Latest news with #LiberatedZone
Kuwait Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Big pro-Palestine demo at Columbia
US charges NY man with hate crimes over university protests NEW YORK: Police arrested dozens of Columbia University students who seized part of the school's main library on Wednesday in one of the biggest pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus since last year's wave of protests against the Zionist entity's war in Gaza. At least 40 to 50 students, their hands cuffed with plastic zip-ties, were seen being loaded into New York Police Department vans and buses outside Butler Library as NYPD officers swept through the six-story building to round up other protesters who refused to leave. Police arrived on campus in force at the request of Columbia officials who said the student demonstrators occupying the library's second-floor main reading room were engaged in trespassing. Videos and photographs on social media showed protesters, most wearing masks, standing on tables, beating drums and unfurling banners saying 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone' beneath the chandeliers of the Lawrence A Wein Reading Room. US President Donald Trump had lashed out at Columbia over pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, saying they were 'antisemitic' and showed a failure to protect Jewish students. Student protesters, including some Jewish organizers, counter that Trump and fellow conservative politicians who are strongly pro-Zionist are unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism. Columbia University said late on Wednesday that it had requested NYPD assistance 'in securing the building', and that two of its public safety officials were hurt in the standoff. Protesters are escorted out of Butler Library after their arrest for occupying the library space. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed 'multiple arrests' of protesters who occupied the library but did not provide an exact number. 'Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,' New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on social media. Before police arrived on the scene, university public safety personnel were seen locking the front doors to the library, preventing any more students from entering the building and sparking a brief episode of pushing and shoving outside. One student appeared to have been injured in the fracas. Another individual was seen being carried out of the building on a stretcher. With further entry to the library barred, a growing crowd of demonstrators outside the building moved to the streets just beyond the campus gates. One student organization representing the protesters said on social media that school security had assaulted demonstrators and acknowledged that some activists had refused to show their IDs to officials. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a collection of student groups, recirculated long-standing demands on social media on Wednesday for the university to no longer invest its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and other companies that support the Zionist entity's military occupation of Palestinian territories. The protesters in the library also demanded the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student who remains in a Louisiana immigrant jail after he was among the first to be arrested for possible deportation. On Monday, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a University of Washington building, demanding the school cut ties with Boeing over its contracts with the Zionist military. The university said 34 protesters were arrested, and charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct would be referred to prosecutors. On Wednesday, it said the 21 students who were among those arrested have been suspended and banned from all of the school's campuses. Separately, the US Department of Justice charged a New York man with federal hate crimes in an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, accusing him of assaulting Jewish victims, including two Columbia University students, during three separate protests over the war in Gaza. The DOJ said that Tarek Bazrouk, 20, 'deliberately targeted and assaulted Jewish victims at protests relating to the (Zionist)/Gaza war.' Bazrouk was arrested on Wednesday morning. — Reuters Bazrouk's case appears to be the first time the DOJ has brought federal hate crime charges related to the recent Columbia protests. The assaults allegedly all took place in Manhattan, at an April 2024 protest outside the New York Stock Exchange, a Dec 2024 protest outside Columbia University, and a January 2025 protest near Gramercy Park. The DOJ said that Bazrouk showed support for Hamas and called himself a 'Jew hater' in text messages obtained from a search of his cell phone. Bazrouk is charged with three counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, according to DOJ. — Reuters
TimesLIVE
08-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Dozens of students arrested in pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University
Police arrested dozens of Columbia University students who seized part of the school's main library on Wednesday in one of the biggest pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus since last year's wave of protests against Israel's war in Gaza. At least 40 to 50 students, their hands cuffed with plastic zip-ties, were seen being loaded into New York police department (NYPD) vans and buses outside Butler Library as NYPD officers swept through the six-storey building to round up other protesters who refused to leave. Police arrived on campus in force at the request of Columbia officials who said the student demonstrators occupying the library's second-floor main reading room were engaged in trespassing. Videos and photographs on social media showed protesters, most wearing masks, standing on tables, beating drums and unfurling banners saying 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone' beneath the chandeliers of the Lawrence A Wein Reading Room. US President Donald Trump had lashed out at Columbia over pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, saying they were antisemitic and showed a failure to protect Jewish students. Student protesters, including some Jewish organisers, counter that Trump and fellow conservative politicians who are strongly pro-Israel are unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and anti-Semitism. Columbia's board of trustees has been negotiating with the Trump administration, which announced in March that it had cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars of grants to the university for scientific research. The university has said it has worked to combat anti-Semitism and other prejudice on its campus while seeking to fend off accusations from civil rights groups that it was giving in to government intrusions on academic freedom. Columbia University said late on Wednesday it had requested NYPD assistance 'in securing the building' and that two of its public safety officials were hurt in the standoff. