Reactions to the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses#Organizations

File:Columbia reinstated Gaza Solidarity Encampment Palestinian flags.jpg at Columbia University, 21 April 2024]]

{{Excerpt|2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses|only=paragraphs|paragraphs=1-2}}

Most universities that faced encampment protests in the spring attempted to negotiate a settlement and disbandment of the encampments with student leaders, often threatening police sweeps to force an agreement. In some cases, the end of the school year allowed administrators to reverse course on agreements they had negotiated, such as at the University of Oregon, Northwestern, and Rutgers New Brunswick.{{Cite web |title=After the Encampments |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/after-the-encampments-gaza-university-divestment |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Jewish Currents |language=en}} Many universities initially initiated disciplinary proceedings against protesters, accusing them of breaking student codes of conduct.{{Cite news |last1=Meckler |first1=Laura |last2=Natanson |first2=Hannah |date=May 15, 2024 |title=Massive pro-Palestinian college protests bring rare surge in discipline |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/06/college-protests-suspensions-expulsion-arrests/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

Students at New York University (NYU) were required to write "coerced confessions of wrongdoing" in order to have disciplinary charges against them dropped.{{Cite news |last=Mahdawi |first=Arwa |date=May 22, 2024 |title=Why is New York University making protesters watch The Simpsons as punishment? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/22/new-york-university-student-protesters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530151333/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/22/new-york-university-student-protesters |archive-date=May 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Graduate student Dan Zeno was among more than 20 students Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suspended for participating in the protests. He was evicted from campus housing along with his wife and daughter. Some students who faced suspensions were banned from campus and were unable to take their final exams.{{Cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Shelley |last2=Coultoff |first2=Alexa |last3=Khaw |first3=Maddie |title=Suspended MIT and Harvard protesters barred from graduation, evicted from campus housing |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/12/metro/mit-encampment-protesters-suspended/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521041642/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/12/metro/mit-encampment-protesters-suspended/ |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}} UC Santa Cruz officials issued two-week campus bans to many of the 110 protesters arrested during a campus demonstration in May, leaving them without housing and access to campus resources.{{Cite web |last=DeBenedetti |first=Katie |date=September 10, 2024 |title=UC Santa Cruz Students, Professor Sue Over Campus Bans After Pro-Palestinian Protest {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/12003855/uc-santa-cruz-students-professor-sue-over-campus-bans-after-pro-palestinian-protest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911014646/https://www.kqed.org/news/12003855/uc-santa-cruz-students-professor-sue-over-campus-bans-after-pro-palestinian-protest |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=kqed.org |language=en}} The City College of New York shut down its community food pantry in response to protests.{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Erik |date=July 11, 2024 |title=The Fortress University |url=https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-fortress-university/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926202253/https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-fortress-university/ |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=The Drift |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=DatelineCUNY |date=May 20, 2024 |title=City College Closes Community Food Pantry |url=https://datelinecuny.com/2024/05/city-college-closes-community-food-pantry/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616071830/https://datelinecuny.com/2024/05/city-college-closes-community-food-pantry/ |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Dateline: CUNY |language=en-US}} In Greece, nine protesters from European countries were arrested at the Athens University Law School and faced deportation in May.{{Cite web |last=Fallon |first=Katy |date=May 27, 2024 |title='Audacious, outrageous': Gaza protesters slam Greek deportation order |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/27/audacious-outrageous-gaza-protesters-slam-greek-deportation-order |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530151332/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/27/audacious-outrageous-gaza-protesters-slam-greek-deportation-order |archive-date=May 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-27 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

File:Uclaspeechban.png

As students returned to campus in fall 2024 after a wave of protests in the spring, many universities strengthened their restrictions on student protests and political activities, including limits on where and when protests could occur, and prohibitions on student encampments.{{cite web |last1=Taft |first1=Isabelle |title=How Colleges Are Changing Their Rules on Protesting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/us/college-protest-rules.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915070658/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/us/college-protest-rules.html |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |access-date=September 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times|date=September 12, 2024 }} More than 100 colleges and university systems tightened their rules about protests on their property. Several schools banned camping on their grounds, required protesters to register with the administration in advance of any demonstrations, and banned the wearing of masks.{{Cite web |last=Hurwitz |first=Sophie |title=New university rules crack down on Gaza protests |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/09/new-university-rules-crack-down-on-gaza-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914015332/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/09/new-university-rules-crack-down-on-gaza-protests/ |archive-date=September 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}

Cornell professor Risa Lieberwitz called the nationwide trend toward increased restrictions on campus protests "a resurgence of repression on campuses that we haven't seen since the late 1960s".{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2024 |title=US colleges revise rules on free speech in hopes of containing anti-war demonstrations |url=https://apnews.com/article/campus-protests-gaza-israel-hamas-war-columbia-b2321b9626e4a824f47cfce6b680e6d9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914015331/https://apnews.com/article/campus-protests-gaza-israel-hamas-war-columbia-b2321b9626e4a824f47cfce6b680e6d9 |archive-date=September 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-14 |language=en |work=Associated Press News}} Case Western Reserve University limited permitted demonstrations to two hours during the daytime in a single location.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Tovia |date=August 12, 2024 |title=With a new semester, colleges brace for more antiwar protests from students |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/08/12/g-s1-15989/campus-protest-students-palestinian-israel-hamas-school-semester |publisher=NPR}} The Middle East Studies Association said that although it was not compelled by a subpoena to do so, the University of Pennsylvania had turned over the CVs and syllabi of two professors to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and may also have given the committee access to their email and course communications.{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2024 |title=Middle East Studies Association |url=https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2024/08/26/letter-to-the-university-of-pennsylvania-denouncing-its-collaboration-with-the-house-committee-on-education-and-the-workforces-investigation-of-faculty-members |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831133551/https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2024/08/26/letter-to-the-university-of-pennsylvania-denouncing-its-collaboration-with-the-house-committee-on-education-and-the-workforces-investigation-of-faculty-members |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-31 |publisher=Middle East Studies Association |language=en}}

Harvard updated its policy to prohibit overnight camping, chalk, and unapproved signs or displays.{{Cite web |date=August 27, 2024 |title=Hillel and SCN launch new campus security initiative to protect Jewish students |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-816541 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831133550/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-816541 |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}} Indiana University (IU) updated its policies on August 1, prohibiting all "expressive activity" between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The American Civil Liberties Union sued IU over this policy, calling it "overly broad".{{Cite web |last=Rosenzweig |first=Brian |title=ACLU sues Indiana University for "overly broad" restrictions on free speech |url=https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/education/campus/2024/08/31/aclu-sues-indiana-university-for-broad-expressive-activities-policy/75014706007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831133550/https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/education/campus/2024/08/31/aclu-sues-indiana-university-for-broad-expressive-activities-policy/75014706007/ |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=The Herald-Times |language=en-US}} NYU updated its nondiscrimination policy to prohibit criticism of Zionism, classifying it as a protected category.{{Cite web |last=Lennard |first=Natasha |date=August 27, 2024 |title=College Administrators Spent Summer Break Dreaming Up Ways to Squash Gaza Protests |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/08/27/zionist-nyu-gaza-campus-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831133550/https://theintercept.com/2024/08/27/zionist-nyu-gaza-campus-protests/ |archive-date=August 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}} Columbia classified the use of the term "Zionist" to refer to Israelis or Jews as a form of harassment.{{Cite web |last=Nechin |first=Etan |date=September 24, 2024 |title=Columbia University Updates Guidelines: 'Zionist' as a Pejorative Term Classified as Harassment |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-09-24/ty-article/.premium/columbia-university-updates-guidelines-zionist-as-a-pejorative-classified-as-harassment/00000192-246a-d815-a393-7e7e6c1a0000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927194313/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-09-24/ty-article/.premium/columbia-university-updates-guidelines-zionist-as-a-pejorative-classified-as-harassment/00000192-246a-d815-a393-7e7e6c1a0000 |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |access-date=September 28, 2024 |website=Haaretz}} At Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, students who used bullhorns during their protest faced expulsion from the university due to a new policy against "loud chanting".{{cite web |last1=Lennard |first1=Natasha |date=October 22, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestine Students Face Expulsion for Using a Bullhorn |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/10/22/swarthmore-protest-palestine-expulsion-bullhorn/ |access-date=October 29, 2024 |website=The Intercept}}

In August 2024, Carnegie Mellon University updated its policy to require protests, rallies, and other expressive events of more than 25 people to register the participants' names with the university in advance.{{Cite web |last=Schackner |first=Bill |date=August 26, 2024 |title=Carnegie Mellon restricts protests, demonstrations in updated policy |url=https://triblive.com/news/carnegie-mellon-restricts-protests-demonstrations-in-updated-policy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901201630/https://triblive.com/news/carnegie-mellon-restricts-protests-demonstrations-in-updated-policy/ |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=TribLIVE.com |language=en-US}} Columbia suspended its due-process procedures for student discipline, notifying several dozen students charged with disciplinary infractions that scheduled interviews related to their cases were to be skipped and they would be fast-tracked into conduct hearings. This came after renewed congressional pressure and a subpoena on university records related to the protests.{{Cite web |last=Valdez |first=Jonah |date=August 29, 2024 |title=Columbia Cuts Due Process for Student Protesters After Congress Demands Harsher Punishment |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/08/29/columbia-campus-protests-gaza-subpoena/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901090136/https://theintercept.com/2024/08/29/columbia-campus-protests-gaza-subpoena/ |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}} University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) introduced new regulations on campus protests that restrict "public expression activities" to areas around Bruinwalk and outside Murphy Hall. The new restrictions also banned tents and camping equipment, food distribution, amplified sound, and chalk, and require people on campus to identify themselves when asked to do so by a university official.{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Shiv |date=September 4, 2024 |title=UCLA announces new Time, Place and Manner policies, limits public expression areas |url=https://dailybruin.com/2024/09/04/ucla-announces-new-time-place-and-manner-policies-limits-public-expression-areas |website=Daily Bruin}} Ahead of the fall semester, the University of California and California State University systems instituted broad new policies prohibiting encampments, barricades, overnight encampments, disguises, disruptions and restrictions on free movement.{{Cite web |last=Spitalniak |first=Laura |title=University of California and Cal State tighten protest rules ahead of fall term |url=https://www.highereddive.com/news/university-of-california-cal-state-tighten-protest-policies-fall-semester/724767/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825150737/https://www.highereddive.com/news/university-of-california-cal-state-tighten-protest-policies-fall-semester/724767/ |archive-date=2024-08-25 |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Higher Ed Dive |language=en-US}}

