Anti-Israel students at Manhattan’s New School took over the university’s lobby on Sunday and set up a “Liberty Zone” encampment on the Union Square campus. This is the latest Middle East protest in the Big Apple.
This shabby sit-in took shape as another large sit-in took over Columbia University’s West Lawn uptown. It was dismantled last week, resulting in dozens of arrests, but another defiant sit-in has begun.
As many as 20 protesting students occupied the lobby area of the New School University Center on West 12th Street with tents and signs.
“A New School Needs Action” New School for Justice Student Group in Palestine Posted on Instagram on Sunday. “Gaza Solidarity Encampment! Show up now!
Another post added: “We follow in the footsteps of our Columbia University comrades.”
Protesters are demanding that the school begin a “refusal to cooperate” with the NYPD, protect anti-Israel professors, and “implement an academic boycott against the genocidal Zionist apartheid state.” .
Students set up a series of tents, near which was a sign that read “Depart from Genocide Now,” while protesters stood at a sign that read “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that could be seen from the street. Banners were taped to windows on campus.
In an online post early Sunday, the student organization said The New School had placed it on probation until May 2025 “as a registered student organization” for “violating ‘demonstration guidelines.'”
This means the group is prohibited from hosting public events or using university resources, and its members are required to participate in “university-managed de-escalation and peaceful demonstration training.” are required to complete.
The New School later said in a statement that President Donna Shalala spoke with the protesting students “to resolve the situation.”
The school agreed to meet with some of the demonstrators on Monday “to discuss their interest in selling certain holdings of the university’s endowment,” the statement said.
Shalala also committed to consulting with the investment committee of the school’s board of trustees to “consider student requests for financial transparency regarding the sale of the university,” the statement said.
“Due to the successful dialogue between the president and the students, no charges will be filed against the protesters,” he said, also referring to possible punishment for the sit-ins.
Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, many university campuses have become hotbeds of anti-Israel demonstrations, including Ivy League schools such as Columbia University in the Big Apple and elsewhere.
Hamas terrorists launched a deadly surprise attack on the Jewish state on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The act prompted a counterattack against terror groups in the Gaza Strip, which infuriated the protesting students.
Last week, a large anti-Israel camp at Columbia University was stormed by New York City police officers in riot gear, and more than 100 protesters were taken away in handcuffs.
Those detained included Ira Hirsi, the daughter of Squad member U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was among the students who received a citation for trespassing. .
The students returned within 24 hours and rebuilt the Columbia encampment.
