Anti-Israel protests sweep US college campuses around the nation

Byron Donalds, a Republican House member from Florida, said the anti-Israel protests on campuses around the country are calculated. He tweeted his remarks Friday evening with a video clip from a Fox News appearance.

"These protests are ON PURPOSE.

These protests are BY-DESIGN.

These protests are HIGHLY-ORGANIZED.

These protests encourage OUTSIDE AGITATORS.

These protests are bankrolled by DEMOCRAT mega-donors.

There's a reason why all the tents we see across America's campuses are the same."

There have been more than 2,600 arrests on campuses over the last two weeks, but only a handful from Florida.

The City of Portland has added an extra police bicycling crew to its bureau, and Mayor Ted Wheeler said it's a welcome addition to a crew that's already made an impact.

"The @PortlandPolice Central Bike Squad has made a tremendous impact downtown - and we're excited to announce they are expanding. A new team of 4 officers and 1 sergeant will now work evenings and weekends," the mayor tweeted.

The new force adds four officers and one sergeant to its existing five members, of which the team already works Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The new team of five will work shifts Wednesday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to midnight. That schedule could be adjusted for special missions, officials said.

“I am thrilled to be in a position to expand the Central Bike Squad,” Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day said. “Our Bike Squad does incredible work Downtown and growing the team will only improve upon that work. In addition, adding resources to our Bike Squad furthers my goals of transforming the dynamic between police and the public and reducing crime and the fear of crime.”

Although the police department said its bike crew "will strategically address crime and livability issues, including drug dealing, unlawful weapons possession, stolen vehicles, graffiti, and other vandalism," it will focus on downtown and the entertainment district.

Portland State University has been a hotspot for anti-Israel protesters in the last two weeks. One week ago, PPB arrested 30 protesters who took over the PSU library twice in one day.

University of Pennsylvania officials said less than a third of the protesters arrested Friday during anti-Israel protests on campus were students.

"Penn police have now confirmed 9 Penn students were among the 33 individuals arrested — the other 24 individuals have no Penn affiliation," the university said in a statement.

"The arrested individuals were given code violation notices for defiant trespass and were released quickly throughout the morning. Upon searching the encampment, Penn police recovered several homemade weapons devised chains, bolts, and other metal parts."

“At approximately 5:30am this morning, Penn Police, with support from the Philadelphia Police Department, took steps to remove the unauthorized encampment on College Green,” a spokesperson said. “Protestors were given multiple warnings that they were trespassing and offered the opportunity to voluntarily leave and avoid citation.  

“Those who chose to stay did so knowing that they would be arrested and removed,” the spokesperson added. “Approximately 33 individuals were arrested without incident and cited for defiant trespass.” 

Interim UPenn President J. Larry Jameson and other top university officials released a joint statement this morning saying the encampment’s removal was an “unfortunate but necessary step to prevent violence, restore operations, and return our campus to our community.” 

“We have worked with serious intention for nearly two weeks to engage the protestors on College Green, who were notified on April 26th -- the second day of the encampment -- that they were in violation of Penn’s policies,” the administrators wrote. “This outreach has been met by unreasonable demands and a dangerous escalation of the encampment.”

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Thursday's anti-Israel protests at the New School in New York City resulted in more than 10 protesters taken into custody, per the NYPD.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital by DCPI, "On Thursday, May 9, 2024, at approximately 1600 hours, police responded to a demonstration that took place at 63 5 Avenue, within the confines of the 6 Precinct."

"The demonstration concluded at 2155 hours. A total of 11 individuals were taken into custody."

Charges filed included harassment, disorderly conduct (obstructing traffic), escape, and criminal mischief.

Of those taken into custody, ages ranged from 22 to 46. One was labeled as 'undomiciled.'

Fox News Digital has reached out to the New School for comment.

ASU Police Chief Mike Thompson (FOX10 Phoenix)

FOX10 Phoenix reported Friday that ASU Police Chief Michael Thompson has taken a paid administrative leave of absence after complaints were made against "alleged actions from April 26 to 27."

In the late hours of April 26, nearly 70 arrests were made of anti-Israel protesters present at the Old Main area of ASU's Tempe campus.

ASU graduate Nyarah Breed told FOX10 Phoenix at a subsequent press conference, "I think everyone should have the right to protest for what they believe in, and I feel like everyone should have the right to [free] speech, especially here on ASU’s campus."

