In the United States, more than 2,000 arrests have been made in 15 days of protests on university campuses. Protests at universities such as UCLA, Columbia, and Fordham University in New York have led to police interventions and arrests as students demonstrate against the conflict in Gaza. Meanwhile, in Canada, demonstrations at campuses in Montreal, Toronto, British Columbia, and Ottawa have seen students setting up tents and camps while being monitored by police.
In Paris, the prestigious faculty of political science at Sciences-Po was occupied by pro-Palestinian militants who had been protesting against the Israeli war in Gaza for a week. On Thursday, dozens of militants were still present in the buildings on rue Saint Guillaume when the police arrived to evacuate them. The protests on campus sparked controversies and tensions among students and faculty members.
In Italy, a conference on Israel scheduled for May 7th at the State University of Milan was canceled amid concerns of safety risks. The decision to cancel the round table conference was made due to a “very high” risk assessment by the police headquarters. The rector of the Elio Franzini University was not informed of the cancellation but opted to hold the conference online in order to minimize risks to public safety.
These protests, interventions, and cancellations at universities around the world reflect ongoing tensions and activism surrounding the conflict in Gaza and broader issues of peace and justice.