0:03

Aljazeera. Podcasts, Today,

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tensions. That Us college campuses

0:15

over Israel's war on Dasa continue

0:17

to reach new heights. From

0:22

U C L A and California to

0:24

Columbia. In New York. Arrests,

0:27

videos of police brutality and

0:29

an attack from counterprotesters on

0:31

an encampment. So

0:35

where does this student movement go from

0:37

here? I'm.

0:41

Really could be lol and this is the take.

0:49

I'm on the campus at the

0:52

University of California Los Angeles. A

0:54

day after pro Palestinian protesters were

0:56

violently attacked by Pro Israel counter.

0:59

Protesters. And

1:01

inside the and care of it right

1:03

now the very encampment that was attacked.

1:05

There has been word that this will

1:07

be forced to be broken up. Later

1:09

today. Police are circled outside if the

1:11

encampment. Humans are moving about. some are

1:13

breaking down their tents, other say they're

1:15

staying. I

1:18

don't feel comfortable doing my name

1:20

just because of that and situation

1:22

going on and attacks my peers

1:24

and myself have been getting from.

1:27

Groups of Zionists. Were

1:29

you here When he in chem

1:32

it was attacked I was here

1:34

when they can win was attacks.

1:36

But I was outside of the encampment. This.

1:42

Student was one of several I talked

1:44

to on campus who was there overnight

1:46

Tuesday. The encampment had

1:48

been in place for almost two

1:50

weeks and mike other similar encampments

1:52

at universities around the country the

1:54

students they are calling for their

1:56

school to divest from Israel. And

1:59

at you. Elaine. Their message was met

2:01

with a violent. Response from

2:03

a massive counter protesters

2:05

carrying bear spray fireworks,

2:08

even live rodents. Pro:

2:11

Israeli Demonstrators surrounded are pro

2:13

Palestinian encampments, some using climber

2:15

sword. And sour taste as

2:18

weapons fireworks were thrown into

2:20

the encampment. Later.

2:22

We the total in there and ten and

2:24

with my friends to see if we could

2:26

pick anybody up to the lot of people

2:28

were going to that your at this point

2:30

as they were a lot of people who

2:33

are feeling unsafe and needed rights have especially

2:35

the girls because it doesn't typically then targeting

2:37

is attacking goals more often especially the jaw.

2:39

This. Is. By the

2:41

time I visited the encampment, it has been.

2:43

Rebuilt. Citizen

2:51

assembly line of sort have lined

2:53

up on the stairs leading up to

2:55

him. ever since is hop up a

2:57

beautiful green hill a very powerful right

3:00

now. But this assembly line for

3:02

passing along see a fly

3:04

one can reinforce the and.

3:11

I am a lot like hey ask

3:13

for their his organization here and there

3:15

and leader. There's a hierarchy and every

3:17

one is helping each other. But.

3:21

Just hours after I left, the

3:23

Cla police stormed and to clear

3:25

the encampment officers. In riot

3:28

fears and flash

3:30

bang arresting students.

3:32

Several injuries were reported that was

3:34

one of the largest police rose

3:36

and certain from Texas is missing

3:38

my demonstrations in solidarity Gaza broke

3:41

up for a few students. Remain

3:43

define what a call for peace.

3:46

The police raided you Cla at those

3:48

similar ones that have played out at

3:50

universities across the United States. Prompting.