In September 2024, the University of Vermont's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine sued the school after an interim suspension of the group continued into its fifth month.{{Cite web |last=D'Auria |first=Peter |date=September 10, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian student group sues UVM over suspension during spring protests |url=https://vtdigger.org/2024/09/10/pro-palestinian-student-group-sues-uvm-over-suspension-during-spring-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911011811/https://vtdigger.org/2024/09/10/pro-palestinian-student-group-sues-uvm-over-suspension-during-spring-protests/ |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=VTDigger |language=en-US}} At Cornell, a graduate student with U.K. citizenship was suspended without due process and threatened with deportation for participating in a demonstration outside Statler Hotel, where a job fair that included recruiters from weapons manufacturing companies was being held.{{Cite magazine |last=Klee |first=Miles |date=September 26, 2024 |title=Cornell Grad Student Who Attended Pro-Palestine Protest Could Be Forced to Leave U.S. |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/cornell-protest-palestine-immigration-1235112444/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927002447/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/cornell-protest-palestine-immigration-1235112444/ |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-26 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} Maura Finkelstein became the first tenured Muhlenberg College professor to be fired over pro-Palestinian speech (tenured professor Sami Al-Arian had been fired in 2003, and scholar Steven Salaita in 2014). Finkelstein, who is Jewish, shared an Instagram post by Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi calling for the shunning of Zionist ideology and its supporters with "Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. .. Don't normalize Zionism. Don't normalize Zionists taking up space." The college determined that she had violated its equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies.{{Cite web |last=Kanazi |first=Remi |author-link=Remi Kanazi |date=January 17, 2024 |title=Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. |url=https://x.com/Remroum/status/1747449373829562835 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212185307/https://x.com/Remroum/status/1747449373829562835 |archive-date=December 12, 2024 |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=X}}{{Cite web |last=Lennard |first=Natasha |date=September 26, 2024 |title=Meet the First Tenured Professor to Be Fired for Pro-Palestine Speech |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/09/26/tenured-professor-fired-palestine-israel-zionism/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}

In October 2024, The University of Michigan's governing board coordinated with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to file charges against pro-Palestinian protesters after local prosecutors proved unwilling to crack down. Campaign contributions and business relationships between Nessel and University of Michigan regents raised concerns over conflicts of interest in the prosecutions, as did contributions by pro-Israel lobbyists to Nessel's election campaigns.{{Cite news |last=Perkins |first=Tom |date=October 24, 2024 |title=University of Michigan recruits state attorney general to crack down on Gaza protesters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/24/michigan-attorney-general-dana-nessel-campus-gaza-protests |access-date=2024-10-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

The Hillel Foundation announced a partnership at over 50 campuses with the Secure Community Network called Operation Secure our Campuses, offering "full-time intelligence analysts [to] monitor campus developments and provide information and real-time support." At the University of Toronto, patrol teams with Magen Herut Canada monitored a pro-Palestinian protest.{{Cite web |date=September 8, 2024 |title=Patrol teams show up at University of Toronto to protect Jewish students |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/09/08/safety-patrol-teams-show-up-at-university-of-toronto-to-protect-jewish-students-as-the-school-year-begins/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908222224/https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/09/08/safety-patrol-teams-show-up-at-university-of-toronto-to-protect-jewish-students-as-the-school-year-begins/ |archive-date=2024-09-08 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=CityNews Toronto}} At Yale College, the Women's Center was notified that it would be required to adopt a policy of "broad neutrality" after the center was forced to indefinitely postpone an event titled "Pinkwashing and Feminism(s) in Gaza" due to fear of administrative disciplinary action.{{cite web |last1=Moses |first1=Nora |date=October 15, 2024 |title=Yale College admin direct Women's Center to institute policy of "broad neutrality" |url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/10/15/yale-college-admin-direct-womens-center-to-institute-policy-of-broad-neutrality/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208092806/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/10/15/yale-college-admin-direct-womens-center-to-institute-policy-of-broad-neutrality/ |archive-date=December 8, 2024 |access-date=October 19, 2024 |website=Yale Daily News}} At UC Berkeley, law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky wrote an opinion piece comparing antiwar protesters to the KKK. The board of the Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy condemned Chemerinsky's comparison, calling it "careless and intentionally inflammatory".{{cite web |date=October 25, 2024 |title='Hypocritical and insulting': Black and Jewish students at Berkeley Law say Dean Chemerinsky uses them as props to vilify Palestine Solidarity Movement |url=https://www.dailycal.org/opinion/op-eds/hypocritical-and-insulting-black-and-jewish-students-at-berkeley-law-say-dean-chemerinsky-uses-them/article_9cbe4ccc-9299-11ef-bec1-83f03a661cc9.html |access-date=October 30, 2024 |website=The Daily Californian}}

File:LetThemPray April 25 2024 OSU.webm South Oval to arrest protesters while Muslim students are praying. Protesters chant "let them pray," April 25, 2024.]]

Police departments in the U.S. employed a range of tactics, including dispersing crowds using horses and police in riot gear, deploying pepper balls,{{Cite web |last=Andone |first=Dakin |date=April 28, 2024 |title=How universities are cracking down on a swell of tension months into student protests over Israel's bombardment of Gaza |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/us/student-protests-universities-israel-gaza/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429063233/https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/us/student-protests-universities-israel-gaza/index.html |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-28 |publisher=CNN |language=en}} using tasers,{{Cite web |date=April 28, 2024 |title=Hundreds of university students arrested in US as Gaza war protests spread |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/28/hundreds-of-university-students-arrested-in-us-as-gaza-war-protests-spread |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428123949/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/28/hundreds-of-university-students-arrested-in-us-as-gaza-war-protests-spread |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-28 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian protests continue across US college campuses |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/columbia-university-drops-deadline-for-dismantling-pro-palestinian-protest-camp-/7585943.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507093451/https://www.voanews.com/a/columbia-university-drops-deadline-for-dismantling-pro-palestinian-protest-camp-/7585943.html |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Voice of America |language=en}} mass arrests,{{Cite news |last=Matza |first=Max |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Major Gaza protests at US universities |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68901927 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428121524/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68901927 |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-28 |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=College protests updates: Police crackdown leads to hundreds of arrests |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/college-protests-palestinian-israel-gaza/nyu-students-set-up-new-encampment-days-after-over-130-students-faculty-arrested-109718501?id=109588144 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521041643/https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/college-protests-palestinian-israel-gaza/nyu-students-set-up-new-encampment-days-after-over-130-students-faculty-arrested-109718501?id=109588144 |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |publisher=ABC News |language=en |location=United States}} tear gas, clearing unauthorized encampments, and beating both students and professors.{{cite web |last1=Fayyad |first1=Abdallah |date=May 3, 2024 |title=The lessons from colleges that didn't call the police |url=https://www.vox.com/24147461/columbia-gaza-encampment-campus-protests-police-crackdown-pro-palestinian-students |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504184652/https://www.vox.com/24147461/columbia-gaza-encampment-campus-protests-police-crackdown-pro-palestinian-students |archive-date=May 4, 2024 |access-date=May 4, 2024 |website=Vox}} According to student newspaper The Lantern, state troopers with "long-range firearms" were also deployed at Ohio State University.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Adrianna |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Lantern confirms officers on Ohio Union's roof had firearms once arrests began |url=https://www.thelantern.com/2024/04/university-says-officers-had-readied-firearms-directed-toward-protesters-from-ohio-unions-roof-once-arrests-began/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426213935/https://www.thelantern.com/2024/04/university-says-officers-had-readied-firearms-directed-toward-protesters-from-ohio-unions-roof-once-arrests-began/ |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Lantern |language=en-US}} Over 3,100 protesters were arrested in the U.S.{{Cite news |last1=Taft |first1=Isabelle |last2=Lemonides |first2=Alex |last3=Gamio |first3=Lazaro |last4=Betts |first4=Anna |date=July 21, 2024 |title=Campus Protests Led to More Than 3,100 Arrests, but Many Charges Have Been Dropped |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/campus-protests-arrests.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721103633/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/campus-protests-arrests.html |archive-date=2024-07-21 |access-date=2024-07-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Police assaulted, arrested and restricted access for some journalists while they were covering the protests.{{cite web |last1=Gold |first1=Hadas |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Student journalists assaulted and others arrested as protests on college campuses turn violent |url=https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-gaza-05-01-24/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501064128/https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-gaza-05-01-24/index.html |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=May 1, 2024 |publisher=CNN}} Police used force when arresting faculty who were taking part in or observing the protests, including the former chair of Dartmouth College's Jewish studies department, who was slammed to the ground while "in a line of women faculty in their 60s to 80s trying to protect our students", and two members of the faculty at Emory University, one of whom was charged with battery after being "violently arrested" on video.{{Cite web |last=Lapin |first=Andrew |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Jewish professor at Dartmouth thrown to the ground by police as 90 pro-Palestinian protesters are arrested |url=https://www.jta.org/2024/05/02/united-states/90-pro-palestinian-protesters-arrested-at-dartmouth-college-that-drew-rare-kudos-for-its-oct-7-response |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510072204/https://www.jta.org/2024/05/02/united-states/90-pro-palestinian-protesters-arrested-at-dartmouth-college-that-drew-rare-kudos-for-its-oct-7-response |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |language=en-US |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}{{Cite news |last=Neath |first=Amelia |date=April 29, 2024 |title=Professor charged after she was 'violently arrested' in pro-Palestine protests caught on video |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/professor-emory-university-arrest-protest-b2536574.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518064442/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/professor-emory-university-arrest-protest-b2536574.html |archive-date=May 18, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |work=The Independent |language=en}}

On June 10, UCLA police severely wounded a student with a non-lethal projectile, giving him a heart contusion and a bruised lung. In September, UCLA police sought approval to double their stockpile of pepper balls and sponge rounds and obtain eight new projectile launchers and three drones.{{Cite web |last=Watanbe |first=Teresa |date=September 19, 2024 |title=UC police seek approval for more pepper balls, sponge rounds, launchers, drones |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-09-19/pepper-balls-sponge-rounds-launchers-drones-uc-police-ask-for-these-weapons |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240925224635/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-09-19/pepper-balls-sponge-rounds-launchers-drones-uc-police-ask-for-these-weapons |archive-date=September 25, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} In October, Penn Police raided the off-campus home of pro-Palestinian student protesters, saying they were executing a search warrant related to vandalism. Student organizers said rifles and handguns were pointed at them during the raid, and that police refused to tell them their badge numbers or show their warrant.{{Cite web |last=Scolnick |first=Emily |title=Penn executes search warrant at alleged residence of pro-Palestinian activists |url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/10/penn-police-off-campus-raid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112115601/https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/10/penn-police-off-campus-raid |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=thedp.com |language=en-us}}

According to Erik Baker, the most severe crackdowns on campus protests took place at "wealthy schools ... that have been in long-running and occasionally violent conflict with the working-class communities of color that border them", such as the University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis, The University of Southern California, and Columbia.

A report by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project found that police interventions at U.S. student protests linked to conflict issues surged fourfold in April. Authorities notably increased arrests and forcible dispersals, especially at protests where there were counter-demonstrators. Nonetheless, at events where student protesters were unchallenged, the police were more likely to act against pro-Palestine rallies, doing so over four times more often than against pro-Israel ones.{{Cite web |last1=Ho |first1=Bianca |last2=Doyle |first2=Kieran |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestine US Student protests nearly triple in April |url=https://acleddata.com/2024/05/02/pro-palestine-us-student-protests-nearly-triple-in-april-acled-brief/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505003713/https://acleddata.com/2024/05/02/pro-palestine-us-student-protests-nearly-triple-in-april-acled-brief/ |archive-date=May 5, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Beckett |first=Lois |date=May 10, 2024 |title=Nearly all Gaza campus protests in the US have been peaceful, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/10/peaceful-pro-palestinian-campus-protests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513040956/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/10/peaceful-pro-palestinian-campus-protests |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Police repression of protesters, particularly in the U.S., has been characterized as unusually harsh.{{Cite web |last=Lennard |first=Natasha |date=May 1, 2024 |title=I've Covered Violent Crackdowns on Protests for 15 Years. This Police Overreaction Was Unhinged. |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503095222/https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/ |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2024 |title=UN expert raises alarm over unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian student protesters in US {{!}} UN News |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149616 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512125756/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149616 |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-21 |publisher=United Nations |language=en}}

The New York Times reported that though more than 3,000 student protesters were arrested across the U.S., most charges were dropped,{{Cite news |last1=Taft |first1=Isabelle |last2=Lemonides |first2=Alex |last3=Gamio |first3=Lazaro |last4=Betts |first4=Anna |date=July 21, 2024 |title=Campus Protests Led to More Than 3,100 Arrests, but Many Charges Have Been Dropped |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/campus-protests-arrests.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721103633/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/campus-protests-arrests.html |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} and the vast majority of charges were misdemeanors or lower offenses.{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2024 |title=For college students arrested protesting the war in Gaza, the fallout was only beginning |url=https://apnews.com/article/college-protest-israel-hamas-war-arrest-charges-7cb75debddc2e8bd795d16515d07de09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802161724/https://apnews.com/article/college-protest-israel-hamas-war-arrest-charges-7cb75debddc2e8bd795d16515d07de09 |archive-date=August 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-02 |language=en |work=Associated Press News}} Prosecutors usually either decided to prioritize other cases or calculated that jurors would be receptive to First Amendment arguments. Students who had charges dropped often faced significant academic consequences, such as suspension or withheld diplomas. Schools with hundreds of arrests often had students waiting for cases to resolve.