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed 'multiple arrests' of protesters who occupied the library but did not provide an exact number. 'Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,' New York governor Kathy Hochul said on social media. Before police arrived on the scene, university public safety personnel were seen locking the front doors to the library, preventing any more students from entering the building and sparking a brief episode of pushing and shoving outside. One student appeared to have been injured in the fracas. Another individual was seen being carried out of the building on a stretcher. With further entry to the library barred, a growing crowd of demonstrators outside the building moved to the streets just beyond the campus gates. One student organisation representing the protesters said on social media that school security had assaulted demonstrators and acknowledged that some activists had refused to show their IDs to officials. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a collection of student groups, recirculated long-standing demands on social media on Wednesday for the university to no longer invest its $14.8bn (R270.69bn) endowment in weapons makers and other companies that support Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories. On Monday pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a University of Washington building, demanding the school cut ties with Boeing over its contracts with the Israeli military. The university said 34 protesters were arrested, and charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct would be referred to prosecutors. On Wednesday, it said the 21 students who were among those arrested have been suspended and banned from all of the school's campuses. Columbia was at the forefront of a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that swept across US campuses last year over Israel's war in Gaza, which began in 2023. Trump, a Republican, is also trying to deport some pro-Palestinian international students at US schools, saying their presence could harm US foreign policy interests. The protesters in the library also demanded the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student who remains in a Louisiana immigrant jail after he was among the first to be arrested for possible deportation.
Daily Maverick
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Dozens of students arrested in pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University
Police arrested dozens of Columbia University students who seized part of the school's main library on Wednesday in one of the biggest pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus since last year's wave of protests against Israel's war in Gaza. At least 40 to 50 students, their hands cuffed with plastic zip-ties, were seen being loaded into New York Police Department vans and buses outside Butler Library as NYPD officers swept through the six-story building to round up other protesters who refused to leave. Police arrived on campus in force at the request of Columbia officials who said the student demonstrators occupying the library's second-floor main reading room were engaged in trespassing. Videos and photographs on social media showed protesters, most wearing masks, standing on tables, beating drums and unfurling banners saying 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone' beneath the chandeliers of the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room. U.S. President Donald Trump had lashed out at Columbia over pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, saying they were antisemitic and showed a failure to protect Jewish students. Student protesters, including some Jewish organizers, counter that Trump and fellow conservative politicians who are strongly pro-Israel are unfairly conflating pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism. Columbia's board of trustees has been negotiating with the Trump administration, which announced in March that it hadcanceled hundreds of millions of dollars of grants to the university for scientific research. The university has said it has worked to combat antisemitism and other prejudice on its campus while seeking to fend off accusations from civil rights groups that it was giving in to government intrusions on academic freedom. Columbia University said late on Wednesday that it had requested NYPD assistance 'in securing the building,' and that two of its public safety officials were hurt in the standoff. SCUFFLE AT FRONT DOOR An NYPD spokesperson confirmed 'multiple arrests' of protesters who occupied the library but did not provide an exact number. 'Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. But violence, vandalism or destruction of property are completely unacceptable,' New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on social media. Before police arrived on the scene, university public safety personnel were seen locking the front doors to the library, preventing any more students from entering the building and sparking a brief episode of pushing and shoving outside. One student appeared to have been injured in the fracas. Another individual was seen being carried out of the building on a stretcher. With further entry to the library barred, a growing crowd of demonstrators outside the building moved to the streets just beyond the campus gates. One student organization representing the protesters said on social media that school security had assaulted demonstrators and acknowledged that some activists had refused to show their IDs to officials. Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a collection of student groups, recirculated long-standing demands on social media on Wednesday for the university to no longer invest its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and other companies that support Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories. On Monday, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a University of Washington building, demanding the school cut ties with Boeing over its contracts with the Israeli military. The university said 34 protesters were arrested, and charges of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct would be referred to prosecutors. On Wednesday, it said the 21 students who were among those arrested have been suspended and banned from all of the school's campuses. Columbia was at the forefront of a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that swept across U.S. campuses last year over Israel's war in Gaza, which began in 2023. Trump, a Republican, is also trying to deport some pro-Palestinian international students at U.S. schools, saying their presence could harm U.S. foreign policy interests. The protesters in the library also demanded the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student who remains in a Louisiana immigrant jail after he was among the first to be arrested for possible deportation.