3:53

Us President Joe Biden to address

3:55

the protests and the response. was

3:58

see the images and

4:00

they put to the test two fundamental American

4:02

principles. Excuse me. The

4:05

first is the right to free speech

4:08

and for people to peacefully assemble and make

4:10

their voices heard. The second

4:13

is the rule of law. Both

4:15

must be upheld. We

4:18

are not an authoritarian nation where we

4:20

silence people or squash dissent. The

4:23

American people are heard. But

4:26

many of the protesters we heard from

4:28

felt differently. On

4:32

Monday night at Columbia University in New

4:34

York, where the first cause of solidarity

4:37

encampment began, students extended their

4:39

protests to occupy a university

4:42

building. But

4:44

the next night, Colombia's president,

4:47

Neimaz Menou-Shafiq, asked the

4:49

police to come in to clear out

4:51

the building and the encampment. More

4:53

than 100 people were arrested. Dalia

5:03

Darazim, a first-year Palestinian-American student

5:05

who's been heavily involved in

5:07

the protest movement, was there

5:10

and told us the New York Police

5:13

Department response was brutal. The

5:15

NYPD swarmed in numbers that

5:18

I don't think was comprehendable

5:20

to anyone. It

5:22

was horrifying to witness. I

5:26

was in front of the barricade until

5:32

the NYPD brutalized

5:35

the people in front of the barricade. And

5:39

they pushed everybody else in a

5:41

ratio that was unheard of into

5:44

John Jay Hall, a residential building,

5:47

and barricaded the door with no legal observers,

5:50

with no medical personnel, with nobody

5:52

in the building except hundreds of

5:55

students who they pushed in. Dalia

5:58

believes Colombia's advance is A. Ministration put

6:00

the protesters under siege that day.

6:03

By. Preventing faculty and other students

6:05

that have been protecting them and

6:07

solidarity from entering campus. And

6:10

he compares it to the main thing.

6:13

See and her fellow protesters have been

6:15

demonstrating against. Israel seeds and

6:17

Gaza. A. Scene that.

6:19

The. Administration his administration's know that

6:22

it cannot contain it student body

6:24

and the only way it was

6:26

able to do so. why was

6:29

putting us in a see some

6:31

I had that of Israeli each

6:33

on Gaza on the occupied territories

6:35

of the pretty nice of all

6:38

our people are instituting check point

6:40

of departing as of all journalists

6:42

of all legal observers of our.

6:45

Food. That was the only

6:47

way they were able to set aside

6:49

and not not a when. As.

6:52

Tensions rise on campuses and

6:54

students reported feeling increasingly on

6:57

safe. University. Administration's

6:59

and police have in many

7:01

cases prevented journalists from reporting.

7:11

And when much as a media can't get

7:13

onto campus. Student. Journalists are

7:15

often filling the void. Can

7:17

tell from my vantage point of goods. Wanted a

7:19

thirty? Maybe forty to fifty and my period. Officers.

7:22

In riot gear. Great things you do

7:24

that will And he posted on the Hamilton whole. Situation

7:28

is anyone else of in of the. Kiana

7:32

Sneaker is the station manager

7:34

at K R S H

7:36

I campus radio station at

7:39

California Polytechnic University. Humbled. Police.

7:42

Had been on campus they are multiple

7:44

times since protests began on April Twenty

7:46

second protests that he on us as

7:49

have been peaceful and called people were

7:51

just hanging out. There was a lot

7:53

of organized the ban. I. saw

7:56

people making are playing live music and

7:58

there is even a mutual aid kitchen,

8:00

making sure that everyone was getting fed.

8:03

But earlier this week, police arrested 31 people

8:06

at that encampment. When

8:09

I got to campus at 10

8:11

p.m. on Monday night, that's when

8:13

campus police started driving around and

8:15

announcing on loudspeakers declaring

8:18

the occupation an unlawful

8:20

assembly, telling students that

8:22

they had 15 minutes to

8:24

leave the area. Anyone left

8:26

could be subject to arrest. And

8:29

Keanu was live on Instagram as this was happening.

8:31

In front of Library Circle. And

8:36

of course there was the threat

8:39

of kinetic projectiles and chemical agents.

8:42

This lasted hours. I

8:45

personally witnessed the student

8:47

protesters sitting in a circle in front

8:49

of the cops with their arms linked. And

8:52

I saw two students being picked up

8:54

and having their hands tied behind their

8:57

backs with zip ties. One

8:59

student even had his legs tied and

9:01

was carried off belly down by four

9:03

cops. Chainsaws were

9:06

being used to break the barricade. And

9:09

I saw cops with bright orange projectile

9:11

weapons. This is what I'm assuming to

9:13

be the rubber bullets. There

9:16

were officers with batons and shields,

9:18

she says. And two drones were

9:20

in the sky as well. Why

9:25

this story isn't unique after

9:28

the break. The

9:32

Inside Story podcast dissects, analyzes and

9:34

helps define major global stories. We

9:37

get into the details with experts who

9:39

explain how policies affect people. The

9:42

Inside Story podcast by Al Jazeera. Find

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us wherever you listen to podcasts. While

9:54

university administrations are currently at

9:56

odds with student protesters over

9:58

Gaza, The faculty members

10:01

have broken range from their respective

10:03

administration's. And have been supporting

10:05

the students. At

10:10

the University of Texas Austin State

10:12

Troopers were sent on campus on

10:14

horseback with right here. And they

10:16

made more than one hundred arrests. State

10:19

Troopers are again clashing with pro

10:21

Palestinian demonstrators who have been trying

10:23

to set up an encampment fair

10:26

at the university. More than six

10:28

hundred members of the U T.

