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Hundreds more US arrests made in Gaza campus protests - BBC News Hundreds more US arrests made in Gaza campus protests - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Across the country at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, 93 people were taken into custody for trespassing charges on Wednesday. Defiant pro-Palestinian protesters were dressed in kaffiyehs, and were equipped with megaphones and drums. Bernd Debusmann Jr
They were met by helmeted officers in riot gear who moved to disperse the crowd, giving them 10-minute warnings to move. Helicopters hovered overhead. Reporting from New York
“Your time is up. Leave the area or you will be arrested for trespassing,” police said.
The protest was reported to have been largely peaceful at first, but then turned tense. As police tried to detain one woman, protesters threw water bottles at them and chanted: "Let her go!" Many of the protesters have rejected accusations of antisemitism, contending that opposition to the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza does not mean they are targeting Jews.
The arrests at USC were made as students gathered in Alumni Park - where the university's main-stage graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place next month. There is a difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, they argue. Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel.
Professors were given the option to teach virtually on Thursday. Many of the demo organisers and some college authorities have acknowledged incidents of antisemitism at the rallies, but have blamed them on outside agitators, unaffiliated with the campus.
New York student Caroline Daisy added: "This is not an antisemitic movement but outside protesters are a different story sometimes."
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said they "firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry" and criticised "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us".
Soph Askanase, a 21-year-old student at Columbia's sister college Barnard, said "being uncomfortable is different than being unsafe".
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