First US, now UK, Europe, and Australia: How anti-Israel student protests are going global

The anti-Israel protests that begun at the elite Columbia University in the US and spread to campuses across the country have gone global.

Students at colleges in France, Italy, UK and Australia have now joined the demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza.

But what do we know about the protests at universities around the world?

Let’s take a closer look:

UK

As per The Telegraph, Russell Group students set up an encampment at the University of Warwick. A group called Warwick Stands with Palestine comprising staff and students occupied the piazza.

The group in a social media post said it will “rise up in unison with fellow students all over the world, from Columbia, NYC, to Paris, to Sydney”.

“We say no business as usual as long as Warwick sponsors colonial genocide!” the group added.

The group is demanding the university cut ties with companies it claims are enabling Israel’s war in Gaza, including defence contractors.

The group also demanded that Warwick University “condemn Israeli war crimes”, “expand scholarships for Palestinian students” and “protect the freedom of speech” of Palestinian students and their allies in “expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for national liberation”.

The newspaper quoted a spokesman telling Times Higher Education, “We’re using the political moment, the escalations happening in Columbia [University] and all over the world at the moment… to keep the attention on Gaza.”

Meanwhile, students at the University College London (UCL) held a rally to protest Israel’s bombardment of Gaza at the university’s main quad.

A flyer for the event, organised by UCL Action for Palestine, stated: “From Gaza to Columbia to London, we will not rest until our campuses divest.”

Students at UCL raised banners condemning the university as being “complicit in genocide” and demanding it “divest from death,” as per The National.

Students on the steps of its main building chanted “no more money for Israel’s crimes” and “London students, it’s our time – shut it down for Palestine.”

They also held a reading of the names of the Palestinian academics killed in the war.

“There’s lots and lots of support, so we’re really excited about how the movement’s grown,” Rob, 19, told The National.

“We will go through the channels of talking to management, of trying to do things officially,” he added.

“But we will also disrupt, we will also take things into our own hands. We’re committed to using every possible avenue to end UCL’s complicity with war crimes.”

Rob said students were “obviously very keen to show our solidarity and support for American protesters”.

“But one thing that these American protesters are very clear on, but we’re clear on too, is the centre of this movement isn’t London or New York or any other city, it is Gaza, it is Palestine,” he added.

“We’re just trying to make sure that we are showing solidarity with protesters in the US but what they’re showing solidarity for are the people of Palestine.”

Ex-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s speech at Oxford University was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters.

An activist unfurled a Palestinian flag from his pocket at the Oxford Union during Pelosi’s speech.

The group Youth Demand said “warmongers like Nancy Pelosi are not welcome on university campuses” as it vowed it would “not sit down and be quiet while these people are given platforms”.

The protesters were removed by police as the audience booed and heckled the protesters.

Around 250 protesters chanted in support of Palestine outside the venue.

As per Al Jazeera, protests were also held in Leicester which witnessed participation from students from the University of Leicester Palestine Society.

Students from the University of Leeds also occupied a campus building in protest against the university’s involvement with Israel last month.

France

The prestigious Paris Institute of Political Studies also witnessed student unrest.

The elite university known as Sciences Po counts President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its many famous alumni.

On Friday, students blocked access to a campus building.

Administrators responded by moving classes online.

Protesters first occupied a central campus building and blocked its entrance with trash cans, wooden platforms and a bicycle. They also gathered at the building’s windows, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, and hung out Palestinian flags and placards.

Hicham, a student at Sciences Po told Al Jazeera, “We have a few demands but one of them is to start investigating all of the ties they [Sciences Po] have with the state of Israel, which [are] academic and financial”.

Later Friday, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators faced each other in a tense standoff in the street outside the school. Riot police stepped in to separate the opposing groups.

“This all started several days ago to protest against the perceived silence of the university administration regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza and people want to suspend partnerships with Israeli universities, as the school did against Russian ones after the Ukraine invasion,” Isabelle, 21, a first-year master’s student, told The Telegraph.

“Sciences Po has threatened to throw out students who blocked the university, which is unacceptable. Sending the police in has only increased tensions.”

This came a day after police removed five dozen students who had taken over another building and pitched tents in the courtyard, as per the newspaper.

As night fell, a dwindling group of pro-Palestinian protesters refused to budge, ignoring police orders to evacuate the street and warnings of possible arrests. Eventually, demonstrators came out of the building, carrying a large Palestinian flag, to cheers from the protesters who had been supporting them outside.

They then started to stream peacefully away from the area, watched by police.

Among the several protester demands was that Sciences Po sever ties with Israeli schools.

The Telegraph quoted students as demanding the university “cut its ties with universities and companies that are complicit in the genocide in Gaza” and “end the repression of pro-Palestinian voices on campus”.

In an email to students, Sciences Po administrator Jean Bassères pledged to hold a townhall meeting in the coming week and to suspend some disciplinary proceedings against students. In return, students “committed to no longer disrupting courses, examinations and all other activities of the institution,” the email said.

The Gaza war is sharply divisive in France, which has the largest populations of Muslims and Jews in western Europe. France initially sought to ban pro-Palestinian demonstrations after Hamas’ surprise 7 October attack on Israel that sparked the war. Antisemitism has surged.

On Wednesday evening, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters had also occupied a Sciences Po amphitheater. Most agreed to leave after discussions with management but a small group of students remained. They were removed by police later that night, according to French media reports.

The university administration closed all university buildings and moved classes online Friday. It said in a statement it “strongly condemns these student actions which prevent the proper functioning of the institution and penalize Sciences Po students, teachers and employees.”

Louise, a protester, said the students’ actions were inspired by similar demonstrations at New York’s Columbia University and other U.S. campuses.

“But our solidarity remains first and foremost with the Palestinian people,” she said. She spoke on condition that only her first name be used over concerns of repercussions.

According to Al Jazeera, students of Sorbonne University are also protesting.

“This will continue as long as we don’t have an open and serious conversation about the issue,” a student told the outlet.

Historian Eraldo Souza dos Santos told the outlet, “It is increasingly the government and the police response to civil disobedience, especially under [President Emmanuel] Macron,” he said.

Australia

Various student groups at the University of Melbourne have put up an encampment in the Parkville campus’ large central lawn.

At least 60 tents, swags and communal gazebos have been raised.

Protesters are demanding that the institution renounce ties with any and all weapons manufacturers.

The university previously worked with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon on non-weapons related research.

It claims all projects comply with ethics, integrity and Defence rules and codes.

A University of Melbourne spokesperson said the “peaceful” protesters were exercising their right, and the protest continued without incident.

“Freedom of speech is respected and supported at the University of Melbourne and is central to our values and identity,” the spokesperson added.

“The university welcomes debate and peaceful protest on campus, provided it does not extend to violence, threat or intimidation.”

“All perspectives are welcome but these must be expressed in a respectful way, so that everyone can fully participate in University life,” the spokesperson concluded.

Students at the University of Sydney have also set up pro-Palestine encampments, as per Al Jazeera.

Italy

Rome’s La Sapienza University witnessed violent clashes between demonstrators and police, as per Ansa.it

Two people were arrested after protesters attempted to crash a meeting at the university’s academic senate.

Protesters also tried to pass through a cordon of police in riot gear at an exit and there was also chaos at a police station.

Students of the university held demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes on  17 and 18 April.

Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni slammed the students.

“Devastation, attacks, assaults on a Rectorate and on a police station, with a police director getting punched.

This is not demonstrating, it’s delinquency,’ Meloni added.

With inputs from agencies