In the interim, the acting chief of ASU Police will be the former Assistant Chief John Thompson.

ASU's statement concludes that the "ASU Office of General Counsel is directing a review of actions surrounding the establishment and removal of an encampment on the Alumni Lawn."

"Upon completion of the review, ASU will provide an update on its findings."

Joni Ernst and Bill Cassidy are joined by 14 more GOP Senators in calling for the IRS investigation. (Getty Images)

Republican senators sent a letter Friday to Daniel I. Werfel, Commissioner of the IRS, to open an investigation into non-profit organizations suspected to be funding protests on college campuses nationwide through the National Students for Justice in Palestine or NSJP.

The senators requested that the AJP Educational Foundation (AJP), the Tides Foundation, the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation (WESPAC Foundation), and "and other benefactors of NSJP" all be investigated by the IRS.

Additionally, the GOP senators cited precedent that when "501(c)(3) organizations have 'planned activities that violate laws' or engage in activities designed 'to induce the commission of a crime or if the accomplishment of the purpose is otherwise against public policy,' the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has grounds to revoke their tax-exempt status.

"It is yet to be determined whether the named non-profit organizations are involved in the ongoing college campus anti-Israel protests and encampments.

While primarily a letter signed off by GOP senators Joni Ernst and Bill Cassidy, there are 14 more co-signers including Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney.

Fox News Digital has reached out to AJP, the Tides Foundation, the WESPAC Foundation and the IRS for comment.

Republican podcaster Steve Hilton and Democrat former state senator Gloria Romero launched Golden Together on Friday, a non-partisan organization seeking to "restore the California Dream."

In a letter penned to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Hilton and Romero claimed that a "calamitous absence of leadership" has led to a "needless punish[ment of] students at California's great public universities."

Hilton and Romero argued that "Hardworking UC students now find their campuses silenced and the commencement of their work towards their own American Dream facing cancellation."

"This time, rather than being caused by misguided lockdowns, it is being caused by the bullying and harassment of a minority of students (along with outside agitators) who are selfishly imposing their divisive, extremist—and often racist—ideologies in the name of protests which have already been declared 'unlawful."

The Golden Together letter demanded that California leadership ensure "All graduation and commencement ceremonies proceed as planned between June 13th and 16th."

Romero, a UC system graduate, served as Democrat Majority Leader in the California State Senate from 2005 to 2008.

The anti-Israel student encampment at GWU

GWU Vice Provost for Student Affairs Dean of Students Colette Coleman sent an invitation Friday morning addressed to "GW Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students."

The invitation encouraged these student groups to "engage in a dialogue regarding concerns raised during recent protests in a mutually respectful environment."

The conversation, planned for 1:00 pm EDT Friday, comes after pro-Palestinian student encampments resulted in 33 arrests Wednesday. Fox News confirmed that only 6 of those 33 arrests were GWU students.

The GWU invitation requested, "We are open to dialogue regarding broad community concerns, including free speech and Islamophobia on campus.""

We also want to make clear in advance that the university is not considering changes to our endowment investment strategy, academic partnerships, or established SRR processes."

Many anti-Israel student groups have demanded that the University disclose its Israeli business partners or divest from them.

The conversation with student groups was planned to last "for 45 minutes."

Signs are displayed outside a tent encampment at Northwestern University on Friday, April 26, in Evanston, Illinois. (AP/Teresa Crawford)

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC., the chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent a letter to Northwestern University leaders Friday demanding answers on an agreement reached with anti-Israel agitators. 

In the letter, Foxx announces her committee has opened an investigation into the university's “response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students.” She demands documents and communications concerning the encampment and alleged antisemitic incidents that have taken place at Northwestern since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in addition to other materials. 

“I have grave concerns regarding Northwestern's persistent failure in addressing antisemitism,” Foxx writes. 

The letter comes after Northwestern's top administrators — including President Michael Schill — have faced intense criticism over an agreement with student protesters to end an illegal encampment on campus. 

Schill wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune published Thursday that stated that “University presidents are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the wave of protests and tent encampments on our campuses.” 

The column was titled "Here’s why I reached an agreement with Northwestern protesters." 