A number of influential business leaders, including Daniel Lubetzky, Daniel Loeb, Len Blavatnik, Joseph Sitt, Howard Schultz, Michael Dell, Bill Ackman, Joshua Kushner, Ted Deutch and Yakir Gabay coordinated an effort in a WhatsApp group chat to urge Mayor Adams to crack down on the encampment at Columbia. They offered to pay for private investigators to assist police, and made donations to Adams's 2025 campaign.{{Cite news |last1=Natanson |first1=Hannah |last2=Felton |first2=Emmanuel |date=May 17, 2024 |title=Business titans privately urged NYC mayor to use police on Columbia protesters, chats show |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/16/business-leaders-chat-group-eric-adams-columbia-protesters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516193512/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/16/business-leaders-chat-group-eric-adams-columbia-protesters/ |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-27 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

=== Australia ===

The Group of Eight, of which the universities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Monash and ANU are part, has sought legal advice on using terms such as "intifada" and "from the river to the sea", and has said it would ban those phrases if given definitive legal advice that they are unlawful. It said such phrases are "deeply offensive to many in the Jewish community". It sent a letter to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus asking for legal advice on whether these phrases violate Commonwealth law.{{Cite web |last=Crowe |first=David |date=May 9, 2024 |title=University chiefs seek federal advice on 'intifada' calls |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/university-chiefs-seek-federal-advice-on-intifada-calls-20240509-p5igpy.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510101641/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/university-chiefs-seek-federal-advice-on-intifada-calls-20240509-p5igpy.html |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} Dreyfus wrote back that he does not give legal advice, noting the universities were taking external legal advice. He added that Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 "makes it a civil offence to do a public act that is reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate people because of their race, colour or national or ethnic origins. A person aggrieved by an alleged act of racial discrimination can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission". Sydney and Monash urged students not to use the phrases, but stopped short of banning them.{{Cite web |last=Massola |first=James |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Sydney, Monash unis warn students as Dreyfus refuses legal advice |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sydney-monash-unis-warn-students-as-dreyfus-refuses-legal-advice-20240509-p5isu7.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510101629/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sydney-monash-unis-warn-students-as-dreyfus-refuses-legal-advice-20240509-p5isu7.html |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

Jewish staff and students at the University of Queensland created an alternative Camp Shalom in the Great Court. which ran from 29 April to 10 May.{{Cite web |last=Mendels |first=Yonatan |date=30 May 2024 |title=Camp Shalom: a Jewish response to pro-Palestinian encampments - The Jewish Independent |url=https://thejewishindependent.com.au/camp-shalom-a-response-to-pro-palestinian-encampments |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=thejewishindependent.com.au |language=en}}

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has raised concerns that protests could become violent, like they have in the US. He said he is meeting with university security. He said the police do not want the "existing tension" and that universities must consider "how much more risk they're accepting by allowing these encampments to continue".{{Cite web |last=Grace |first=Robyn |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Warning as universities refuse police help with pro-Palestine camps |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/warning-as-universities-refuse-police-help-with-pro-palestine-camps-20240509-p5ir1p.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509073904/https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/warning-as-universities-refuse-police-help-with-pro-palestine-camps-20240509-p5ir1p.html |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson wrote to the vice chancellors of the University of Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, Deakin and La Trobe, asking them to "carefully consider the risks" of allowing the encampments to continue. Organizers downplayed the risk of violence or escalation, saying the campuses are safe and that the encampments are a peaceful protest for the Palestinian people.{{Cite news |last1=Cassidy |first1=Caitlin |last2=Kelly |first2=Cait |date=May 10, 2024 |title=Student protester suspended by ANU for expressing support for Hamas as police warn over encampments |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/10/anu-student-suspended-hamas-support-pro-palestine-protest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516031354/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/10/anu-student-suspended-hamas-support-pro-palestine-protest |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Universities have resisted the calls for the police to end to the protests, with the Group of Eight saying the encampments are held on public land and that police are free to enter at any time, with the universities having acted appropriately to breaches of the law, saying they are "in the business of de-escalation" and not wanting to see violence erupt, as it has in the US. Police are being called "daily" to protests, with incidents of harassment and violence being investigated at Monash and Deakin.{{Cite web |last1=Groch |first1=Sherryn |last2=Vedelago |first2=Chris |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Police warn unis to break up protests as staffer threatens to burn camp |url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/police-warn-unis-to-break-up-protests-as-staffer-threatens-to-burn-camp-20240508-p5gqiv.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510094916/https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/police-warn-unis-to-break-up-protests-as-staffer-threatens-to-burn-camp-20240508-p5gqiv.html |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=The Age |language=en}}

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a neutral stance on the protests, saying he is worried about social cohesion. Albanese has criticized usage of the phrase "from the river to the sea", calling it "provocative" and agreeing when asked whether it is a "very violent statement".{{Cite web |title='Couldn't find it on a map': Albanese's criticism of pro-Palestinian student rallies |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/couldnt-find-it-on-a-map-albaneses-criticism-of-pro-palestinian-student-rallies/mep4qxajr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515063203/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/couldnt-find-it-on-a-map-albaneses-criticism-of-pro-palestinian-student-rallies/mep4qxajr |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=SBS News |language=en |agency=Australian Associated Press}}{{Cite web |last=Marcus |first=Caroline |date=May 7, 2024 |title=PM doubles down on condemnation of anti-Israel slogan |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/anthony-albanese-issues-strongest-condemnation-yet-of-antiisrael-slogan-from-the-river-to-the-sea-in-interview-for-josh-frydenbergs-new-documentary/news-story/4cc00e220ad78e67bc1cc4181e2f0250 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515063655/https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/anthony-albanese-issues-strongest-condemnation-yet-of-antiisrael-slogan-from-the-river-to-the-sea-in-interview-for-josh-frydenbergs-new-documentary/news-story/4cc00e220ad78e67bc1cc4181e2f0250 |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |website=Sky News Australia |language=en}} Education Minister Jason Clare has expressed concern about students feeling unsafe, saying, "I want more people to go to university, not less". He said that whilst there will always be protests in a democracy, there is no place for bigotry, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.{{Cite web |last=The New Daily |author-link=The New Daily |date=May 6, 2024 |title=PM 'concerned' by social cohesion after uni protests |url=https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2024/05/06/anthony-albanese-social-cohesion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509073859/https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2024/05/06/anthony-albanese-social-cohesion |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=May 9, 2024}}

The Greens have expressed support for the protests. On May 2, The Greens NSW issued a statement expressing solidarity with the encampment at the University of Sydney calling for the government to increase pressure on Israel to achieve a permanent ceasefire and calling for universities to cut ties with Israeli universities and weapons manufacturers supplying Israel.{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2024 |title=JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT: SUPPORT FOR THE GAZA SOLIDARITY ENCAMPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY {{!}} Greens NSW |url=https://greens.org.au/nsw/news/media-release/joint-media-statement-support-gaza-solidarity-encampment-university-sydney |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510094917/https://greens.org.au/nsw/news/media-release/joint-media-statement-support-gaza-solidarity-encampment-university-sydney |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=The Greens NSW |language=en}} After the first attack on the Monash camp, the Victorian Greens issued a statement that universities and police must better protect protesters.{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Peaceful pro-Palestine encampments must be better protected by universities and police |url=https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/peaceful-pro-palestine-encampments-must-be-better-protected-universities-and |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502180147/https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/peaceful-pro-palestine-encampments-must-be-better-protected-universities-and |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Australian Greens Victoria |language=en}} Greens MPs have attended pro-Palestine protests since the start of the war.{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2024 |title='Police manhandled me': Senator's claim |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/police-manhandled-senator-claim-000200554.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509073900/https://au.news.yahoo.com/police-manhandled-senator-claim-000200554.html |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-09 |publisher=Yahoo News |language=en-AU}}

Liberal/National Coalition leader Peter Dutton has been sharply critical of the protests, calling universities that are allowing them to continue "weak". He said Prime Minister Albanese "needs to stand up and show some backbone here and call for an end to these nonsense protests".{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Dutton calls on unis to shut down pro-Palestinian protests |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/dutton-calls-on-unis-to-shut-down-pro-palestinian-protests-20240502-p5fogj |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509073904/https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/dutton-calls-on-unis-to-shut-down-pro-palestinian-protests-20240502-p5fogj |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}} Other Coalition members have been similarly critical, with education spokesperson Sarah Henderson and senior frontbencher Michael Sukkar saying the protests should be forcibly broken up. Henderson said universities should be fined if they do not do so. She has called for a Senate enquiry into antisemitism at universities.{{Cite web |last=Sakkal |first=Paul |date=May 4, 2024 |title=Fine unis that fail to crack down on 'racist' pro-Palestine encampments: Coalition |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/fine-unis-that-fail-to-crack-down-on-racist-pro-palestine-encampments-coalition-20240503-p5fotz.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509073859/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/fine-unis-that-fail-to-crack-down-on-racist-pro-palestine-encampments-coalition-20240503-p5fotz.html |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=The Chronicle |author-link=The Toowoomba Chronicle |date=May 9, 2024 |title=University of Queensland Palestine protest fury turns to Boeing |url=https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/breaking-news/university-of-queensland-palestine-protest-fury-turns-to-boeing/news-story/8f65afb1ea64b3aa8e294578b4c43e10}} On May 9, Dutton compared the protesters chants of "from the river to the sea" to "what Hitler chanted in the '30s", in response to Education Minister Jason Clare saying the chants of "from the river to the sea" and "intifada" mean "different things to different people". A Jewish group formed after the start of the war, the Jewish Council of Australia, set up in opposition to other peak Jewish bodies in Australia such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry with regards to support of Israel and the weaponization of antisemitism, said Dutton's interpretations were "a very bad-faith reading" of the chants.{{Cite news |last1=Butler |first1=Josh |last2=Cassidy |first2=Caitlin |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Peter Dutton compares 'river to the sea' chants at pro-Palestinian protests to Hitler |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/peter-dutton-compares-pro-palestine-university-protests-to-hitler-in-deeply-offensive-comments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516031401/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/09/peter-dutton-compares-pro-palestine-university-protests-to-hitler-in-deeply-offensive-comments |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Dumas |first=Daisy |date=March 31, 2024 |title=A fresh Jewish voice: the new Australian group opposing antisemitism – and Israel's conduct |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/01/progressive-australian-jews-opposing-antisemitism-israel-gaza-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516031424/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/01/progressive-australian-jews-opposing-antisemitism-israel-gaza-war |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