10:30

Austin. Faculty signed a letter

10:32

condemning the crackdown. Pauline.

10:34

Strong, a professor of Anthropology was

10:36

one of them. The.

10:39

Circle, who have stood up for

10:41

students, don't necessarily all have the

10:43

same political views, but what we

10:46

believe in is the right. Our

10:48

students to speak up. And.

10:51

To. Silence the

10:53

university and the states

10:55

and than a some.is

10:58

a son sold to

11:00

higher education in the

11:02

United States. Disease.

11:05

Or strong says the fourth was used

11:07

by the police. Not

11:09

by the students, not

11:12

by the protesters as

11:14

a very forcefully most

11:16

assistance when they were

11:18

arresting them and the

11:21

arrest. Did

11:23

not seem to be necessary in

11:25

any way. They seem to be

11:27

arresting leaders of the group even

11:30

when elaters for trying to comply

11:32

and get others to comply with

11:34

the orders as the police. And

11:38

Professor Strong is placing the blame on

11:40

the University. Administration. It

11:43

seems that the administration

11:45

was. Absolutely

11:47

adamant about not

11:50

allowing and encampments.

11:53

And so and they

11:55

responded. In. Force to

11:57

the students plan to have

11:59

again. and it

12:02

seemed like a tactic of intimidation.

12:06

We feel that the administration

12:08

did not confer adequately with faculty

12:11

and that they did not respect

12:13

the rights of free

12:15

speech and free assembly, and

12:17

that they called in police that

12:19

violently suppressed the students' rights.

12:24

Despite the crackdowns on Gaza

12:26

solidarity encampments across the country,

12:29

Dalia, the Columbia student we spoke to

12:31

earlier, says student

12:33

protesters remain optimistic about the

12:36

movement. It

12:38

was incredibly defeating and

12:40

harrowing to watch them

12:42

sweep what so many of us have organized.

12:48

But the student body is so

12:50

powerful, and we refuse to

12:52

take any sort of deal

12:55

that doesn't say that

12:57

we are explicitly divesting from Israel and

12:59

promises that divestment. The

13:01

brutalization of my peers, the mass arrests of

13:03

my peers, has only inspired

13:05

me further and has only radicalized

13:07

the student body further. I think

13:10

everybody is deeply ashamed to be a student

13:12

of Columbia University, but I've

13:14

never been prouder to be a student of the

13:16

student movement. Dalia

13:18

points to the fact that so many other

13:20

encampments keep popping up as a

13:22

reason for her optimism. As

13:25

our encampment got swept, there

13:27

are many more restarting

13:29

in our place, and

13:31

we are so deeply grateful

13:34

for our comrades who are willing

13:36

to risk arrest. Columbia

13:38

is part of a globalized

13:41

student revolution. I

13:44

watched the videos of NYPD

13:47

marching like an army into

13:49

the Columbia University. It's terrifying.