Schill wrote that anti-Israel protesters at Northwestern "asked for several changes to university policy including divestment from Israel and the end of an academic program that focused on Israeli innovation. We said a flat no to both. But we did say we understood their isolation and alienation and wanted to work with them to improve life at Northwestern for Muslim students and students from the Middle East and North Africa.” 

“Ultimately, we came to an agreement that they would take down the tent encampment and bring the demonstration into compliance with our rules and regulations,” Schill said, adding that the school has agreed to “establish a house for Muslim and Middle Eastern students to eat, pray and socialize, something already enjoyed by our Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Black and female students,” among other changes.  

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Quinn Perian, an undergraduate student at MIT and organizer for MIT Jews for Ceasefire, told The Associated Press Friday that the dismantling of an anti-Israel encampment there is “only going to make us stronger. 

“They can’t arrest the movement," Perian said. “We are going to continue and won’t back down until MIT agrees to cut ties with the Israeli military. MIT would rather arrest and suspend some students than they would end their complicity with the genocide going in Gaza.” 

Before removing the encampment, MIT earlier in the week had started suspending dozens of students, meaning they wouldn’t be able to take part in academic activities or commencement. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Russell Berrie Foundation, which has donated $86 million to Columbia University, has suspended its giving following the anti-Israel protests that recently erupted there, the New York Times is reporting Friday. 

The foundation says on its website that it was created to “express the values and passions” of the late Russell Berrie, the founder of a toy and gift company who died in 2002. Its goals include promoting “the continuity and enrichment of Jewish communal life” and to “support advances in medicine, focusing on diabetes and humanism in medicine.” 

Angelica Berrie, the wife of Russell Berrie, wrote an email to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik in January saying that future giving would rely in part on “evidence that you and leaders across the university are taking appropriate steps to create a tolerant and secure environment for Jewish members of the Columbia community,” according to the New York Times. 

The newspaper reports that Columbia University has buildings called the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. 

But the Russell Berrie Foundation reportedly suspended its giving to Columbia in late April, following anti-Israel protests that erupted on campus. 

“It’s a painful decision for us to have come to this point where we have to tell them, ‘There’s a disconnect between your values and ours,’” Angelica Berrie told the New York Times. 

A Columbia University spokesperson added that the institution “values its longstanding relationship with the Russell Berrie Foundation, and is grateful for their generosity and support of innumerable and impactful diabetes initiatives throughout the years.” 

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead announced on social media that he has cancelled his upcoming commencement speech at University of Massachusetts Amherst following the arrests of anti-Israel protesters there earlier this week. 

"I was looking forward to speaking next week at UMass Amherst. I visited two years ago and everyone was awesome. My nephew graduated from there and got a great education. But calling the cops on peaceful protesters is a shameful act," Whitehead wrote on BlueSky. “ I have to withdraw as your commencement speaker. I give all my best wishes and congratulations to the class of '24 and pray for the safety of the Palestinian people, the return of the hostages, and an end to this terrible war.” 

More than 130 protesters were arrested at an anti-Israel demonstration at UMass Amherst on Tuesday night, according to the university. 

The UMass Students for Justice in Palestine group posted video to its Instagram account showing police rushing at a large group of protesters who were chanting, "Who do you serve? Who do you protect?" 

UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon calling the encampment "unauthorized" and warning that wooden barricades constructed on campus must be removed. 

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report. 

The University of Pennsylvania tells Fox News Digital on Friday that 33 people have been arrested this morning during the dismantling of an anti-Israel encampment on its Philadelphia campus. 

“At approximately 5:30am this morning, Penn Police, with support from the Philadelphia Police Department, took steps to remove the unauthorized encampment on College Green,” a spokesperson said. “Protestors were given multiple warnings that they were trespassing and offered the opportunity to voluntarily leave and avoid citation.  

“Those who chose to stay did so knowing that they would be arrested and removed,” the spokesperson added. “Approximately 33 individuals were arrested without incident and cited for defiant trespass.” 

Interim UPenn President J. Larry Jameson and other top university officials released a joint statement this morning saying the encampment’s removal was an “unfortunate but necessary step to prevent violence, restore operations, and return our campus to our community.” 

“We have worked with serious intention for nearly two weeks to engage the protestors on College Green, who were notified on April 26th -- the second day of the encampment -- that they were in violation of Penn’s policies,” the administrators wrote. “This outreach has been met by unreasonable demands and a dangerous escalation of the encampment.” 