{{Further|2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the Netherlands#Response}}{{Excerpt|2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the Netherlands|Political response}}

{{Further|Gaza war protests in the United Kingdom}}

File:First_day_of_the_Oxford_Palestine_solidarity_encampment_(6_May_2024)_01.jpg]]

With encampments taking place at institutions and concern over what the president of the Union of Jewish Students described as rising antisemitism on campuses, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a meeting with vice chancellors of higher education institutions.{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Richard |date=May 9, 2024 |title=University leaders must take 'personal' care to protect Jewish students, Sunak says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/09/university-leaders-must-take-personal-care-to-protect-jewish-students-sunak-says |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516032538/https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/09/university-leaders-must-take-personal-care-to-protect-jewish-students-sunak-says |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In response, academics accused Sunak of "scaremongering". According to The Guardian, "Vice-chancellors insist they have no desire to quell challenge or stop difficult discussions on their campuses, arguing that this is part of the core purpose of a university". Vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England Steve West said there "was no evidence" that UK protests were "getting out of hand" and called on the government to avoid inflaming the situation.{{Cite news |last=Fazackerley |first=Anna |date=May 11, 2024 |title=Rishi Sunak accused of scaremongering over UK students' Gaza protest camps |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/11/rishi-sunak-accused-of-scaremongering-over-uk-students-gaza-protest-camps |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516032331/https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/11/rishi-sunak-accused-of-scaremongering-over-uk-students-gaza-protest-camps |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} The president of advocacy group Universities UK, Dame Sally Mapstone, said universities "may need to take action" but that there "should be no presumption universities would clear protest encampments".{{Cite web |last1=Shearing |first1=Hazel |last2=Nagesh |first2=Ashitha |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Universities UK says campus protests may require action |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqen1j2ey40o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513130150/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqen1j2ey40o |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}} The New York Times reported that authorities took a more "permissive approach" to protests on campuses, with an emphasis on facilitating free speech, and that British polling indicates that a majority supports a ceasefire.{{Cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Stephen |last2=Turner |first2=Mary |date=May 11, 2024 |title=British Colleges Are Handling Protests Differently. Will It Pay Off? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/world/europe/british-colleges-are-handling-protests-differently-will-it-pay-off.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513043725/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/world/europe/british-colleges-are-handling-protests-differently-will-it-pay-off.html |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Many academics have supported students' demands and expressed solidarity with the protests. Hundreds of university employees, including 300 at Cambridge University and staff at Oxford and Edinburgh universities, signed open letters in support of the encampments and accusing their institutions of complicity in the Israeli attacks. At Durham University, over 200 university staff signed an open letter in support of the protest there on Palace Green and called on the university to negotiate with the protestors.{{Cite web |last=Murugesu |first=Jason Arunn |date=May 24, 2024 |title=More than 200 university staff back pro-Palestine protesters |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppl5x3g6no |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527134153/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6ppl5x3g6no |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-27 |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}} At Leeds University, members of the Universities and Colleges Union that represents academic and professional staff called for "teach outs" to be held at the encampment. Twelve Jewish staff members at Oxford wrote an open letter disputing the university's claim that the encampment was intimidating to Jewish staff and students and saying that the university had ignored Jewish people who supported the encampment.{{cite news |author=Lucy Williams |date=May 30, 2024 |title=Oxford University Jewish faculty support Palestine protests |url=https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/24356093.oxford-university-jewish-faculty-support-palestine-protests/ |work=This Is Oxfordshire}}

File:Oxford_University_Palestinian_graduation_die-in_protest,_18_May_2024_22.jpg demonstration at the Bodleian Library during an Oxford university graduation ceremony, May 2024]]

Durham University was accused of failing to support free speech after a debate at the Durham Union on the topic "This house believes that the Palestinian leadership is the biggest barrier to peace" was postponed on police advice of a threat to public safety, with pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the entrance to the building. One of the scheduled speakers in favor of the motion said the university had refused to give police permission to take action against the protesters, while another said the university had "cav[ed] in to a fascist mob".{{cite news |author=Alex Barton |date=June 8, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian protesters 'lock' university students inside debate chamber |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/07/protesters-durham-university-students-debate-chamber/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609074556/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/07/protesters-durham-university-students-debate-chamber/ |archive-date=June 9, 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph}} The Durham student paper Palatinate noted that "even this protest remained remarkably peaceful".{{cite news |author=Dan Bavister |date=June 20, 2024 |title=Don't mention the war: Why is the Palace Green pro-Palestine encampment so muted? |url=https://www.palatinate.org.uk/dont-mention-the-war-why-is-the-palace-green-pro-palestine-encampment-so-muted/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625211202/https://www.palatinate.org.uk/dont-mention-the-war-why-is-the-palace-green-pro-palestine-encampment-so-muted/ |archive-date=June 25, 2024 |access-date=June 25, 2024 |work=Palatinate}}

After protesters set up an encampment at Birmingham University, the university ordered them to leave the premises on May 14, describing the occupation as trespassing.{{Cite web |last=Perrin |first=Ben |date=May 14, 2024 |title=UoB issue statement after pro-Palestinian protesters set up tents on campus |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/university-birmingham-issues-statement-after-29165869 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514132843/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/university-birmingham-issues-statement-after-29165869 |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Birmingham Live |language=en}} According to The Telegraph, this was the first time one of the 20 student encampments in the UK had been ordered to disperse.{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Albert |date=May 12, 2024 |title=Birmingham University threatens pro-Palestinian students with police action |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/12/birmingham-university-pro-palestinian-students-leave/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514132840/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/12/birmingham-university-pro-palestinian-students-leave/ |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-14 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} Protesters said they were "threatened with police action". Birmingham University began legal action to remove the encampment on June 11.{{cite news |author=Susie Rack |date=June 11, 2024 |title=University goes to court to end Gaza protest camp |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14480p090eo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624223433/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14480p090eo |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |access-date=June 24, 2024 |publisher=BBC News}} The encampment within the Marshall Building at the London School of Economics was evicted on June 17 following a court order on June 14, making it the first UK encampment to be removed following legal action.{{cite news |author=Jacob Phillips |date=June 18, 2024 |title=Students evicted from LSE building after living in pro-Palestinian encampment for over a month |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/lse-london-protest-palestine-gaza-legal-action-evicted-b1164926.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624223432/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/lse-london-protest-palestine-gaza-legal-action-evicted-b1164926.html |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=Evening Standard |location=London}}{{cite news |author=Finn Cawkell |date=June 18, 2024 |title=LSE becomes first UK uni to evict pro-Palestine encampment after over a month of occupation |url=https://thetab.com/uk/london/2024/06/18/lse-becomes-first-uk-uni-to-evict-pro-palestine-encampment-after-over-a-month-of-occupation-53385 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624223433/https://thetab.com/uk/london/2024/06/18/lse-becomes-first-uk-uni-to-evict-pro-palestine-encampment-after-over-a-month-of-occupation-53385 |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=The Tab}} Queen Mary University of London also began court action against its encampment.{{cite news |author=Patrick Jack |date=June 13, 2024 |title=Legal action over Gaza encampments on UK campuses |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/legal-action-over-gaza-encampments-uk-campuses |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624230236/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/legal-action-over-gaza-encampments-uk-campuses |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=Times Higher Education}} Elsewhere, encampments disbanded voluntarily at Swansea in early June, citing "significant wins" including divestment from Barclays Bank, at Imperial College on June 20,{{cite news |author=Jamie John |date=June 21, 2024 |title=Encampment shuts down ahead of Summer Ball |url=https://felixonline.co.uk/issue/1850/news/encampment-shuts-down-ahead-of-summer-ball |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625184437/https://felixonline.co.uk/issue/1850/news/encampment-shuts-down-ahead-of-summer-ball |archive-date=June 25, 2024 |access-date=June 25, 2024 |work=Felix}} and at Durham on June 21.{{cite news |author1=Will Dixon |author2=Lily Gershon |date=June 20, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian encampment to "conclude" before graduation after University notice |url=https://www.palatinate.org.uk/pro-palestinian-encampment-to-conclude-before-graduation-after-university-notice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624230236/https://www.palatinate.org.uk/pro-palestinian-encampment-to-conclude-before-graduation-after-university-notice/ |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=Palatinate}} On June 23, Oxford University erected a fence around the encampment outside the Pitt Rivers Museum (one of two camps at the university), leading the protesters to abandon the camp on June 25, with some saying they had been denied access to toilets and bathrooms. The university dismantled the camp shortly afterwards.{{cite news |date=June 25, 2024 |title=Gaza protest campsite at university dismantled |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c299dxed881o.amp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626013219/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c299dxed881o.amp |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |access-date=June 26, 2024 |publisher=BBC News}}

On July 7, The Guardian reported that "Of the 36 encampments in England, Wales and Scotland at the end of May, around a dozen are still active", with the others having dispersed due to hostility from their institutions and waning enthusiasm following the end of the academic year. Those remaining included encampments at Birmingham, Bristol, QMUL and SOAS in London, Nottingham, Newcastle, Oxford, and Reading, with many of these facing legal action or the threat of legal action.{{cite news |author1=Richard Adams |author2=Geneva Abdul |date=July 7, 2024 |title=Gaza protest camps at UK universities wind down amid legal action |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/jul/07/gaza-protest-camps-uk-universities-legal-action |work=The Guardian}} On July 8, Oxford Action for Palestine announced that the second encampment, outside the Radcliffe Camera, had been disbanded following threats of legal action from the university.{{cite news |author=Cameron Samuel Keys |date=July 9, 2024 |title=OA4P disband the Radcliffe Camera encampment |url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2024/07/09/oa4p-disband-the-radcliffe-camera-encampment/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712054706/https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2024/07/09/oa4p-disband-the-radcliffe-camera-encampment/ |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |access-date=July 10, 2024 |work=Oxford Student}} On July 10, the universities of Birmingham and Nottingham won separate legal cases resulting in summary possession orders against the encampments established on their campuses.{{cite news |author=Shyamantha Asokan |date=July 10, 2024 |title=Universities win court order on Gaza protest camps |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jqgqe3wjno |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710165030/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jqgqe3wjno |archive-date=July 10, 2024 |access-date=July 10, 2024 |publisher=BBC News}} The camp at QMUL was also removed following a court order on July 10.{{cite news |author=Imogen Garfinkel |date=July 12, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestine protesters evicted from Queen Mary University of London following High Court possession order |url=https://romanroadlondon.com/queen-mary-university-of-london-evict-palestine-encampment-after-securing-possession-order/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807152759/https://romanroadlondon.com/queen-mary-university-of-london-evict-palestine-encampment-after-securing-possession-order/ |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |access-date=August 7, 2024 |work=Roman Road London}} The Reading encampment closed voluntarily on May 31 after being asked to leave by the university but without legal action being taken.{{cite news |author=Jake Clothier |date=August 2, 2024 |title=Protest encampment closed after 'asked to leave' by Uni of Reading |url=https://rdg.today/protest-encampment-closed-after-asked-to-leave-by-uni-of-reading/ |work=RDG.Today}} The Bristol encampment ended in mid-July after winning the first stage of a legal case brought by the university but unable to afford the legal fees necessary to continue their defense.{{cite news |author=Holly Lambert |date=July 13, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestine encampment in Royal Fort Gardens ends after two month protest |url=https://thetab.com/uk/bristol/2024/07/13/pro-palestine-encampment-in-royal-fort-gardens-ends-after-after-two-month-protest-61160 |work=The Tab}} University College London was awarded a summary possession order on August 6 against the campus established in the quad of the UCL Main Building on May 2.{{cite news |author=Tony Grew |date=August 6, 2024 |title=UCL wins court order on Gaza protest camps |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jpp0w88w5o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807151711/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jpp0w88w5o |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |access-date=August 7, 2024 |publisher=BBC News}}

