One pro-Palestine protestor was arrested on Sunday night after a new anti-Israel encampment was constructed at the University of Pittsburgh earlier that day.
The Office of Safety and Emergency Management at Pitt has confirmed on Sunday evening that the Cathedral of Learning remained “closed until further notice” on Monday due to “a protest in the vicinity” of the building.
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The anti-Israel encampment at Drexel University disbanded early on Thursday after President John Fry asked the Philadelphia Police Department to assist with clearing the protestors.
After Fry warned protestors the university planned to act shortly before 5 a.m., the encampment was reportedly cleared by noon, with law enforcement telling 6 ABC that protestors “picked up their belongings for the most part and left by their own free will,” and evidence suggested police would “be able to complete this operation without having to make any arrests, any use of force, anything of that nature.”
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The University of Tennessee Police Department (UTPD) confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating a complaint filed by one of the 11 pro-Palestine protestors arrested on the university’s campus on May 15 during an anti-Israel demonstration.
Yassin Terou confirmed he filed the complaint in a post to the social media platform X, where he appeared to claim his efforts are aimed at changing how UTPD treat protestors.
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Drexel University President John Fry said in a Saturday statement that harassment, intimidation and other antisocial behavior will not be tolerated following the formation of an anti-Israel encampment on the university’s campus.
An encampment was constructed on Saturday at the Philadelphia campus of Drexel. Those involved with the anti-Israel protest have reportedly claimed they intend to “keep it peaceful.”
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday argued Syracuse University should lose its federal funding after a man convicted of manslaughter was arrested at an anti-Israel encampment constructed on the university campus.
Eural Warren was arrested by the Syracuse University of Public Safety on Friday, according to The National Desk, after the outlet previously confirmed the convicted killer was staying at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the university despite officials declaring only students would be allowed access to the protest.Â
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Governor Josh Shapiro introduced updates on May 8 to his administration’s code of conduct that prohibits “scandalous or disgraceful” acts from state employees, a Tuesday Spotlight PA report revealed.
The report noted that Shapiro quietly signed an executive order that changed his administration’s code of conduct for all state employees amid intense public debate over the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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Police successfully removed another anti-Israel encampment from the University of Arizona (UA), university administrators confirmed on Friday.
University President Robert Robbins confirmed police dispersed the camp early on Friday after graduation events were “successfully held” on the UA campus in Tucson “without any incident on Thursday.”
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The University of Pennsylvania confirmed on Friday it called the Philadelphia Police Department to disperse the anti-Israel encampment constructed on its campus, declaring it a threat to public safety for students.
Signed by Interim President Larry Jameson, Provost John Jackson, and Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, the letter highlighted threats posed by the encampment to normal university operations, including commencement for graduating students.
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Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, estimated there are about 500 protesters who remain at at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
McCormick made the remarks following his visit to the Penn campus last week, telling The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show what he witnessed was a “disgrace” and a “travesty.”
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University of Pennsylvania protesters supporting the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the university declared the university’s administration “nefarious” as well as “antagonistic and ableist” on Monday ahead of a third meeting between organizers and the university administrators.
In a social media post directed at the university, issued jointly by Penn student protest groups Up Against the Occupation and Drexel Palestine Coalition, made the claims about the university following an update on the institution’s anti-Israel encampment by Interim President Larry Johnson.
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Emory University declared on Monday it will not hold its 2024 commencement ceremony on the university’s campus, instead relocating all events to the Gas South District in Duluth, Georgia amid the anti-Israel protests at the school.
University President Gregory Fenves confirmed the move in a Monday announcement to the university’s website, confirming Emory would hold its commencement despite protests, but nonetheless acknowledging “concerns about safety and security” prompted a total relocation of all commencement events.
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The Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate campaign released a Friday statement castigating U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his failure to condemn the antisemitic encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, deriding the Democrat for engaging a children’s television character on social media rather than condemn the anti-Israel protests.
McCormick’s campaign explained their challenge to Casey in response to “Casey’s continued silence on the antisemitic encampments rocking college campuses across Pennsylvania and the country.”
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State Senator Doug Mastriano on Thursday introduced legislation that would strip state funding from Pennsylvania colleges and universities that become a “safe harbor” for antisemitism in the months since the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.
Mastriano introduced SB 1185 in response to the “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests and encampments” his office noted “recently took root at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities that benefit from tax dollars.”
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Following his visit to the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick told The Pennsylvania Daily Star Thursday that he will urge senators to “revisit” federal support and tax breaks afforded to top schools if Pennsylvanians send him to Washington, D.C. in November.
McCormick noted that Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize many schools that boast anti-Israel encampments, either through federal funding or the “huge benefit” of an “enormous endowments” that remain tax exempt.