Police are seen on the campus of MIT on Friday, May 10. (AP/Josh Reynolds)

The president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Friday that 10 people have been taken into custody during the removal of an anti-Israel encampment there. 

“At my direction, very early this morning, the encampment on Kresge lawn was cleared. The individuals present in the encampment at the time were given four separate warnings, in person, that they should depart or face arrest,” President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement. “The 10 who remained did not resist arrest and were peacefully escorted from the encampment by MIT police officers and taken off campus for booking.” 

Kornbluth said the encampment had “become a symbol for both sides” on the war in Gaza. 

“For those supporting the pro-Palestinian cause, it symbolized a moral commitment that trumped all other considerations, because of the immense suffering in Gaza. For the pro-Israel side, the encampment – at the center of the campus where they are trying to receive an education and conduct research – delivered a constant assertion, through its signs and chants, that those who believe that Israel has a right to exist are unwelcome at MIT,” she said. 

“The escalation of the last few days, involving outside threats from individuals and groups from both sides, has been a tipping point,” Kornbluth also said. “It was not heading in a direction anyone could call peaceful. And the cost and disruption for the community overall made the situation increasingly untenable. We did not believe we could responsibly allow the encampment to persist.” 

An anti-Israel encampment is removed Friday at the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. (WTXF)

University of Pennsylvania associate professor Dagmawi Woubshet told WTXF on Friday that the dismantling of an anti-Israel encampment there is “a sad day, a low point at this university.” 

The Philadelphia Police Department was seen making arrests and removing tents on UPenn’s campus early Friday. 

"The students have engaged in a peaceful, first amendment-protected right of free speech -- that's what they were doing -- for Gaza in support of Palestine to demonstrate the genocide that has taken place in Gaza,” Woubshet said. 

It’s unclear how many protesters have been taken into custody this morning. 

UPenn did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

A police officer walks past a garbage truck being loaded with the remains of the anti-Israel encampment at MIT, which police raided before dawn on Friday. (AP/Josh Reynolds)

A student group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) declared Friday that “you cannot suspend the movement” and “we will be back” following the dismantling of an anti-Israel encampment there. 

“Salute to our wonderful and brave student organizers. You inspire the world and the whole of the Gaza Strip, from Jabalia to Rafah, is proud of you!” the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid wrote on Instagram. 

The group shared a video of a tent city before it started being taken down. 

“MIT, you are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. You make killer drones that murder children in their sleep,” it also alleged. “We will not back down. We will not stop until a free Palestine.” 

Organizers of the MIT encampment told The Associated Press that 10 people were detained Friday.

A masked individual smashes glass at Columbia University's Hamilton Hall April 30, 2024, in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)

Some of the country's top graduating high school seniors are reconsidering leading universities amid backlash over far-left protests as administrators do little to counter radical student and faculty groups who dominate headlines, campus discourse and even swaths of physical space.

"There's a feeling of anxiety and concern, whether they need to withdraw," said Adam Nguyen, a college admissions specialist and founder of Ivy Link, which helps some of the nation's top high school graduates navigate their way into elite universities. "So many of my students had accepted already. But, given ongoing protests, how the schools have handled those protests, the families are concerned and exploring options to potentially pull out, which is unprecedented."

In many cases, they're circling back with non-Ivy schools that had accepted them but which the students had already turned down, he said.

"It's concerning for alumni of these institutions as well as prospective students," Nguyen told Fox News Digital. "It's concerning for current students because it affects the value of their degrees."

Nguyen has worked in Columbia's admissions office and as a graduate school adviser for Harvard and is an alumnus of both universities. But he said those schools and others with like-minded leadership are suffering serious damage to their branding.

An anti-Israel agitator on the Stanford University campus, right, was spotted wearing a green headband like those worn by Hamas terrorists pictured at left. (Getty Images | Photo obtained by Fox News Digital)

A Stanford University Ph.D. student who testified before Congress on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses likened anti-Israel protesters who have set up an encampment on campus to children and the school to parents who refuse to dole out proper discipline. 

Kevin Feigelis, 30, who is studying artificial intelligence at the northern California campus, said anti-Israel agitators have disrupted classes and some professors and teaching assistants have encouraged students to participate in demonstrations. 

