Multiple Yale Anti-Israel Protesters Arrested as Police Close in on Occupation

Multiple Yale Anti-Israel Protesters Arrested as Police Close in on Occupation
Multiple Yale Anti-Israel protesters arrested as police end occupation. Read the full details on the unfolding situation here.

In the early hours of Monday morning, police began removing anti-Israel protesters from an encampment on Yale University’s campus after a week of protests calling for the university to divest from military weapon manufacturers. Between 40 and 45 protesters were arrested as police searched through tents set up in the encampment near Beinecke Plaza, where more than 250 agitators had gathered the previous night. The removal of protesters at Yale comes just days after a similar situation at Columbia University in New York City, where at least 108 anti-Israel agitators were arrested as police broke up their encampment.
Protests Erupt Across College Campuses
These demonstrations have exploded across college campuses in recent months, protesting Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which is a reaction to Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel that saw 1,200 people killed and around 240 taken hostage. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry claims the war has killed at least 34,097 Palestinians and wounded another 76,980, though Israel disputes these figures.
In a letter to Yale President Peter Salovey, protesters demanded the university divest from all weapons manufacturing companies contributing to the Israeli assault, stating, “Our existence in this University and this country are ones defined by necropolitics. Our lives here exist as they do because of the investment in the deaths of Palestinians by Yale and the US government.”
On Sunday evening, after an 8-day hunger strike, the Hunger Strikers for Palestine announced on Instagram that they had ended their strike. The strikers, consisting of at least 12 graduate students and two undergraduates, lost an average of 8% of their body weight, with some losing up to 16 pounds. While the strike has ended, participants affirmed their continued insistence that Yale divest from weapons manufacturers and “end its complicity in the genocide of Palestinian people.”

Journalist Assaulted During Protests

In a separate incident during the protests, Sahar Tartak, editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag while covering the demonstration. Tartak, who was wearing Hasidic Jewish attire, was surrounded by demonstrators who interfered with her filming. Despite reporting the assault to campus police, Tartak was told there was nothing they could do.
Yale officials have stated that the university’s police department is investigating the assault and that the school tolerates no violence on its campus. University President Peter Salovey echoed this sentiment, saying, “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities.”
University Response and Future Implications
The protesters, some of whom are students according to organizers, were charged with trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor, and will be released once processed. As police cleared the camp, a group of more than 350 demonstrators blocked the intersection of Grove and College Streets, holding “Free Palestine” signs and singing, “From Yale to Columbia, we will not be moved.”
As tensions continue to rise on college campuses across the country, it remains to be seen how universities will respond to the growing demands for divestment from companies associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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