{{Further|Gaza war protests in the United States#Responses}}

{{See also|List of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the United States in 2024}}

Rebecca Karl, a professor at NYU, said that historically, "there have been a number of confrontations that have been dealt with by universities in ways that stress that we are not a violent institution... I'm personally very concerned".{{cite web |last=Najjar |first=Farah |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Attempts to stop student-led protests at US universities unprecedented, professor says |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-family-killed-injured-in-israeli-strike?update=2857551 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426044851/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-family-killed-injured-in-israeli-strike?update=2857551 |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} Wadie Said, a professor at the University of Colorado, said, "The First Amendment is the hallmark of freedom.. You see that being curtailed based on viewpoint discrimination, which is something not supposed to be allowed under the First Amendment".{{cite web |last=Najjar |first=Farah |date=April 24, 2024 |title='They're protesting new horrors every day' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-family-killed-injured-in-israeli-strike?update=2856313 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428003901/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-family-killed-injured-in-israeli-strike?update=2856313 |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=April 28, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} Jeremi Suri, a UT Austin professor, said, "I witnessed the police—the state police, the campus police, the city police—an army of police... stormed into the student crowd and started arresting students".{{cite web |date=April 25, 2024 |title=University of Texas professor witnesses police attack on pro-Palestinian student protest |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-calls-grow-for-gaza-mass-graves-investigation?update=2857968 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430023653/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-calls-grow-for-gaza-mass-graves-investigation?update=2857968 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}

Jody Armour, a professor at USC, said, "We need to stop allowing people to weaponise anti-Semitism against real, valid protests."{{cite web |date=April 25, 2024 |title='Anti-Semitism should not be weaponised': USC law professor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-calls-grow-for-gaza-mass-graves-investigation?update=2858079 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430155245/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-calls-grow-for-gaza-mass-graves-investigation?update=2858079 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it".{{Cite news |last=McWhorter |first=John |date=April 23, 2024 |title=I'm a Columbia Professor. The Protests on My Campus Are Not Justice. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/opinion/columbia-protests-israel.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430085356/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/opinion/columbia-protests-israel.html |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} Randall Kuhn, a UCLA professor, said, "I find it repugnant to sit by while Palestinian professors are being killed, while academic buildings are being bombed relentlessly."{{cite web |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Israel's war on Gaza is 'completely intolerable' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/30/israels-war-on-gaza-live-34-killed-in-gaza-amid-ceasefire-negotiations?update=2869597 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505020701/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/30/israels-war-on-gaza-live-34-killed-in-gaza-amid-ceasefire-negotiations?update=2869597 |archive-date=May 5, 2024 |access-date=May 5, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}

In September 2024, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed an official complaint against the University of California system, saying faculty were being targeted if they spoke out against the war in Gaza.{{cite web |last1=Valdez |first1=Jonah |date=September 20, 2024 |title=California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/09/20/uc-professors-palestine-protest-labor-violation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240923010307/https://theintercept.com/2024/09/20/uc-professors-palestine-protest-labor-violation/ |archive-date=September 23, 2024 |access-date=September 23, 2024 |website=The Intercept}} In October 2024, 25 professors at Harvard University held a silent "study-in" protest at Widener Library, leading to a two-week suspension from the library.{{cite web |last1=Shah |first1=Neil H. |title=Faculty Members Suspended From Harvard's Main Library After 'Study-In' Protest |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/25/faculty-members-suspended-harvard-library/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241104144943/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/25/faculty-members-suspended-harvard-library/ |archive-date=November 4, 2024 |access-date=October 30, 2024 |website=The Harvard Crimson}}

The Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Afaf Nasher criticized the use of police force to break up the protests, saying it undermined academic freedom. Civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have raised free speech concerns over the mass arrests that were seen during the protests.{{Cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Cath |last2=Allen |first2=Jonathan |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Gaza protests grow at US colleges, thousands demonstrate in Brooklyn |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pro-palestinian-seders-planned-new-york-other-cities-college-campuses-simmer-2024-04-23/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425200752/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pro-palestinian-seders-planned-new-york-other-cities-college-campuses-simmer-2024-04-23/ |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last1=Healey |first1=S. Mac |last2=Sundar |first2=Saketh |date=April 29, 2024 |title=ACLU Calls on University Presidents to Protect Protests, Free Speech in Open Letter |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/29/aclu-letter-universities-free-speech/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430225045/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/29/aclu-letter-universities-free-speech/ |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=The Harvard Crimson}} The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described some of the responses from law enforcement as "disproportionate in their impacts"{{Cite news |last1=Iqbal |first1=Nomia |last2=Cabral |first2=Sam |last3=FitzGerald |first3=James |date=April 29, 2024 |title=Columbia protesters take over building after defying deadline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68923528 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430135343/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68923528 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}} and was "troubled" by how they were being dealt with.{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Robert |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian protesters take over Columbia University building |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/30/pro-palestinian-protesters-take-over-columbia-university-building |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430130231/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/30/pro-palestinian-protesters-take-over-columbia-university-building |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while "hate speech is unacceptable", it is "essential in all circumstances to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration."{{cite web |last1=Hannas |first1=Chris |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Police arrest pro-Palestinian protesters after takeover of Columbia University building |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/police-detain-pro-palestinian-protesters-after-takeover-of-columbia-university-building/7593069.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503034820/https://www.voanews.com/a/police-detain-pro-palestinian-protesters-after-takeover-of-columbia-university-building/7593069.html |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=May 4, 2024 |website=VOA}} Farida Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to education, said the increase in attacks on student protests represented "a concerning erosion of intellectual freedom and democratic principles within educational settings".{{cite web |date=May 10, 2024 |title=UN expert raises alarm over unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian student protesters in US |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149616#:~:text=A%20UN%20independent%20human%20rights,democratic%20principles%20within%20educational%20settings.” |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512125756/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149616#:~:text=A%20UN%20independent%20human%20rights,democratic%20principles%20within%20educational%20settings.” |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |access-date=May 16, 2024 |publisher=United Nations}} Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, called the "violent dismantling of pro-Palestine encampments and arrests of student protesters a dangerous assault on our democracy".{{cite web |date=May 1, 2024 |title=US rights group denounces police crackdown on student protests |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-chiefs-warn-israel-against-assault-on-rafah?update=2872515 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506031250/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-chiefs-warn-israel-against-assault-on-rafah?update=2872515 |archive-date=May 6, 2024 |access-date=May 6, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}

Several labor unions that previously supported a ceasefire in the Gaza war have expressed support for the protests, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU said it "proudly stands in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff exercising their right to speak up".{{Cite web |last=Shapero |first=Julia |date=May 8, 2024 |title=Why labor unions are backing pro-Palestine protesters after mass campus arrests |url=https://thehill.com/business/4649705-labor-unions-pro-palestine-protesters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508144523/https://thehill.com/business/4649705-labor-unions-pro-palestine-protesters/ |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} In contrast, Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL said that protesters concealing their identities were dressed like "bank robbers" and had the effect of "intimidating their opponents, of menacing the other side."{{Cite news |last1=Fandos |first1=Nicholas |date=May 2, 2024 |title=In an Online World, a New Generation of Protesters Chooses Anonymity |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/nyregion/college-campus-protests-anonymity.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502070537/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/nyregion/college-campus-protests-anonymity.html |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=May 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} He also accused pro-Palestinian groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine, of being "Iranian proxies".{{Cite news |last=Baragona |first=Justin |date=April 25, 2024 |title=CAIR Calls on MSNBC to Ban ADL Boss Over 'Iranian Proxies' Remark |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/cair-calls-on-msnbc-to-ban-adl-boss-over-iranian-proxies-remark |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507103455/https://www.thedailybeast.com/cair-calls-on-msnbc-to-ban-adl-boss-over-iranian-proxies-remark |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-26 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}

In October 2024, the ACLU, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch wrote a joint statement warning that law enforcement on 20 U.S. college campuses had used potentially excessive force against pro-Palestinian protesters in violation of international law and calling for greater protections.{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Aubrey |title=ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch say colleges need to protect protests for Palestine |url=https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/aclu-amnesty-international-human-rights-watch-say-colleges-need-to-protect-protests-for-palestine.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241101064827/https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/aclu-amnesty-international-human-rights-watch-say-colleges-need-to-protect-protests-for-palestine.php |archive-date=November 1, 2024 |access-date=November 1, 2024 |website=Indiana Public Media}}

JewBelong posted billboards near San Diego State University that read, "Remember when college was for losing your virginity, not your mind?" and "Dear colleges, American kids are afraid. Do your job!"{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Stepheny |date=October 11, 2024 |title=Jewish organization blasts colleges in billboard ad near San Diego State University to combat antisemitism |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/jewish-organization-blasts-colleges-billboard-ad-near-san-diego-state-university-combat-antisemitism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115011312/https://www.foxnews.com/us/jewish-organization-blasts-colleges-billboard-ad-near-san-diego-state-university-combat-antisemitism |archive-date=November 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-15 |publisher=Fox News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Sanchez |first=Elizabeth |date=October 12, 2024 |title=JewBelong {{!}} Billboards targeting antisemitism on college campuses seen around San Diego |url=https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/billboards-targeting-antisemitism-college-campuses-san-diego/509-d4d23109-ade2-483e-92c0-6094a22b6e2d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115011326/https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/billboards-targeting-antisemitism-college-campuses-san-diego/509-d4d23109-ade2-483e-92c0-6094a22b6e2d |archive-date=November 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=cbs8.com |language=en-US}}

A coalition of over 200 organizations published an open letter expressing support for the protests.{{Cite web |last=Suter |first=Tara |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Almost 200 progressive organizations voice solidarity with student protesters |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4632475-almost-200-progressive-organizations-voice-solidarity-with-student-protesters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430192206/https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4632475-almost-200-progressive-organizations-voice-solidarity-with-student-protesters/ |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} Signatories include:{{Cite web |last=Mathias |first=Christopher |date=April 29, 2024 |title=185 Human Rights Groups Demand Universities End Crackdowns on Gaza Protests |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/human-rights-letter-university-gaza-protests_n_662fe2cbe4b0c9bc87585f86 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430225044/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/human-rights-letter-university-gaza-protests_n_662fe2cbe4b0c9bc87585f86 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Gaza Student Protests |url=https://www.mpowerchange.org/gazastudentprotests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501052310/https://www.mpowerchange.org/gazastudentprotests |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=MPower Change |language=en-US}}

