Columbia University: Police arrest protesters who had set up pro
NEW YORK (AP) — New York police arrested protesters at Columbia University on Thursday who had set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
Several students involved in the protest said they were also suspended from Columbia and Barnard College, including Isra Hirsi, who is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat. The congresswoman had questioned Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, about the school’s targeting of pro-Palestinian protestersat a hearing on Wednesday.
Protest organizers said Hirsi also was among those arrested.
The students have been protesting on campus since early Wednesday, demanding the school divest from companies they claim “profit from Israeli apartheid” and the Israeli military action in Gaza.
Shafik issued a statement saying the school had warned protesters on Wednesday that they would be suspended if the encampment was not removed. School officials made the decision Thursday to call in police and clear out the demonstrators.