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Over 50 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Columbia University
New York Police arrested dozens of students from Columbia University for staging pro-Palestinian protest and seizing part of the university's main library on Wednesday, in one of the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations held on the campus since last year's wave of protests against Israel's war in Gaza. At least 50 students were seen loaded into vans and buses of the New York Police Department outside of the Butler Library with their hands cuffed with plastic zip-ties, as police rounded up other protesters in the six-story building who refused to leave. A BBC report stated that two university security officers were injured when protesters barged their way into the Butler Library on Wednesday, University President Claire Shipman in a statement said, calling the protesters actions 'outrageous'. Anti-Israel, pro-Palestine protesters have taken over Columbia University's library. All of these people, if they are students, should be immediately expelled: — Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 7, 2025 Videos on social media showed protesters wearing masks, standing on tables, chanting with banners reading 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone'. We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library. Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation. — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 8, 2025 US President Donald Trump had earlier blasted Columbia University over pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, stating that they were anti-semitic and the university showed a failure to protect Jewish students. At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing. — NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 7, 2025 Columbia University on Wednesday had requested the NYPD's assistance 'in securing the building,' as protesters had barged into the library with banners. According to Columbia Spectator, which is a campus newspaper, about 70 protesters were detained by police. In a post on X, NYPD stated 'At the direct request of Columbia University, the NYPD is responding to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they are 'reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library.' Columbia's President Shipman said that while the protesters were seized up in one room of the library, 'it is completely unacceptable that some individuals are choosing to disrupt academic activities as our students are studying and preparing for final exams'.
Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Multiple Protesters Arrested After Pro-Palestinian Demonstration at Columbia University Library
Multiple people were arrested on May 7 during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in New York. Dozens of protesters stood on tables, beat drums, and unfurled pro-Palestinian banners in the reading room of Columbia University's main library on Wednesday. Videos and photographs on social media showed protesters, most wearing masks, with banners saying 'Strike For Gaza' and 'Liberated Zone' beneath the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room's chandeliers in the Butler Library. The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to the incident at the request of the university. 'The NYPD responded to an ongoing situation on campus where individuals have occupied a library and are trespassing,' a department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to NTD, sister media of The Epoch Times. 'Multiple individuals who did not comply with verbal warnings by the NYPD to disperse were taken into custody.' A police spokesperson late Wednesday said the department wasn't able to provide a number for how many were arrested. Related Stories 5/1/2025 4/14/2025 New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned activists in a According to the 'Due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the university, Columbia has taken the necessary step of requesting the presence of NYPD to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community,' Shipman said in a Shipman also 'These actions are outrageous,' Shipman added, stressing that the university condemns violence on campus, anti-Semitism, and all forms of hate and discrimination. A social media account for Columbia Jewish and Israeli Students published footage of the clash between protesters and officers. 'Protesters attempting to stampede public safety to avoid being identified as they leave,' Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, confirmed in a Secretary of State Marco Rubio The Trump administration earlier this year threatened to cut more of the university's federal funding for its alleged failure to address anti-Semitic activities on campus. In March, it pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the university's handling of pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which was launched in response to terrorist group Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023. According to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they want to receive federal funding. McMahon said Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students on its campus for too long. Columbia announced a series of The protests mark a resurgence of demonstrations seen last spring against the institution's ties to Israel. A 'As a democracy with constitutional protections for the individual rights of all citizens, and as the home to great universities, Israel shares values, interests and aspirations with us,' the statement said. 'Columbia benefits from ties with Israeli faculty, students, research, and technology.' Reuters contributed to this report. From NTD News
