America, big event!

A riot broke out in an American university!

In recent days, riots have erupted suddenly at American universities, and the situation is escalating. Mass protests erupted at more than 20 well-known universities, including Columbia University, Harvard, and Yale, to express their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's diplomatic bias in favor of Israel. Some international students in the United States said that the protests were very intense.

According to the New York Post, quoted by the global network, early in the morning of the 22nd local time, a large number of police officers wearing riot gear rushed into the Connecticut campus of Yale University. Police then arrested several students and cleared the square where protesters had gathered. A spokesperson for the university confirmed that at least 47 protesters were handcuffed and pulled straight from campus in cars. These protesters will face disciplinary action from Yale University and may even be suspended.

Meanwhile, this morning, the U.S. Senate voted 79-18 to approve four bills passed by the House of Representatives, after the Republican leader of the House abruptly changed his stance last week and allowed a vote on $95 billion in military aid. The assistance is primarily focused on Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, as well as U.S. partners in the Middle East.

Riots broke out at American universities

Recently, American universities have been quite uneasy, and the reason is still the support of the United States for Israel. The first protest was initiated by Columbia University. Hundreds of Columbia students gather on campus on April 17. The protesting students said the event was launched by more than 120 campus organizations, including the Palestinian Student Justice Group and Jewish Voices for Peace, to raise awareness of the "genocide and displacement of the Palestinian people." On the 18th, the university called the police on the grounds that the students had violated the school rules, and the police entered the campus to disperse the protesting students and arrested more than 100 people.

Students at the university said on Tuesday they were demanding a "complete divestment" of anything related to Israel, financial transparency of the university's investments, and amnesty for any disciplinary measures taken against students who participated in the protests. Student organizer Khymani James said the group was in talks with the university through legal negotiators, but he declined to give details of the negotiations. Columbia University officials warned Tuesday that ongoing camp activities violated university rules, but school leaders have not given specific details of the disciplinary action.

On Tuesday local time, the University of New Mexico said in a statement that students, faculty and staff of the university began protesting in support of Gaza on Monday and did so peacefully. "On Tuesday, members of our University of New Mexico community gathered in the University of New Mexico Duck Pond for a peaceful protest," the statement said.

Some brought tents and sleeping bags, which violated school policy, and campus police warned that if they were not removed, they would be summoned or arrested. "Police monitored the situation throughout the night, there were no incidents, and informed those who remained around midnight that their tents needed to be removed or they would be summoned," the statement said. "The tents were eventually dismantled and some remained in the duck pond. ”

As of Tuesday, there were about a dozen people in the duck pond, holding banners and chairs, but there were no tents, and the school would continue to monitor the situation. "The school is grateful to our entire community for modeling the protests, both to uphold free speech and to ensure a safe and productive campus environment for everyone," the statement said. ”

While the Harvard campus is closed, people associated with the university need to obtain permission to enter the area. Also in California, the campus of Caltech Humboldt at Akta Public University was shut down after pro-Palestinian protesters seized campus buildings. At the University of Minnesota-St. Paul, police demanded police action for violating university policy and trespass laws, and subsequently cleared a camp.

According to Reuters, hundreds of students and others at Columbia, Yale, New York University and other schools have been arrested since Friday. In the new camp, students at the University of California, Berkeley (a school that became famous for its student activities in the 60s of the 20th century) set up tents in solidarity with protesters at other schools.

The reaction of American political circles

In fact, we can also see some characteristics of US political circles through this incident: Once a majority opinion is formed, the voice of "dissidents" cannot be heard here. They are either covered up or ostracized.

For the protests, there was widespread criticism. Prominent Republican lawmakers, including members of the U.S. Congress, have ramped up accusations of antisemitism and harassment against at least some of the protesters.

According to House Speaker Mike Johnson's office, he will meet with Jewish students at Columbia University on Wednesday and speak on "the disturbing rise of virulent antisemitism on American college campuses."

"The blatant anti-Semitism, which has been marked in recent days with harassment and violent rhetoric against Jews, is reprehensible and dangerous, and it has absolutely no place on a college campus or anywhere in the United States," U.S. President Joe Biden said. ”

New York Mayor Adams posted on social media platform X that he was "shocked and disgusted" by the protests of college students, saying that New York police "will not hesitate to arrest anyone who violates the law."

U.S. Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley even called on Biden on the 22nd to send the National Guard to these universities.

Blockbuster bill passed

It is worth noting that on Tuesday local time, the U.S. Senate passed the long-delayed $95 billion package with broad bipartisan support. The final vote was 79-18. Fifteen Republicans and three Democrats voted against the bill. Forty-eight Democrats and 31 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

The bill will next go to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The passage of the bill was a major victory for the US president, congressional Democrats and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has long been committed to providing aid to Ukraine, despite the deteriorating support for Kyiv by the right wing of the party. Biden said that tomorrow I will sign the aid bill into law.

The plan will provide nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, more than $26 billion to Israel, and more than $8 billion to the Indo-Pacific region. The first three bills are very similar to the package passed by the Senate earlier this year, with House Speaker Mike Johnson initially refusing to bring them to the House. The fourth bill increases sanctions on Russian assets.

Editor-in-charge: Wang Lulu

Proofreading: Tao Qian