Students Protest at Universities in US, France Against Israeli Genocide in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Student protesters occupied a Paris university campus and held rallies across US campuses demanding their institutions cut ties with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, facing pushback from authorities.
Authorities at the prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris called police to end a protest where around 60 students occupied part of the campus on Wednesday.
The protesters demanded the university "cut its ties with universities and companies that are complicit in the genocide in Gaza" and "end the repression of pro-Palestinian voices on campus."
Around 150 students gathered again on Thursday after the confrontation with police.
"The director has crossed a red line by deciding to send in the police," said Ines Fontenelle of the Sciences Po Student Union.
Union spokeswoman Eleonore Schmitt said students would continue mobilizing "despite repression."
The protests came amid Israel's military operation in Gaza since October 7 that has killed over 34,300 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,200 others.
The brutal military onslaught enjoys unreserved military and political support on the part of the Israeli regime’s Western allies, including the United States and France.
In the United States, student protesters held tent occupations from coast to coast, including at Columbia, Yale, Brown, the University of Michigan, MIT, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
The US students similarly demanded their universities cut ties with Israel and urged Washington to drop support for the Gaza campaign.
"The future belongs to the daring...Bold actions win support," a joint statement from Columbia and Yale protesters said.
"This is only the beginning...Pushing the university struggle to its limit might contribute...to producing a constellation of revolutionary forces in the city today," it added.
The statement advised occupying buildings "on campus, throughout the city, and across the country" to spread the campaign against the "war machine."
Pro-Palestinian academic activism has grown since the Israeli operation in Gaza began with US backing.
Washington has also vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
US authorities have cracked down, with 108 arrests at Emerson College in Boston, 93 at the University of Southern California, and 34 at the University of Texas.
