Riot-gear wearing NYPD officers stormed an NYU protest ‘Gaza Solidarity’ encampment protest on Monday night arresting dozens of faculty and staff members.
Officers used zip ties to detain protesters, marching them onto police buses after warnings to leave the area were ignored.
The protest, involving hundreds, began at 6am with a group setting up tents at NYU’s Gould Plaza demanding the university divests from any Israel-related holdings. It was done in solidarity with similar protests at other campuses, including Columbia University.
The number of participants at the NYU protest grew throughout Monday with hundreds of anti-Israel activists gathered by nightfall.
It culminated in clashes with law enforcement – after the university requested officers break up the protest. Videos captured the shocking moments cops flooded the protest, tipping tents and making arrests as protestors carried Palestine flags and chanted.
Police finally made their move on the pro-Palestinian protestors at NYU after hours of warnings
Officers clad in riot gear used zip ties to detain protesters, marching them onto police buses after warnings to leave the area were ignored
NYPD in riot gear set about moving student from NYU’s Gould Plaza
In a statement on Instagram on Monday, New York University officials warned protesters to clear the plaza by 4pm or face consequences. Mass arrests began around 8:30pm
Police intervene and arrested more than 100 students at New York University on Monday night
Students could be seen gathering at the steps outside of NYU’s Stern School of Business earlier and appeared to be joined by some faculty members.
Some protesters could be heard chanting, ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ – a slogan that many regard as a call to genocide.
Others could be seen stepping on Israel’s flag.
NYU’s head of security said that administrators ‘witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community.’
The NYPD could be heard using a megaphone telling students: ‘You have been warned by New York University to leave the area.’
Those who did not leave soon, would be arrested for trespassing, NYPD said.
NYU’s Global Campus Safety posted on Instagram that protesters had breached the barriers set up at Gould Plaza, Fountain Walker.
‘The one safety requirement we made was that no additional protestors could enter Gould Plaza. With the breach of the barricades early this afternoon, that requirement was violated, and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community,’ the university said in a statement.
‘We cannot tolerate people getting hurt. You will need to clear the plaza by 4pm. If you leave now, no one will face any consequences for today’s actions—no discipline, no police.’
Video posted on X on Monday night shows pro-Palestine demonstrators being arrested by the NYPD
The NYPD wasted no time in arresting protestors after waiting for hours
Police moved in and began tearing up the signs that had been left by the protestors
A woman can be seen being dragged away by police after failing to ignore pleas to leave
At NYU, some protesters could be heard chanting, ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ – a slogan that many regard as a call to genocide
Tents remained on the plaza after police managed to move the protestors on
Chairs and tables are seen piled up in the wake of the chaos seen on Monday night
NYPD buses were brought in to move the protestors away from the area
Protestors are seen being moved on by police from the NYU campus
A pro-Palestinian supporter, wearing a mask to hide his identity, can be seen being arrested
Many protestors could be seen wearing Palestinian headscarfs while police moved in
Police turned out in force wearing body armor, helmets and riot gear for protection
A Palestinian flag is seen as protestors are finally arrested after hours of protest
One protestor is forced to the ground as police finally move in
Police are seen in the streets around NYU on Monday night as they prepare to make a move
Those arrested were placed on NYPD buses and whisked away for processing
Protestors could be seen on the buses with their hands behind their backs after being cuffed
It’s believed some faculty members were also involved in the protest
The protestors carried with them large signs in order to make their points
Police formed a line in order to move the protestors along
Protestors in turn linked arms in an effort to stand their ground against the NYPD
NYU Global Head of Campus Security warned students to dismantle or face ‘suspension’
Protestors were seen on campus carrying signs and chanting antisemitic slogans
Police appeared ready to take on the protestors as they lined up on campus
Several signs that had been created for the protests emerged
Pro Palestinian students and faculty members of NYU occupy a plaza on campus and declare it a Gaza solidarity encampment on Monday
The Palestinian flag could be seen flying in the wind alongside those of NYU
Those protesting included both students an members of the the faculty
Some Jewish students at the prestigious New York institution have reported feeling intimidated
A large group of demonstrators have established a ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ at NYU
In a statement on Instagram on Monday, New York University officials warned protesters to clear the plaza by 4pm or face consequences.
Mass arrests began around 8:30pm.
The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel.
Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group’s October 7 invasion.
President Joe Biden on Monday said he condemned ‘the anti-Semitic protests.’
‘I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,’ he told reporters, without further details
New York Mayor Eric Adams vowed that police would arrest anyone breaking the law.
‘At no time should we call for the destruction of anyone, should we call for violence towards anyone — that is not what protesting is about,’ he told CNN on Monday.
The protestors called for New York University to divest from Israel
The protest began as early as 6am but by nightfall there were hundreds involved
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators began their protest early on Monday morning
The protestors are calling for the university to divest from companies that have ties to Israel
The protestors wore masks in order to hide their identities
The protest looked to have been well planned with hundreds of signs handed out
The protestors were told to leave the area by 4:30pm but few paid attention to the request
Pro-Palestinian students and faculty of New York University, inspired by Columbia University, occupy a plaza on campus and declare it a Gaza solidarity encampment
Students at New York University (NYU) continue their demonstration on campus in solidarity with the students at Columbia University to oppose Israel’s attacks on Gaza
Pro-Palestinian protesters have launched a wave of protests on campus condemning Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip
Uptown, Columbia University canceled in-person classes. Elsewhere, dozens of protesters were arrested at Yale, while the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday.