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The University of Arizona (UA) reportedly called police to clear protesters and disperse the anti-Israel encampment that formed on its Tucson campus, with authorities arresting demonstrators and clearing their debris just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday. University President Robert Robbins reportedly told police to “immediately enforce campus use policies and all corresponding laws without further warning” early on Wednesday morning, resulting in what Arizona’s Family described as multiple arrests “by authorities in riot gear” before the camp was cleared. Though it remains unclear how many protesters were arrested, the outlet reported “there were about 70 protesters inside the encampment and around 300 supporters outside the police line” prior to the police action. Ellie Wolfe, a higher education reporter for Arizona’s Daily Star, reported on the social media platform X that Robbins ordered police to end the protest at 2:02 a.m. PROTESTERS AND POLICE CLASH, ORDERED BY UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESIDENT ROBERT C ROBBINS pic.twitter.com/5M2NBQcGJP — Ellie Wolfe (@elliew0lfe) May 1, 2024 Wolfe later reported that demonstrators ultimately retreated from the encampment as officers followed them, and the tents were completely cleared by 2:50 a.m. Video that surfaced an hour earlier showed police attempting to gain access to the anti-Israel encampment,…
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn debunked a series of claims about Israel and Jewish students made by Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) after the Democrat claimed her rhetoric was “insanely dangerous” to anti-Israel protesters on college campuses.
Following a nationwide spate of anti-Israel encampments on university campuses, Blackburn posted to the social media platform X on Monday that students who have “promoted terrorism” or engaged in terrorist activities “on behalf of Hamas should be immediately added to the terrorist watch list and placed on the TSA No Fly List.”
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The president of Emory University on Monday acknowledged he was “not entirely accurate” in his reporting of the number of university “community” members who participated in an anti-Israel encampment last week.
Emory University President Gregory Fenves made the new remarks about the Thursday protest after Emory faculty members arranged a no confidence vote against him that will conclude on Friday.
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Activists who participated in the “Gaza Liberation Encampment” at Virginia Tech brought children to the ill-fated protest before dozens of protesters were arrested by police, suggests video posted to social media on Sunday.Â
One video that surfaced on the social media platform X on Sunday after police ordered protesters to leave the encampment included a child who led the protesters in a chant. The video was captioned to ask police whether they are scared by children.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin in a Sunday appearance on CNN pledged to protect the First Amendment on Virginia’s college campuses, but also vowed to keep Jewish students safe from “hate speech and intimidation” from anti-Israel protesters.
The governor stated during an appearance with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union that his administration will allow protesters to peacefully demonstrate against Israel while preventing the establishment of anti-Israel encampments and protecting the rights of Jewish students.
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Arizona State University (ASU) confirmed on Saturday a number of its students were among the 72 protesters arrested for the creation of an anti-Israel encampment on the school’s Tempe campus.
A university statement declared, “ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment Friday,” noting that such encampments are not allowed on the institution’s property.
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The Stop Cop City protesters who were present at the anti-Israel encampment at Emory University on Thursday previously raised money from more than 70,000 donors and used it to selectively bail alleged criminals out of jail, according to Georgia state prosecutors who targeted the group in a criminal racketeering case last year.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 individuals allegedly associated with Stop Cop City in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act case in September 2023. Carr alleges the activists are engaged in a criminal conspiracy to use violence in a bid to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which will be used to train Georgia police and firefighters.
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Arizona State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) told The Arizona Sun Times that he was “gratified” Governor Katie Hobbs signed his bill, HB 2178, into law Wednesday, enabling students to defund university clubs and organizations calling for genocide.
On Thursday, Kolodin told The Sun Times, “This is something that conservative organizations like Turning Point and my good friend Austin Smith have been working on for a number of years and it is a privilege to be the one to finally get it across the finish line. And it is especially meaningful to me, as a Jew, that we could finally address the grave injustice of Jewish students being forced to fund calls for their own genocide.”
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Students at Vanderbilt University staged a sit-in that led to arrests on Tuesday amid unrest over the institution’s refusal to allow the Student Government Senate to consider joining the anti-Zionist Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to isolate Israel.
Vanderbilt University graduate assistant Amar Latif Qazi told The Tennessee Star that the First Amendment rights of the university’s students were infringed after Vanderbilt refused to allow a vote following a petition, reportedly signed by 600 students, which sought to amend the Vanderbilt Student Government Constitution in order to join the BDS movement.
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne sent a letter on Tuesday demanding each school in Arizona provide evidence demonstrating compliance with a state law mandating students learn about the Holocaust by January 24.
Horne notified schools via email to “report us by close of business” on January 24 “what you are doing to implement ARS Section 15-701.2 regarding instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides,” and for schools to “indicate how much time is devoted to the subject and what you use for curriculum.”
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Harvard University students sued the university Wednesday over alleged antisemitism on campus.
Harvard University has come under fire for alleged antisemitic incidents on campus, including pro-Palestinian protests that use anti-Israel slogans and the reported mobbing of a Jewish student. The students filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and accused the university of selectively applying its policies on discrimination and allowing Jews to be discriminated against on campus, according to court filings.
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