{{columns-list|* 350.org

• Al-Haq
• Alliance of Baptists
• American Baptist Churches USA
• American Friends Service Committee
• American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
• Arab American Institute
• Beyt Tikkun
• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Council on American-Islamic Relations
• Dream Defenders
• Fight for the Future
• Future Coalition
• Gen-Z for Change
• Greenpeace USA
• Highlander Research and Education Center
• Hindus for Human Rights
• IfNotNow
• Indian American Muslim Council
• Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
• Islamic Society of North America
• Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
• Jewish Voice for Peace
• Just Foreign Policy
• Justice Democrats
• Mondoweiss
• Movement for Black Lives
• National Iranian American Council
• National Lawyers Guild
• North American Students of Cooperation
• Oakland Institute
• Our Revolution
• Palestine Legal
• Pax Christi USA
• Peace Action
• People’s Action
• Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness
• Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
• Progressive Democrats of America
• Project South
• Public Accountability Initiative
• Rising Tide North America
• RootsAction Education Fund
• Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
• Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
• Starr King School for the Ministry
• Sunrise Movement
• Transnational Institute
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
• US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• Veterans For Peace
• Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press
• Working Families Party
• World Beyond War
• Young Democrats of America Black Caucus|colwidth=20em}}

On April 22, President Joe Biden criticized and condemned the protests, calling them antisemitic and criticizing those who "don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2024 |title=What is behind US college protests over Israel-Gaza war? |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-is-behind-pro-palestinian-protests-us-universities-2024-04-23/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424145000/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-is-behind-pro-palestinian-protests-us-universities-2024-04-23/ |archive-date=April 24, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |work=Reuters}} Former President Donald Trump said that the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was "peanuts" compared to the ongoing protests.{{Cite news |last1=Samuels |first1=Ben |last2=Maltz |first2=Judy |date=April 25, 2024 |title=Trump says pro-Palestine campus protests are worse than deadly Charlottesville white supremacist rally |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-04-25/ty-article/.premium/trump-says-pro-palestinian-campus-protests-are-worse-than-deadly-white-supremacist-rally/0000018f-1575-d2e1-a7df-15f71de10000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425153011/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-04-25/ty-article/.premium/trump-says-pro-palestinian-campus-protests-are-worse-than-deadly-white-supremacist-rally/0000018f-1575-d2e1-a7df-15f71de10000 |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |work=Haaretz |language=en}} Speaking at Columbia on April 24, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear."{{Cite web |last1=Snyder |first1=Susan |last2=Lubrano |first2=Alfred |date=April 25, 2024 |title=Here's what to know about the student protests over Gaza on campuses in Philly and across the U.S. |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/pro-palestinian-protests-college-campuses-penn-swarthmore-princeton-explained-20240425.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425215503/https://www.inquirer.com/news/pro-palestinian-protests-college-campuses-penn-swarthmore-princeton-explained-20240425.html |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en}} Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned "lawlessness" during the protests at Columbia, calling it "unacceptable when Jewish students are targeted for being Jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systematic intimidation or glorification of the murderous and hateful Hamas or the violence of Oct. 7."{{cite news |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Schumer condemns 'lawlessness' at Columbia University protests |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4633779-schumer-columbia-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501150733/https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4633779-schumer-columbia-protests/ |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=May 1, 2024 |work=The Hill}}

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the situation at Columbia and other campuses as "inmates run[ning] the asylum."{{Cite web |last=Llanos |first=Jackie |date=April 22, 2024 |title='The inmates run the asylum:' DeSantis criticizes pro-Palestine protests in college campuses • Florida Phoenix |url=https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/the-inmates-run-the-asylum-desantis-criticizes-pro-palestine-protests-in-college-campuses/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425050915/https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/the-inmates-run-the-asylum-desantis-criticizes-pro-palestine-protests-in-college-campuses/ |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=Florida Phoenix |language=en-US}} Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the protesters "belonged in jail" and continued to claim that the protests were "hate-filled, antisemitic protests" and that anyone engaging in them should be expelled.{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Kari |date=April 25, 2024 |title=Fox journalist among dozens arrested at Texas university as protests swell |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/24/university-of-texas-austin-campus-protest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425012308/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/24/university-of-texas-austin-campus-protest |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro criticized colleges and universities that did not do enough to protect its students, which could lead to antisemitic incidents. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the protests "a dangerous situation" and said, "there's also antisemitism, which is completely unacceptable".{{Cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Carolyn |last2=Beck |first2=Margery |date=April 28, 2024 |title=Arrests roil campuses nationwide ahead of graduation as protesters demand Israel ties be cut |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-cadbf05cf542c08dc3c664431b7a1f4f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428150514/https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-cadbf05cf542c08dc3c664431b7a1f4f |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-29 |language=en |work=Associated Press News}} He accused the "student radicals" of supporting Hamas. Multiple conservative politicians and commentators, including Mike Johnson, Ted Cruz, Ira Stoll, Isabel Vincent, and Kari Lake spread the antisemitic conspiracy theory that George Soros funded the protest movement.{{Cite news |last=Vaillancourt |first=William |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Now Republicans Are Blaming George Soros for Campus Protests |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/now-republicans-are-blaming-george-soros-for-campus-protests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502201025/https://www.thedailybeast.com/now-republicans-are-blaming-george-soros-for-campus-protests |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Kasprak |first1=Alex |last2=Izzo |first2=Jack |date=April 30, 2024 |title=The Truth Behind Claims George Soros Paid 'Student Radicals' To Organize Pro-Palestine Encampments |url=https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/04/29/george-soros-funding-college-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503162611/https://www.snopes.com/news/2024/04/29/george-soros-funding-college-protests/ |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Snopes |language=en}}

After the mass arrests at UT on April 24, many voiced their disapproval over Abbott's handling of the decision and the police tactics. Texas Democrats said that Abbott's Department of Public Safety had "more courage to arrest peaceful student protesters than when an active shooter entered an elementary school in Uvalde."{{Cite web |last=Bedigan |first=Mike |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Backlash against Texas governor after troopers on horseback tackle Gaza protesters |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/protests-palestine-texas-austin-arrests-b2535097.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426023724/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/protests-palestine-texas-austin-arrests-b2535097.html |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |website=The Independent |language=en}} U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the deployment of police against the Columbia University protest, calling it an "escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act".{{Cite web |last=Murgatroyd |first=Laura |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits out at Columbia for calling police on pro-Palestine protesters |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-hits-columbia-100010281.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426211200/https://www.yahoo.com/news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-hits-columbia-100010281.html |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-26 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-US}} Irvine, California Mayor Farrah Khan said: "I am asking our law enforcement to stand down. I will not tolerate any violations to our students' rights to peacefully assemble and protest."{{Cite web |last1=Mossburg |first1=Cheri |last2=Von Quednow |first2=Cindy |date=April 29, 2024 |title=UC Irvine calls in local law enforcement to assist campus police with protests |url=https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-29-24/h_e90e151ede0395b7ffcc9caeecb458e3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430081032/https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-29-24/h_e90e151ede0395b7ffcc9caeecb458e3 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}

The Fairfax County branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement denouncing the arrests of students at Virginia schools.{{Cite web |last=Grim |first=Ryan |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Cable News Viewers Have a Skewed Attitude Toward Gaza War, Survey Finds |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/04/30/gaza-israel-palestine-cable-news-poll/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430225045/https://theintercept.com/2024/04/30/gaza-israel-palestine-cable-news-poll/ |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}} Virginia representatives Rozia Henson, Joshua Cole, Adele McClure, Nadarius Clark, and Saddam Salim released a joint statement condemning the arrests of student protesters in Virginia.{{Cite web |last1=Nadeau |first1=Ryan |last2=Wilson |first2=Rolynn |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Police break up pro-Palestinian protest on VCU campus, arrests made |url=https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/police-breaking-up-pro-palestinian-protest-on-vcu-campus-arrests-being-made/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430040417/https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/police-breaking-up-pro-palestinian-protest-on-vcu-campus-arrests-being-made/ |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=WRIC |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last1=Khalil |first1=Jahd |last2=Pauly |first2=Megan |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Officials, orgs respond to Virginia-wide protest arrests |url=https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-04-30/vt-umw-vcu-palestine-israel-antiwar-protests-statements |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501151537/https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-04-30/vt-umw-vcu-palestine-israel-antiwar-protests-statements |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=VPM |language=en}} After visiting the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said: "The First Amendment comes from here. This is Philadelphia. We don't have to do stupid like they did at Columbia".{{Cite web |last=Castiglione |first=Elea |date=May 1, 2024 |title='We don't have to do stupid' like Columbia: Philadelphia district attorney visits Penn encampment |url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/05/penn-larry-krasner-jamie-gauthier-visit-encampment |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502164158/https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/05/penn-larry-krasner-jamie-gauthier-visit-encampment |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=The Daily Pennsylvanian |language=en-us}} California representative Sara Jacobs wrote on X: "I'm deeply concerned that the response to peaceful protests at UCSD is to call in riot police. A militarized response further escalates the situation and doesn't help keep students safe."{{Cite web |last=Jennewein |first=Chris |date=May 6, 2024 |title=Police Clear Pro-Palestine Encampment at UC San Diego, Arrest Dozens of Protesters |url=http://timesofsandiego.com/education/2024/05/06/police-clear-pro-palestine-encampment-at-uc-san-diego-arrest-dozens-of-protesters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506183947/https://timesofsandiego.com/education/2024/05/06/police-clear-pro-palestine-encampment-at-uc-san-diego-arrest-dozens-of-protesters/ |archive-date=May 6, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Times of San Diego |language=en-US}}

Addressing students at the City University of New York on April 26, imprisoned Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the protests, saying, "It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes", calling protesters "on the right side of history".{{Cite news |last=Lakhani |first=Nina |date=April 28, 2024 |title='Do not bow': ex-Black Panther praises pro-Palestinian student protesters from prison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/28/pro-palestinian-cuny-protesters-mumia-abu-jamal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429174609/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/28/pro-palestinian-cuny-protesters-mumia-abu-jamal |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-29 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} College Democrats of America, the student wing of the Democratic Party, endorsed the protests and criticized Biden's response to them.{{Cite news |last=Astor |first=Maggie |date=April 30, 2024 |title=College Democrats Back Protests and Criticize Biden's Israel Policy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/us/politics/biden-israel-college-protest.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430190822/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/us/politics/biden-israel-college-protest.html |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Massachusetts State Representative Mike Connolly said: "I'm here really in solidarity with these protesters, and I'm hoping that the MIT administration will honor free speech and will honor the tradition of dissents in this country, in particular dissents to war, which is what really calls us here today."{{Cite web |last=Farrar |first=Molly |date=May 7, 2024 |title=MIT protesters reenter encampment after school tries to clear tents |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/05/06/live-updates-mit-protesters-encampment-school-tries-to-clear-tents/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508141051/https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/05/06/live-updates-mit-protesters-encampment-school-tries-to-clear-tents/ |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=boston.com |language=en-US}}

On May 12, Trump said, "[Biden] is surrendering our college campuses to anarchists, jihadist freaks and anti-American extremists who are trying to tear down our American flag. ... If you come here from another country and try to bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or antisemitism to our campuses, we will immediately deport you. You'll be out of that school."{{cite web |date=May 13, 2024 |title=Trump slams President Biden for surrendering US colleges to "Jihadist freaks" |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-slams-president-biden-for-surrendering-us-colleges-to-jihadist-freaks/articleshow/110068873.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515204736/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-slams-president-biden-for-surrendering-us-colleges-to-jihadist-freaks/articleshow/110068873.cms |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=The Times of India}} On May 14, Trump told a room full of donors he would deport foreign student demonstrators. According to anonymous Trump donors, Trump said that protests were part of a "revolutionary movement" and that "if you get me reelected, we're going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years."{{cite news |last1=Dawsey |first1=Josh |last2=DeYoung |first2=Karen |last3=LaVine |first3=Marianne |title=Trump told donors he will crush pro-Palestinian protests, deport demonstrators |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/27/trump-israel-gaza-policy-donors/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529164709/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/27/trump-israel-gaza-policy-donors/ |archive-date=May 29, 2024 |access-date=May 29, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