13:51

It's terrifying. And

13:53

what's happening at UCLA with

13:55

counterprotesters fighting? has

14:00

been involved with the encampment at Cornell

14:02

University in upstate New York since

14:05

it started on April 25th. I

14:07

mean, we're scared, we're worried

14:09

here, but there are people

14:11

who are fighting for their lives right now. And

14:14

so for us to put our bodies on the

14:16

line in this way, I don't see any other

14:18

way. The only response

14:20

for me I can have is to

14:23

stand up and stand in solidarity

14:25

with the people of Gaza. The

14:28

students involved with the Cornell encampment have

14:30

been suspended since it began. And Sivan

14:33

says that fear is something the rest

14:36

of them carry. Many

14:38

of us are paranoid. I myself have been

14:40

checking my email every couple hours

14:42

out of fear. But

14:45

they are using these suspensions basically as

14:47

gardening chips to distract from the larger

14:49

issue at hand, which is Cornell's investment

14:51

in genocide. Sivan

14:54

is Jewish and an active member of

14:56

Cornell's chapter of the national group, Jewish

14:58

Voice for Peace. But

15:00

her activism doesn't sit well with

15:03

her family. I've

15:07

heard from my own family members that, oh,

15:10

these encampments are all anti-Semitic. There are no Jews

15:12

who are part of this. And to

15:14

that I say they are wrong. The media is

15:18

wrong. The government that has been

15:20

continuing to also spew these lies

15:22

are also wrong. This

15:24

is a group of people from

15:26

all faiths, all

15:28

ethnic backgrounds, and there

15:30

is the Jewish community within this

15:32

encampment. Many Jewish participants are

15:35

part of Jewish Voices for Peace. I

15:37

am part of that organization. And

15:40

I find it to be reprehensible

15:43

the way that anti-Semitism has

15:46

been weaponized. I

15:49

mean, it's so offensive because I

15:51

am who I am because of my Jewish

15:53

upbringing. I am who I am because

15:56

my grandparents and my great grandparents.

16:00

were persecuted and expelled

16:02

from where they lived. We,

16:05

as Jewish people, have always

16:07

identified as an oppressed people.

16:11

And yet now we have become the oppressor.

16:14

And that is to say that the state of Israel

16:16

is the oppressor. But I

16:18

think it's really important that the

16:20

media is saying Israel is representative

16:23

of the Jewish people. And to that

16:25

I say that is wrong. The

16:28

current state of Israel is treating

16:30

Palestinians as second-class citizens.

16:33

It is killing children and families

16:35

by the thousands. And

16:42

it is just going to continue

16:44

to create

16:47

these patterns of hate and

16:51

vengeance and war. And

16:54

we need to move past that. As

17:01

Gaza solidarity student protests across the country figure

17:04

out a way forward, some

17:06

are taking inspiration from Brown

17:08

University. On

17:11

Wednesday, the university's administration agreed

17:13

that its board would hold a vote

17:15

in October on whether to divest from

17:17

Israel. The university agreed

17:19

to schedule a vote on divestment at

17:22

the school board's fall meeting. In

17:24

exchange, protestors agreed to clear their

17:27

encampment. I believe that we will

17:29

win. I believe that we will

17:31

win. Arman Dindar, a student who

17:33

was involved in the encampment protest at Brown,

17:35

sees it as a real victory. I

17:38

would say there's now extraordinary

17:40

optimism around achieving divestment from

17:42

Israeli occupation at Brown. For

17:44

the past five years, we have been demanding

17:47

that administration bring divestment in front of the

17:49

Brown Corporation for a vote. And

17:51

now, following six months of heightened attention

17:53

on an action for Palestine at Brown

17:55

and around the world, we finally pushed

17:58

the administration to do just that. What

18:04

this action, what this encampment and encampments across

18:06

the country show is that we're

18:09

finally seeing actionable movement in

18:11

terms of divestment. I think

18:13

that other universities might follow suit. This

18:16

helps us all see that if we

18:18

keep pushing, divestment is more than possible

18:21

and protests, especially collective protests, works in

18:23

getting people in power to notice the

18:25

mass movement that calls out our institutions

18:27

complicity in genocide. And

18:34

that's The Take. For

18:37

more of our teams on the ground

18:39

reporting from campus protests, head over to

18:41

Instagram. You can find us

18:44

at AJE Podcasts. This

18:47

episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra,

18:49

Chloe Kaylee, and Sonia Bagat. But,

18:52

Siri El-Khalili, Amy Walters, Nighin

18:55

Oliayi, Khaled Sorshan,

18:57

David Enders, Zaina Badr,

18:59

Baranisa Campana, Manahil Navid,

19:02

Catherine Nuhan, Tamara Kandacker,

19:04

Thapish Talib, and me,

19:06

Malika Bilal. Our

19:08

sound designer is Alex Roldan. Alexandra Locke

19:11

is The Take's executive producer, and Nate

19:13

Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

19:16

We'll be back. Thank

19:22

you.