Anti-Israel protests increase at universities around the country: Harvard and Yale were the protagonists this weekend
Pro-Hamas student camps continue to be set up under the slogan, "We flay for Palestine."
![Manifestantes antiisraelíes de la Universidad de Harvard y el Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts (MIT)](https://imagenes.voz.us/files/image_large/uploads/2024/06/18/66717ca5f37a4.jpeg)
(Joseph Prezioso / AFP)
Anti-Israel protests continue at various universities around the country. The Harvard and Yale campuses continue to be in the news due to the constant pro-Hamas demonstrations at these universities.
Anti-Israel groups waved a Palestinian flag at the Ivy League school at Harvard, specifically in a spot reserved for the American flag, as radical students continued to occupy the campus while chanting, "Free, free Palestine," and "We flay for Palestine."
Similar scenes have played out on college campuses across the United States, including Columbia University in New York and other Ivy League universities. More than 200 protesters set up about 45 tents on the green area of Yale Field. According to the Yale Daily News, the Police Department is still evaluating how to proceed.
In addition to these two important universities, the California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, this Sunday, April 28, condemned the "lawless behavior" of the Israeli protesters.
As reported by Fox News, pro-Hamas groups took over two academic buildings at the university. They renamed them "Intifada Hall," forcing the university to close for the rest of the semester.
The university said its problem was not the protest itself but the "ongoing unlawful occupation of campus buildings by students and non-students" that included "criminal acts" such as "vandalism, theft, destruction of state property and intimidation of University employees."
The same protest style was revived this Sunday in front of the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. A group of students marched to set up a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment."
Meanwhile, the University of South Florida said it is preparing to take action against protesters who have taken over the campus.
Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications at the university, told the Daily Trojan that the campus has been continually vandalized.
"Despite repeated warnings, this group has also continued to disrupt our campus operations and harass students and others, in violation of numerous university policies," he said. "While the university fully supports freedom of expression, these acts of vandalism and harassment are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he added.
He warned, "We are hoping for a more reasonable response Sunday before we are forced to take further action."
"Universities consent to the protesters"
David M. Friedman, former United States ambassador to Israel, published a message on his social media in which he criticized the presidents of the various universities that have allowed the anti-Israel protests and called for an ultimatum to be given to the pro-Hamas students.
"Could just one Ivy League president make the following statement to his or her students?" said Friedman. "Those of you who believe that rape, torture, kidnapping and murder of innocent civilians is a legitimate response to Hamas' perceived grievances in Gaza are no longer welcome at our university. Your values are just too inconsistent with ours. Accordingly, please make plans to permanently leave our campus at the end of the semester," he said on his X account.