put pressure on European countries’ policies in the Middle East.
Du Qiang said one of the current disputes is over whether student protests should be considered anti-Semitic, and it is also difficult for college campuses to balance defending freedom of speech. expression and the fight once morest hate speech. Additionally, Biden faces the dilemma of not losing voters while continuing to support Israel. Neither balancing effort goes well.
Du Qiang said: “I expect Biden to make a speech to respond to this incident…A speech cannot solve the problem, but I think he should speak as soon as possible.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters from Harvard University and MIT held a rally at MIT on Monday (April 22). (AFP)
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