{{Duplication|date=June 2024|dupe=Gaza war protests in the United States#Legislation|discuss=Talk:2024_pro-Palestinian_protests_on_university_campuses#Undue_weight_tag_in_legislation_section|section=yes}}

On April 23, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed 2024 SB-1287 on a 10–0 vote, advancing it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2024 |title=Bill Text – SB-1287 Public postsecondary education: Equity in Higher Education Act: prohibition on violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502024940/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1287 |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=California Legislative Information}} The bill would require the California State University system and California Community Colleges system to enact policies that would prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination if they are "intended to and reasonably understood by the victims or hearers" to either "interfere with the free exercise of rights under the First Amendment or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution" or to "call for or support genocide". The bill would also restrict the right to assemble on campuses with "reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, including advance authorization provisions, for public protests and demonstrations at institutions." The bill has received support exclusively from Jewish and Zionist organizations. It is opposed by the ACLU and the University of California, Davis School of Law, which called the bill unconstitutional.{{cite web |title=SB 1287: Public postsecondary education: Equity in Higher Education Act: prohibition on violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. |url=https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb1287?slug=CA_202320240SB1287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502024940/https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb1287?slug=CA_202320240SB1287 |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Digital Democracy}}

The "Antisemitism Awareness Act", spearheaded by the Republicans but also backed by many Democrats, passed the United States House of Representatives in a 320–91 vote on May 1, 2024, and proceeded to the Senate.{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2023 |title=H.R.6090 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513065151/https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090 |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=May 13, 2024 |website=Congress.gov |publisher=Library of Congress}}{{Cite web |last=Jacobson |first=Louis |date=May 10, 2024 |title=The Antisemitism Awareness Act: What to know |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/may/10/the-antisemitism-awareness-act-what-to-know/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513152418/https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/may/10/the-antisemitism-awareness-act-what-to-know/ |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=PolitiFact |language=en-US}} The bill is intended to address the recent perceived rise in antisemitism on campuses{{Cite web |last=Sprunt |first=Barbara |date=May 5, 2024 |title=House passes bill aimed to combat antisemitism amid college unrest |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/05/02/1247374244/house-passes-bill-aimed-to-combat-antisemitism-amid-college-unrest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511151349/https://www.npr.org/2024/05/02/1247374244/house-passes-bill-aimed-to-combat-antisemitism-amid-college-unrest |archive-date=May 11, 2024 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |publisher=NPR}} and uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's approved working definition of antisemitism to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits "exclusion from participation in, denial of benefits of, and discrimination under federally assisted programs on ground of race, color, or national origin."{{Cite web |last=Foran |first=Clare |date=May 1, 2024 |title=House passes antisemitism bill as Johnson highlights campus protests {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/politics/house-vote-antisemitism-awareness-act/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503181837/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/politics/house-vote-antisemitism-awareness-act/index.html |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |publisher=CNN |language=en}} Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs, who is Jewish, said she opposed the bill because "it fails to effectively address the very real rise of antisemitism, all while defunding colleges and universities across the country and punishing many, if not all, of the nonviolent protesters speaking out against the Israeli military's conduct."{{Cite web |last=Timotija |first=Filip |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Jewish Democrat Sara Jacobs on voting against bill: Anti-Zionism not 'inherently' antisemitism |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4637427-jewish-democrat-sara-jacobs-voting-against-bill-anti-zionism-not-inherently-antisemitism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503000722/https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4637427-jewish-democrat-sara-jacobs-voting-against-bill-anti-zionism-not-inherently-antisemitism/ |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

The proposed legislation would broaden the legal definition of antisemitism to include anti-Zionism, criticism of the policies of the state of Israel, and concerns about Palestinian human rights, by categorizing all of that as hate speech, and it has been criticized for conflating "Judaism with Zionism in assuming that all Jews are Zionists" and automatic citizens of Israel rather than the U.S., thereby severely undermining genuine safety for Jewish citizens. It faces strong opposition from several Democratic lawmakers, Jewish organizations, and free speech advocates, including more than 800 Jewish U.S. academics, who signed a letter calling on Biden not to sign the bill.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the centrist pro-Israel group J Street, said that his organization opposes the bill because it is an "unserious" effort led by Republicans "to continually force votes that divide the Democratic caucus on an issue that shouldn't be turned into a political football."

The ACLU sees the bill as an attack on First Amendment rights and argues that its "overbroad" definition of antisemitism "could result in colleges and universities suppressing a wide variety of speech critical of Israel or in support of Palestinian rights in an effort to avoid investigations by the Department [of Education] and the potential loss of funding."

Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Conference of Presidents have praised the bill, and it is based on definitions by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that have been criticized by 100 Israeli and international civil society organizations that wrote to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in 2023 urging the UN not to adopt the definitions.{{Cite news |last=Angel |first=Arielle |date=May 11, 2024 |title=Campus protest crackdowns claim to be about antisemitism – but they're part of a rightwing plan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/11/us-university-protests-antisemitism-free-speech |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513040959/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/11/us-university-protests-antisemitism-free-speech |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Zeldes-Roth |first=Miko |date=May 12, 2024 |title=The Antisemitism Awareness Act is bad for American Jews – here's why |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4657119-the-antisemitism-awareness-act-is-bad-for-american-jews-heres-why/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513154138/https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4657119-the-antisemitism-awareness-act-is-bad-for-american-jews-heres-why/ |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Amiri |first=Farnoush |date=May 1, 2024 |title=House passes bill to expand definition of antisemitism amid growing campus protests over Gaza war |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/house-vote-expanded-definition-antisemitism-amid-growing-campus-109838397 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513152231/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/house-vote-expanded-definition-antisemitism-amid-growing-campus-109838397 |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |publisher=ABC News |language=en |location=United States}}{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2024 |title=800 Jewish scholars urge Biden to reject antisemitism bill |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/800-jewish-scholars-urge-biden-reject-antisemitism-bill |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513152233/https://www.newarab.com/news/800-jewish-scholars-urge-biden-reject-antisemitism-bill |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=The New Arab |language=en}}

Three Republican members of the U.S. House introduced a bill that would require anyone convicted of unlawful activity on a college campus to perform community service in Gaza for six months. The bill was widely derided as a political stunt and is exceedingly unlikely to pass.{{cite web |last=Crimmins |first=Tricia |date=May 9, 2024 |title='Go study abroad': Republicans introduce bill to send pro-Palestine college protesters to Gaza |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/bill-sends-college-palestine-protestors-to-gaza/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510033229/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/bill-sends-college-palestine-protestors-to-gaza/ |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=May 10, 2024 |website=The Daily Dot}}{{Cite news |last=Olmsted |first=Edith |date=May 8, 2024 |title=Republican Introduces Absurd Bill to Send Arrested Student Protesters to Gaza |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bloodthirsty-republican-andy-ogles-introduces-absurd-bill-to-send-arrested-students-to-gaza |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511035118/https://www.thedailybeast.com/bloodthirsty-republican-andy-ogles-introduces-absurd-bill-to-send-arrested-students-to-gaza |archive-date=May 11, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=PerryCook |first=Taija |date=May 13, 2024 |title=US House Bill Proposes Sending Pro-Palestine College Demonstrators to Gaza? |url=https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/house-bill-palestine-protesters-gaza/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515220530/https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/house-bill-palestine-protesters-gaza/ |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Snopes |language=en}}

Legislators in the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate formed select committees to investigate how state colleges responded to the protests after over 125 people were arrested in the state.{{Cite web |last=Cline |first=Nathaniel |date=May 14, 2024 |title=Virginia lawmakers to study campus safety policies after series of protests |url=https://wtop.com/virginia/2024/05/virginia-lawmakers-to-study-campus-safety-policies-after-series-of-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515212357/https://wtop.com/virginia/2024/05/virginia-lawmakers-to-study-campus-safety-policies-after-series-of-protests/ |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=WTOP-FM |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kutner |first=Brad |date=May 14, 2024 |title=Virginia House and Senate launch inquiries into colleges' responses to student protests |url=https://www.wvtf.org/news/2024-05-14/virginia-house-and-senate-launch-inquiries-into-colleges-responses-to-student-protests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514222358/https://www.wvtf.org/news/2024-05-14/virginia-house-and-senate-launch-inquiries-into-colleges-responses-to-student-protests |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=WVTF |language=en}}

On May 15, United Auto Workers (UAW)'s Harvard Graduate Student Union sued Harvard University, accusing it of surveillance and retaliation against workplace-related collective action, denying employees union representation in disciplinary hearings, and unfairly changing policies regarding access to campus to discourage protesters.{{Cite web |last=Eidelson |first=Josh |date=May 15, 2024 |title=Harvard's Crackdown on Gaza Protest Violated US Labor Law, Union Claims |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/harvard-s-crackdown-on-gaza-protest-violated-us-labor-law-union-claims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515193126/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/harvard-s-crackdown-on-gaza-protest-violated-us-labor-law-union-claims |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-16 |publisher=Bloomberg News}} In October 2024, a federal judge found that Texas Governor Greg Abbott's executive order on preventing antisemitism on campuses likely violated free speech protections.{{cite web |last1=Autullo |first1=Ryan |title=Texas's Antisemitism Rules on Campuses Likely Chill Speech |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/texass-antisemitism-rules-on-campuses-likely-chill-speech |access-date=October 31, 2024 |publisher=Bloomberg Law}}

{{Further|Gaza war protests#Responses}}

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the protests were "horrific" and antisemitic and must be quelled.{{Cite web |last=Mpoke Bigg |first=Matthew |date=April 24, 2024 |title=Netanyahu Calls Student Protests Antisemitic and Says They Must Be Quelled |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/us/netanyahu-israel-us-college-protests.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424232746/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/us/netanyahu-israel-us-college-protests.html |archive-date=April 24, 2024 |access-date=April 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} Jewish U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders responded vehemently, accusing Netanyahu of distracting the American people from the Gaza war{{Cite news |last=Marcos |first=Coral Murphy |date=April 27, 2024 |title=Columbia University calls for inquiry into leadership as student protests sweep 40 campuses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/pro-palestinian-protests-college-campuses |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426215139/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/pro-palestinian-protests-college-campuses |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=April 27, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} and expressing support for the protests.{{Cite web |last1=Shen |first1=Michelle |last2=Beckford |first2=Jalen |date=April 28, 2024 |title=Sanders voices support for pro-Palestinian protests as he condemns 'all forms of bigotry' {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/politics/sanders-university-protest-israel-netanyahu/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429063132/https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/politics/sanders-university-protest-israel-netanyahu/index.html |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-28 |publisher=CNN |language=en}} Many Israeli academics and civilians, alongside columnists in Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz, expressed disdain for the protests, with one describing the general reaction as "seeing them as an attack on the country and not just its government".{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=May 3, 2024 |title=Israelis voice sadness and defiance over Gaza protests on US campuses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/03/israelis-voice-sadness-and-defiance-over-gaza-protests-on-us-campuses |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504182704/https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/03/israelis-voice-sadness-and-defiance-over-gaza-protests-on-us-campuses |archive-date=May 4, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Fink |first=Rachel |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Columbia's entitled squatters and the Manhattan version of air-dropped aid |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2024-05-01/ty-article/.highlight/columbias-entitled-squatters-and-the-manhattan-version-of-air-dropped-aid/0000018f-353b-d8fb-a1df-bd7fd4420000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501233011/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2024-05-01/ty-article/.highlight/columbias-entitled-squatters-and-the-manhattan-version-of-air-dropped-aid/0000018f-353b-d8fb-a1df-bd7fd4420000 |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=May 3, 2024 |title=An anti-Israel media is nothing new: A walk through Western cartoons – opinion |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-799665 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503101034/https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-799665 |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}}

