BOSTON – Boston University students took to the streets Friday to protest violence in the Middle East. They claim that school officials are silent and ignoring the needs of Palestinian students.
They are not alone. Students at Columbia University were arrested Thursday for similar actions after the school’s president asked the NYPD to remove a tent city on campus used to protest the war in Gaza.
BU students say they stand in solidarity with Columbia University students. It’s these types of protests that officials say are dividing students on college campuses across New England.
The Israeli Consul General in New England is concerned
“We as foreign observers in the consulate are very concerned about the direction this is all going,” said Meron Reuben, Israel’s consul general in New England.
“We are concerned about the Israeli students in the higher education system in the Northeast because they are our citizens,” Reuben said.
The Anti-Defamation League has released its first “Campus Anti-Semitism Report Card” Last week, universities such as Harvard, MIT and Tufts received a failing grade for combating anti-Semitism on campus.
“This is something that is very concerning for the Jewish community,” Reuben said.
The Boston Universities Coalition for Palestine Liberation, made up of students, faculty and alumni, who supported the protests, released a statement that read in part:
“The history of student movements in this country and in other countries is long, extensive and radical. These protests seek to continue to shed light on the ongoing occupation and genocide in Palestine.”
WBZ reached out to Boston University to ask about safety protocols and their comment on the protests, but did not immediately hear back.
“I don’t have a problem with people who don’t think like me,” Reuben said. “But I definitely think this should remain at the level of discussion and not in the form of violence and mass protests.”