"I'm a bit older than these youngsters that go to college," Feigelis told Fox News Digital. "These kids are not really my main enemy. I think of them as children because mostly they're 18 years old. They're misbehaving and acting like children, and it's in the nature of children to misbehave."

"It's the job of a parent … is to guide us in a direction," he added. "Unfortunately, it's the university and the board of trustees of the university and the leadership that are failing in their obligation as surrogate parents of these kids to discipline them and to hold them accountable and tell them that it's unacceptable to essentially terrorize Jewish students."

Last month, two Jewish students at Stanford snapped a photo of a protester wearing a notorious Hamas green headband at an encampment in White Plaza, near the center of campus.

"We were just in shock that somebody could be like that in the middle of our campus," one of the students previously told Fox News Digital.

A teenage anti-Israel agitator who police say defaced a World War I memorial in New York City earlier this week has been arrested and charged after his father turned him in on Thursday night, police say. (Fox News Digital, NYPD)

A 16-year-old anti-Israel protester who allegedly vandalized a World War I memorial statue in New York City this week has been arrested.

NYPD and police sources told the New York Post that the teen – who attends a high school in the Staten Island borough – is now facing charges of criminal mischief and making graffiti following the desecration of the 107th Infantry Memorial on Monday night. 

The teen reportedly has no prior arrest record. Sources initially told the newspaper that the teen's father turned him in, but then reported that police denied that.

The World War I monument was defaced with pro-Palestinian stickers. Protesters also sprayed-painted "Free Gaza" and burned an American flag at the site. 

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry tweeted an image Thursday night showing a male individual in custody. 

“The despicable vandalism we saw earlier this week on the WWI Memorial will not be ignored, and will not go unpunished. One of the culprits was placed in handcuffs today thanks to the World’s Greatest Detectives,” he wrote. “This isn’t simply juvenile hijinks -- it’s an act of desecration that undermines the freedoms our heroes fought and died for.” 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

The Philadelphia Police Department arrests anti-Israel protesters at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, May 10. (WTXF)

Police have been seen making arrests and dismantling an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia early Friday morning. 

Video captured by WTXF showed officers from the Philadelphia Police Department detaining protesters. Other officers wielding batons were seen rummaging through tents set up on campus. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently called for the encampment to be disbanded, the station says. 

It added that at least six students there were sent emails from the University of Pennsylvania informing them they are “on leave” for their participation in the anti-Israel protests there. 

A line of police in riot gear walk past officers dismantling an anti-Israel encampment at MIT, before dawn on Friday, May 10, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (AP/Josh Reynolds)

Police on Friday are clearing out an anti-Israel encampment set up on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to WFXT. 

The station reports that officers started moving in and taking apart the encampment around 4:20 a.m. local time this morning. 

The police action follows 10 arrests that were made Thursday of protesters who blocked a parking garage at MIT for faculty, WFXT adds. 

An image captured by The Associated Press showed police in riot gear walking on the grounds of MIT while other officers in the background were dismantling the encampment. 

Officers at the University of Arizona were forced to deploy tear gas or another chemical agent to disperse anti-Israel protests on the campus, officials said.

In the early hours of Friday morning, University of Arizona Police declared an unlawful assembly at University Park and urged people to "leave immediately" or "avoid the area" entirely. Later, the police department's X account and website confirmed "chemical munitions" were deployed.

"Police instructing unlawful assembly to disperse. Chemical munitions deployed. Avoid the area & follow directions of police," they tweeted.

The boisterous law enforcement effort comes just days after police in riot gear surrounded an anti-Israel encampment and arrested several people early Wednesday at the university in Tucson. At the time, President Robert Robbins directed school officials to "immediately enforce campus use policies."

Just six of the 33 people arrested at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. earlier this week were students, Fox News has learned.

The GW Hatchet campus newspaper originally reported that 33 arrests were made Wednesday in order to clear the unlawful anti-Israel encampment and defacing of a George Washington statue in University Yard.

The large percentage of arrests at GWU representing non-students follows a trend of many anti-Israel protesters not being affiliated with colleges.

The NYPD reported that nearly half of their 282 arrests from the past week were not affiliated with either Columbia or City College.

Fox News Digital has reached out to George Washington University for comment.