Anti-Israel protesters armed with flares marched towards NYPD headquarters late Monday night after the number of students arrested at NYU reportedly rose to over 150. Videos of Monday night’s protests show demonstrators holding bright flares over their heads while marching toward One Police Plaza while others waved flags, banged drums and chanted “Gaza.” Other clips show NYPD officers in riot gear monitoring protesters who chant “We will free Palestine, within our lifetime.”
By late Monday, more than 150 protesters had been arrested as the NYU camp was broken up, sources told PIX 11. The NYPD could not confirm that number early Tuesday.
A spokesperson for NYU said “disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing” protesters packed Gould Plaza, prompting the university to send the NYPD a written request for them to intervene. Protesters were demanding NYU divest from weapons manufacturers and end the school’s relationship with Tel Aviv University. Some staff at the downtown university were also seen joining the rally. Videos shared online allegedly show dozens of NYU faculty members linking arms to try and prevent the NYPD from moving in on the student’s encampment.
Monday’s scenes at NYU echoed a wave of protests across the city and nation, with college campuses becoming hotbeds of antisemitic protests since Hamas terrorists launched their sneak attack on Israel Oct. 7 and the Jewish state’s ongoing military response. Over 100 have also been arrested at Columbia University, where classes were moved online Monday over safety fears for students on the Manhattan campus. On Sunday, a prominent rabbi at the school urged Columbia and Barnard students to stay home — and university officials told them they could take classes online. Their protests also followed last week’s congressional hearing with Columbia President Minouche Shafik, who spoke about the university’s response to antisemitism. Dozens were also arrested at Yale Monday and other campsites have been pitched on campus quads from Michigan to Massachusetts.
