Police raided an anti-Israel encampment at Fordham University this week, arresting 15 people.
As Breitbart News reported on Wednesday, an encampment of anti-Israel protesters sprung up at Fordham in the wake of a similar encampment at Columbia University.
“Tents were seen set up inside a building on the university’s campus as part of a ‘Gaza solidarity encampment,'” said the report. “Officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD), dressed in riot gear, began a raid on anti-Israel encampments at Columbia University and the City University of New York (CUNY) late Tuesday evening.”
BREAKING: Fordham University students launch a Gaza solidarity encampment, just hours after encampments were swept at CCNY and Columbia. pic.twitter.com/bweGVOEref
— Sophie Hurwitz (@sophiehurwitz) May 1, 2024
NOW: Protesters are rallying outside Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in support of the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ which was set up earlier this morning
— katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 1, 2024
Students inside encampment are rallying with the crowd outside through the windows pic.twitter.com/aHvstN5MbZ
Fordham University president Tania Tetlow released a statement on Wednesday condemning the encampment, comparing it to an act of burglary, while lamenting the academic institution had no choice but to call the police.
“This morning, the wave of protests and encampments spreading across the country came to our campus at Lincoln Center. Several dozen people pushed inside the lobby of the Lowenstein building and set up tents. After threats of conduct sanctions, most left,” she wrote in an email. “The remaining protesters refused to identify themselves or whether they were members of our community. After several warnings, NYPD arrested fifteen people for misdemeanor trespassing. We believe some of those were Fordham students.”
While Tetlow acknowledged the strong feelings that people have regarding Gaza and Israel, she emphasized that the protests had crossed a line.
“We draw the line at intrusions into a classroom building, especially by people who are not members of our community. (There is a difference between free speech and people barging into your home to shout.) Outside of Lowenstein, hundreds of protesters came from elsewhere, drawn by social media invitations to support the few protesters on the other side of the window. The growing crowd outside banged on the glass so violently we worried they would break it. We worried that the protesters would rush further into campus,” she said.
Similar encampments have sprung up across the country, including UCLA.
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