The various actions followed the arrest last week of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green, as schools struggle with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus.
In addition to the demonstrations at the Ivy League schools, pro-Palestinian encampments have sprouted up on other campuses, including at the University of Michigan, New York University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was ‘an enormous encampment of people’ who had taken up about a third of the green.
The flags of Palestine and Lebanon are seen outside the Stern School of Business
Various signs were held aloft by those protesting on the NYU campus
Pro-Palestinian protesters have launched a wave of protests on campuses across the US
The protestors made no mention of the dozens of Israeli hostages still in captivity in Gaza
More than a dozen tents were pitched and tables were stocked with supplies of clothes and food
Pro Palestinian students set up tents suggesting they were not going to be moving any time soon
The protestors called for New York University to divest from Israel
The crowd began to grow throughout Monday until NYPD finally moved in to make arrests
Some of the protestors wrote messages on the walls of the campus
‘We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,’ she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus.
A woman inside the campus gates led about two dozen protesters on the street outside in a chant of, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’ – a charged phrase that can mean vastly different things to different groups. Meanwhile, a small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.
University President Minouche Shafik said in a message to the school community Monday that she was ‘deeply saddened’ by what was happening on campus.
‘To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,’ Shafik wrote, noting that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas´ deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
During the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but says at least two-thirds of the dead are children and women.
A large group of demonstrators has established a ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ on a central lawn at Columbia University
Days of pro-Palestinian protests have roiled New York’s prestigious Columbia University
Universities have become the focus of intense cultural debate in the United States since the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s overwhelming military response to it
Prahlad Iyengar, an MIT graduate student studying electrical engineering, was among about two dozen students who set up a tent encampment on the school’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus Sunday evening. They are calling for a cease-fire and are protesting what they describe as MIT´s ‘complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza,’ he said.
‘MIT has not even called for a cease-fire, and that´s a demand we have for sure,’ Iyengar said.
He also said MIT has been sending out confusing rules about protests.
‘We´re out here to demonstrate that we reserve the right to protest. It´s an essential part of living on a college campus,’ Iyengar said.
On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi for the Orthodox Union´s Jewish Learning Initiative at Columbia, sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students recommending they go home until it´s safer for them on campus.
The latest developments came ahead of the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in a Jewish theological seminary building two blocks from Columbia’s campus, said protesters over the weekend were ‘calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel.’ He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.
‘Jews are scared at Columbia. It´s as simple as that. There´s been so much vilification of Zionism, and it has spilled over into the vilification of Judaism,’ he said.
The protest encampment sprung up at Columbia on Wednesday, the same day that Shafik faced bruising criticism at a congressional hearing from Republicans who said she hadn’t done enough to fight antisemitism. Two other Ivy League presidents resigned months ago following widely criticized testimony they gave to the same committee.
For the fifth day, pro-Palestinian students occupy a central lawn on the Columbia University campus
Police officers stand in front of the entrance of Columbia University which is occupied by pro-Palestine protesters in New York on Monday
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University spent their fifth day demanding the school sever financial ties with key US ally Israel
Officers could be seen with zip ties ready to be used during the arrest of students
In her statement Monday, Shafik said the Middle East conflict is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress.
‘But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,’ Shafik wrote.
Over the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a resolution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who didn’t say when in-person classes would resume.
U.S. House Republicans from New York urged Shafik to resign, saying in a letter Monday that she had failed to provide a safe learning environment in recent days as ‘anarchy has engulfed the campus.’
In Massachusetts, a sign said Harvard Yard was closed to the public Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. ‘Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action,’ the sign said. Security guards were checking people for school IDs.
At Yale, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.
Protesters set up tents on Beinecke Plaza on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to end any investments in defense companies that do business with Israel.
Nadine Cubeisy, a Yale student and one of the protest’s organizers, said it was disturbing that ‘this university that I´m going to, that I contribute to and that my friends give money to is using that money to fund violence.’
In a statement to the campus community on Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said university officials had spoken to the student protesters multiple times about the school´s policies and guidelines, including those regarding speech and allowing access to campus spaces.
School officials said they spoke with protesters over several hours and gave them until the end of the weekend to leave Beinecke Plaza. The said they again warned protesters Monday morning and told them that they could face arrest and discipline, including suspension, before police moved in.
A large group of demonstrators regathered after Monday’s arrests at Yale and blocked a street near campus, said Bruckhart. There were no reports of any violence or injuries.
Last week, the University of Southern California took the unusual step of canceling a planned commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian, who had publicly supported Palestinians. The university cited security concerns in a decision that was praised by some pro-Israel groups but criticized by free-speech advocates.
Several students at Columbia and its sister school, Barnard College, said they were suspended for taking part in last week´s protests, including Barnard student Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
