According to university officials, roughly one hundred individuals were taken into custody following a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday morning at Northeastern University’s Boston campus.
The university reported that early in the morning, its police department started removing “an unauthorized encampment” on campus with the assistance of local law enforcement.
In a statement on X, the university stated that “professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern infiltrated what began as a student demonstration two days ago.” “Use of strong anti-Semitic remarks, such as ‘Kill the Jews,’ went too far last night. This kind of hatred is intolerable on our campus.
Online videos purport to show a counterprotester waving an Israeli flag and making the statement while being jeered at by other students on campus. It’s unclear if the antisemitic remark speaker was one of those taken into custody or disciplined.
Huskies for a Free Palestine, or HFP, the main student group organizing the demonstration, referred to the administration’s statement as “false narratives” and charged that it implied the phrase was uttered by pro-Palestinian demonstrators and used it “as justification for detaining over 100 Northeastern faculty, workers, and students.”
No matter the situation, university spokeswoman Renata Nyul declared, “That language has no place on any university campus.”
According to the university, students “who produced a valid Northeastern ID were released” out of the roughly 100 people the police detained.
The statement stated, “They will face disciplinary proceedings within the university, not legal action.” “Those who remained silent about their affiliation were taken into custody.”
Videos that the organization claims were of students being arrested were uploaded to HFP’s Instagram page. Videos on campus also showed police officers in riot gear.
You’re dressed in riot gear—why? Protesters were heard shouting, “I don’t see no riot here,” and “Who do you serve? “to the police. Who are you guarding?”
Protesters yelled, “Disclose, divest,” and “Free, free Palestine” in other videos that were uploaded to HFP’s Instagram. We’re not going to give up or stop.”
The university said in an update on Saturday afternoon that the protesting area in Centennial Common “was fully secured and all campus activities have returned to normal.”
“We want to thank NUPD, our Student Life staff, as well as the university’s external collaborators for their flawless execution this morning,” the statement continued. The university refused to identify the speaker of the antisemitic slur that they had stated in their initial statement.
Regarding the arrests, which the organization claims were primarily of peaceful students, HFP sent a message to the administration via Instagram.
“We genuinely hope that the administration of Northeastern University is aware. Peremptory protesters may be arrested. However, you are unable to halt the movement,” the statement said. “We are and will always be students opposed to genocide. Your intimidation won’t ever make that different.
The student organization, according to its Instagram, “refuses to cut ties to weapon companies doing business with the Israeli military” and “refuses to even talk about the catastrophic humanitarian emergency that the Genocide against Palestinians had created,” which is why it is taking part in the protest.
According to HFP, the university must “denounce Israel‘s genocide in Palestine and call for an immediate ceasefire” in addition to ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. It must also reveal its current financial holdings and divest from all Israeli corporations and other businesses that profit from the conflict in Gaza.
Students at dozens of American and Canadian universities, including Columbia, Emory, and the University of Southern California, are staging demonstrations in support of Palestinian human rights following months of fighting in Gaza. One such university is Northeastern University.
Similar demands to HFP are being made by students participating in protests on American college campuses: divesting from businesses that might profit from the war and greater transparency from university administrations regarding their financial investments.
Following receipt of a letter signed by community members, Portland State University President Ann Cudd declared on Friday that the university will halt receiving “any further gifts or grants” from Boeing. According to a post on its Instagram account, the university’s Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights has charged Boeing with being “complicit in the occupation and genocide in Palestine.” Boeing has no comments, according to a company representative.
Many colleges have stated that while they support protests and freedom of speech, encampments are against school policy. Numerous people were taken into custody at various colleges on Saturday as a result of their crackdown on campouts.
A spokesman for Arizona State University said that 69 individuals were detained and charged with trespassing after establishing an encampment. According to the school, the encampment was started by individuals who weren’t faculty, staff, or students and they disobeyed orders to leave.
Following warnings to protesters to take down tents and other structures that were against university policy, police made 23 arrests at Indiana University on Saturday. According to the university, those who didn’t were “detained and removed.” The charges against the individuals in custody range from resisting law enforcement to criminal trespass. It’s unclear if they have any connection to the university.
More than 80 people were taken into custody at Washington University in St. Louis after a group of students, staff members, and non-campus residents set up tents and invited others to join them in protest, the university said in a statement. “All will face charges of violating and some may also be imposed with resisting arrest and assault, which includes for injuries to police officers,” the institution stated.