NEW YORK.- Demonstrations against the war in Gaza ceased this week at a small number of universities in the United States after administrators reached agreements with pro-Palestinian protesters, thus avoiding possible interruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies.
The agreements reached at universities such as Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers stand out among the chaotic scenes and more than 2,400 arrests that have occurred on 46 campuses across the country since April 17. Encampments and building takeovers have disrupted classes at some universities, including Columbia and UCLA.
The agreements included commitments by universities to review their investments in Israel or listen to requests to stop doing business with this country. Many of the protesters’ demands have focused on ties to the Israeli military, as the war escalates in Gaza.
The agreements to at least discuss divestment represent a big step on an issue that has been controversial for years, since detractors of the boycott campaign against Israel they say borders on anti-Semitism. But while universities have made concessions on amnesty for protesters and funding for Middle East studies, they have not promised to change their investments.
“I think for some universities it may just be a delaying tactic to diffuse protests,” said Ralph Young, a history professor who studies American dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia. “The end of the semester is happening now. And there may be a ceasefire in Gaza by the time the next semester begins.”
Some university boards may not even vote on divestment from Israel, which can be a complicated process, Young explained. And some public universities have said they lack the authority to do so.
But Young said dialogue is a better tactic than arrests, which can inflame protesters.
Speaking out “at least gives protesters a sense that they are getting somewhere,” he said. “Whether they are getting anywhere or not is another question.”
Protesters at the University of Vermont scored a victory when the administration announced Friday that their commencement speaker, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, would no longer address graduates this month. The protesters, who set up camp on Sunday, had demanded that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s speech be removed from the upcoming ceremony because of her role in U.S. vetoes of multiple U.N. ceasefire resolutions.
Israel has labeled the protests anti-Semitic, while critics say Israel is using such accusations to silence the opposition. Although some protesters have been recorded uttering anti-Semitic comments or violent threats, protest organizers – some of whom are Jewish – consider it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest against the war.
University of California, Riverside administrators on Friday announced an agreement with protesters to close their campus encampment. The agreement included the formation of a working group to study the possibility of removing Riverside’s endowment funds from the management of the University of California’s overall system and investing them “in a manner that is financially and ethically sound for the university, taking into account take into account the companies that participate in the manufacture and distribution of weapons.”
The announcement marked a clear break with the policy of the 10-campus University of California system, which last week said it opposes “calls for a boycott and divestment from Israel.”
“Although the University affirms the right of members of our community to express diverse points of view, a boycott of this type affects the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the free exchange of ideas on our campuses,” the system said in a release. “University of California tuition and fees are the primary sources of funding for the basic operations of the university. None of these funds are used for investment purposes.”
Protesters at Rutgers University — where final exams were disrupted due to protests on its New Brunswick campus — also took down their tents Thursday afternoon. The state university promised to create an Arab Cultural Center and not to retaliate against the students who participated in the camp.
In a statement, Chancellor Francine Conway noted protesters’ calls for divestment from companies that do business with Israel and for Rutgers to sever ties with Tel Aviv University. She said the petition is being reviewed, but “such decisions fall outside our administrative purview.”
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to dismantle their encampment on Tuesday. School officials said students could make a case for divestment of Brown’s endowment from companies that contribute to and profit from the war in Gaza.
Source: With information from AP
