By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - More than 130 people were arrested at New York University (NYU) overnight during pro-Palestinian protests that have been spreading to more college campuses as administrators continue to crack down, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said Tuesday.
Dozens of demonstrators had gathered at an encampment on NYU's campus Monday in Manhattan. An NYPD spokesperson said 133 were taken into custody, but were released on criminal court summonses, meaning they promised to later appear in court.
Protests against Israel's war against Gaza have intensified on college campuses after Columbia University, also in Manhattan, ordered the NYPD last week to arrest demonstrators staging a sit-in on a college lawn. More than 100 people were arrested last Thursday.
The action has largely invigorated antiwar demonstrators as protests have spread to other campuses including Yale and NYU, and has done little to quell criticism from those who say university leaders are not doing enough to provide campus security, particularly for Jewish students.
All 10 New York Republicans in the US House of Representatives urged Columbia President Minouche Shafik to step down Monday. The conservative lawmakers said in a letter to Shafik that "anarchy has engulfed" the school's Manhattan campus, and accused Shafik of failing to provide students with "a safe learning environment."
Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip has displaced more than 75% of the coastal enclave's estimated 2.3 million residents, and resulted in over 34,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials. Israel has also targeted Gaza's places of higher education with all of its 12 major universities being destroyed.
The UN's Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) has separately reported mass destruction at the sprawling network of schools it operates in the coastal enclave.
Demonstrators are demanding that universities divest from Israel-linked firms, and condemn Israel's assault on Gaza. Counter-protesters in support of Israel have said the protests veer into antisemitism and make Jewish students feel unsafe.