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Quebec Premier François Legault criticized the protests.{{cite news |date=May 8, 2024 |title=Nearly half of Canadians are opposed to university protest encampments, poll suggests |url=https://www.cp24.com/news/nearly-half-of-canadians-are-opposed-to-university-protest-encampments-poll-suggests-1.6878029?cache=vpigvemdpalu%2F7.505408 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615215813/https://www.cp24.com/news/nearly-half-of-canadians-are-opposed-to-university-protest-encampments-poll-suggests-1.6878029?cache=vpigvemdpalu%2F7.505408 |archive-date=June 15, 2024 |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=CP24}}{{cite news |date=May 3, 2024 |title=Quebec premier says police should dismantle pro-Palestinian student camp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/03/pro-palestine-campus-protests-canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618183436/https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/03/pro-palestine-campus-protests-canada |archive-date=June 18, 2024 |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=The Guardian}}

After being invited to visit the Columbia protest, Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza said his experience was great, that he appreciated students wanting to know more and educate themselves, and that it was an honor to raise awareness about the Gaza Strip.{{Cite magazine |last=Mendez |first=Moises |date=April 26, 2024 |title=TIME100 Honoree Motaz Azaiza Speaks on the Gaza Solidarity Encampments Taking Over U.S. Colleges |url=https://time.com/6968855/time100-gala-motaz-azaiza-speaks-on-the-gaza-solidarity-encampments-taking-over-u-s-colleges/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426040623/https://www.yahoo.com/news/motaz-azaiza-gaza-solidarity-college-032200567.html |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |magazine=Time |language=en-US}} Bisan Owda said the protests made the Gazan populace feel "heard".{{Cite news |last=Yazbek |first=Hiba |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Some Gazans Say U.S. Campus Protests Give Them 'Hope' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/world/middleeast/us-college-protests-gaza-palestinians.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501151537/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/world/middleeast/us-college-protests-gaza-palestinians.html |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Zbeedat |first=Nagham |date=May 1, 2024 |title='A voice louder than their bombs': For Gazans, U.S. campus protests are cause for hope |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-05-01/ty-article/.premium/a-voice-louder-than-their-bombs-for-gazans-u-s-campus-protests-are-cause-for-hope/0000018f-2f2f-d8fb-a1df-af6f68620000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501095140/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-05-01/ty-article/.premium/a-voice-louder-than-their-bombs-for-gazans-u-s-campus-protests-are-cause-for-hope/0000018f-2f2f-d8fb-a1df-af6f68620000 |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=Haaretz |language=en}} Displaced people in Gaza expressed gratitude to the student protesters, holding signs such as "Thank you, American universities".{{cite news |last1=Yazbek |first1=Hiba |date=May 2024 |title=Some Gazans Say U.S. Campus Protests Give Them 'Hope' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/world/middleeast/us-college-protests-gaza-palestinians.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501151537/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/world/middleeast/us-college-protests-gaza-palestinians.html |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=May 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}

In response to the protests at Columbia, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs said, "In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order... After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad."{{cite web |title=Columbia University protest: 'We are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad.., says MEA |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/columbia-university-protest-we-are-all-judged-by-what-we-do-at-home-and-not-what-we-say-abroad-says-mea/vi-AA1nEm3y#details |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427223303/https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/columbia-university-protest-we-are-all-judged-by-what-we-do-at-home-and-not-what-we-say-abroad-says-mea/vi-AA1nEm3y#details |archive-date=April 27, 2024 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |website=The Economic Times |publisher=MSN}} Chinese state media expressed support for the protests: the People's Daily wrote that American students are protesting because they "can no longer stand the double standards of the United States" and former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin said that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."{{Cite web |last=Ma |first=Wenhao |date=April 30, 2024 |title=China's state media support protests on US campuses but not at home |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-state-media-support-protests-on-us-campuses-but-not-at-home/7592968.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502000750/https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-state-media-support-protests-on-us-campuses-but-not-at-home/7592968.html |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Voice of America |language=en}} According to Microsoft, Chinese Communist Party-linked influence operations online such as Spamouflage have used the protests to stoke outrage.{{Cite web |last=Swenson |first=Ali |date=August 9, 2024 |title=Iran is accelerating cyber activity that appears meant to influence the US election, Microsoft says |url=https://apnews.com/article/iran-russia-china-election-disinformation-hacking-ee65e29b866852b146e75c9f3312a1ae |access-date=2024-08-10 |language=en |work=Associated Press News |archive-date=August 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809225523/https://apnews.com/article/iran-russia-china-election-disinformation-hacking-ee65e29b866852b146e75c9f3312a1ae |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Watts |first=Clint |date=August 9, 2024 |title=Iran Targeting 2024 US Election |url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/08/08/iran-targeting-2024-us-election/ |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=Microsoft |language=en-US |archive-date=August 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816155848/https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/08/08/iran-targeting-2024-us-election/ |url-status=live }} In Iran, former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized Saudi Arabia's and Jordan's reported consideration of normalizing relations with Israel, saying, "American student protesters being brutalised by US security forces have a much greater claim to protecting Palestinians than the Custodians of Holy Mosques".{{cite web |date=May 5, 2024 |title=Iran's Zarif takes jab at Arab normalisation with Israel amid Gaza 'genocide' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-neither-side-willing-to-budge-in-truce-talks?update=2880960 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505170834/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-neither-side-willing-to-budge-in-truce-talks?update=2880960 |archive-date=May 5, 2024 |access-date=May 10, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} In Tunisia, the General Union of Students released a statement expressing "gratitude and admiration for the student movements at American universities, drawing inspiration from their remarkable history of war rejection, as witnessed during the Vietnam War".{{cite web |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Tunisian student union calls for solidarity rallies |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/26/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-says-preserve-evidence-of-gaza-mass-graves?update=2861492 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430141549/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/26/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-says-preserve-evidence-of-gaza-mass-graves?update=2861492 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}

After the three-day occupation at Sciences Po in Paris, Prime Minister of France Gabriel Attal said he would "not tolerate the actions of a dangerously acting minority", calling the protests "an ideology coming from North America".{{Cite web |last=Mahyou |first=Sania |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Inspired by Columbia, protests erupt at top French universities over Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/30/french-university-students-join-us-led-protests-over-israels-war-in-gaza |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430171514/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/30/french-university-students-join-us-led-protests-over-israels-war-in-gaza |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-30 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}} The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticized the protesters' actions, saying, "universities are places where cultural engagement, even heated, even harsh, must be open 360 degrees, where engagement with strong ideas that are completely different, must be expressed not with violence, not with boycotts, but knowing how to engage".{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Elise Ann |date=May 2, 2024 |title=Holy Land cardinal says U.S. university protests are mistaken approach |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/05/holy-land-cardinal-says-u-s-university-protests-are-mistaken-approach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502144942/https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/05/holy-land-cardinal-says-u-s-university-protests-are-mistaken-approach |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Crux |language=en}} After arrests at the Athens Law School, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that "authorities would not allow universities to become sites for protest over Israel's war on Gaza as has been seen in countries around the world". In support of students' right to protest, European University Institute president Patrizia Nanz accused universities of demanding a "safe space" in order to "justify the repression of students' Gaza protests" and restrict their freedom of speech.{{Cite news |last=Nanz |first=Patrizia |date=May 27, 2024 |title=I run a university – people like me should be backing students' right to protest over Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/27/university-student-protests-gaza-right |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530151332/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/27/university-student-protests-gaza-right |archive-date=May 30, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Sanaa University in Yemen offered education to students suspended due to protests.{{cite news |date=May 3, 2024 |title=Houthis offer education to students suspended in US protest crackdown |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthis-offer-education-students-suspended-us-protest-crackdown-2024-05-03/ |access-date=May 3, 2024 |work=Reuters}} Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University in Iran, has offered scholarships to U.S. students expelled for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. This offer, reported by Press TV, extends to students and professors affected by the protests. Moazzeni suggested that other universities in Shiraz and Fars province may also be prepared to support these students.{{cite news |last1=Cole |first1=Brendan |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Iran university offers scholarships to expelled US students |url=https://www.newsweek.com/iran-shiraz-protesters-palestinian-1896011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510025814/https://www.newsweek.com/iran-shiraz-protesters-palestinian-1896011 |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=Newsweek |language=en}}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS) per WP:NEWSWEEK|date=June 2024}} At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs launched a program aimed at helping Jewish students who feel unsafe at U.S. universities continue their education at Israeli universities.{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Israel opening its universities to besieged US Jewish students |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/israel-opening-its-universities-to-besieged-us-jewish-students/article_12351f64-91a2-5770-a592-bb33c89d4187.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509012952/https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/israel-opening-its-universities-to-besieged-us-jewish-students/article_12351f64-91a2-5770-a592-bb33c89d4187.html |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |access-date=May 8, 2024 |website=Cleveland Jewish News}}

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini has praised the protests on Twitter, praising American students and suggesting they were "on the right side of history". He further described the protesting students as part of the "resistance front" against Israel and encouraged them to "become familiar with the Quran."{{Cite web |last=Timotija |first=Filip |date=May 30, 2024 |title=Iran's supreme leader applauds US campus protests against Israel |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/4694384-irans-supreme-leader-applauds-us-campus-protests-against-israel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531212707/https://thehill.com/policy/international/4694384-irans-supreme-leader-applauds-us-campus-protests-against-israel/ |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kuchar |first=Savannah |title='Right side of history': Iran Supreme Leader thanks campus protesters, calls them 'The Resistance' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/05/30/iran-supreme-leader-sayyed-ali-khamenei-letter-college-protests/73904227007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531104241/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/05/30/iran-supreme-leader-sayyed-ali-khamenei-letter-college-protests/73904227007/ |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Styllis |first=George |date=May 30, 2024 |title=Iran's supreme leader praises US pro-Palestine student protesters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/30/iran-supreme-leader-praises-us-student-protesters-israel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531120805/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/30/iran-supreme-leader-praises-us-student-protesters-israel/ |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-05-31 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} Iran-based influence networks provided financial assistance, and posed as students, "to stoke student-organized protests", according to American intelligence assessments.{{cite web |last=Otterman |first=Sharon |date=October 9, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian Group at Columbia Now Backs 'Armed Resistance' by Hamas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/columbia-pro-palestinian-group-hamas.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241010003830/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/columbia-pro-palestinian-group-hamas.html |archive-date=October 10, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=The New York Times}}

{{Excerpt|2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses|Opinion polls and referendums}}

• Detention of Mahmoud Khalil
• International reactions to the Gaza war

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{{2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses}}

{{Gaza war}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reactions to the Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, 2024}}

Category:Reactions to 2020s events

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Category:April 2024 in the United States

Category:May 2024 in the United States

Category:Anti-Zionism in the United States

Category:History of the Democratic Party (United States)