Columbia University Occupation Ends as Police Arrest Students Protesting Israel
The New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested dozens of protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, bringing an end to a two-week protest that had sparked similar demonstrations worldwide. The university’s administration sought police intervention after students barricaded themselves inside the iconic neoclassical Hamilton Hall, urging the institution to divest from companies linked to Israel.
With protestors chanting and waving Palestinian flags, police in riot gear surrounded the campus around 9 pm Eastern Time. Demonstrators compared the officers to the Ku Klux Klan and shouted chants taunting the police.
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The NYPD stormed the building, accessing it via a second-floor window. They used stun grenades as “distraction devices,” leading to the arrest of dozens. Protesters were restrained with cable ties and led onto buses while some continued to shout “Free Palestine.”
Columbia University justified the decision to call the NYPD, stating that the students had “escalated the situation.” Ben Chang, a university spokesman, noted that the institution had no choice after learning that Hamilton Hall had been “occupied, vandalized, and blockaded.” President Minouche Shafik emphasized the university’s commitment to political expression but stressed that protests must align with university policies to ensure safety.
The protest echoed previous demonstrations at Columbia University, such as those against the Vietnam War in 1968, and has since inspired similar movements across the US, UK, France, and Canada.
