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Hundreds of students at American universities have been arrested for protesting Israel's war in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the demonstrations are a hallmark of American democracy, but criticized the students for their silence on Hamas.
More than a week has passed since the police began to remove the pro-Palestinian students protesting at Columbia University in New York, who had set up tents on a lawn of this campus. But the protests have expanded to other universities across the country.
"We are students with different identities and backgrounds and we have gathered here to stand on the side of the law and oppose the genocide," says Malak Afaneh, a law student at Berkeley University.
Police have arrested hundreds of protesters on various university campuses. The students' anger is related to what they say is Washington's support for the war in Gaza and their schools' financial and academic ties to Israel and arms manufacturers.
"We have a university that is actively investing money in companies that are helping to fuel war, to kill innocent people. This is something that I morally can no longer accept," says a student of Jewish descent from Georgetown University, who did not identify herself to VOA, due to concerns about her safety. In general, protests are peaceful, even counter-protests.
But some songs have been called anti-Semitic, like this one that refers to Palestinian claims to all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", some students sang.
Protests are a hallmark of American democracy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, criticizing the students for some of their attitudes.
"It is also obvious that they are not talking about Hamas. As if it wasn't even part of what happened. But, as I have said repeatedly, the way Israel chooses to ensure that October 7 does not happen again matters," he said.
The protests have raised tensions between the US and Israel, a close ally. Confronting protesters in his home country earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the American student demonstrations were "terrible and must be stopped."
"Anti-Semitic mobs have occupied major universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculties. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s," he said.
Mr. Netanyahu's comments prompted Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to call university administrators to testify, accusing them of allowing campuses to be hotbeds of anti-Semitism.
"It is time for the National Guard to act. We must establish order in these campuses," he said.
The White House said the decision to call in the National Guard to remove protesters rests with state governors. Meanwhile, the number of casualties in Gaza is increasing and there is no sign that the war between Israel and Hamas will end soon. / VOA
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