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Which countries have also kickstarted student protests?

Global action for Gaza: Which universities worldwide have joined US students in pro-Palestine protests?
World
2 min read
02 May, 2024
From the Middle East to Australia, more universities across the world are protesting the war on Gaza.
Iraqi university students and professors carrying Palestinian flags rally at Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad on May 2, 2024 in solidarity with Gaza and pro-Palestinian protests at US universities. [GETTY]

Students have set up encampments or organised rallies at dozens of schools across the US in recent weeks in support of Palestinians in Gaza and to demand their schools divest from companies linked to Israel. 

The health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 34,596 people were killed in the Palestinian territory by Israeli forces during almost seven months of war with student protests across the US stepping up demanding an end to the bloodshed. 

New York’s Columbia University pro-Gaza student encampment has been the catalyst for other protests on college campuses across the country. 

Recently, protests at universities outside the US have also broken out, including in the UK

Here are where students internationally have also called for their universities to divest and sever ties with Israel: 

France 

Students at Sciences Po have staged a number of protests over the Gaza war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory. 

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There were threats to temporarily suspend funding for Sciences Po as Valerie Pecresse, the right-wing head of the greater Paris Ile-de-France region, accused the demonstrations of consisting of "a minority of radicalised people calling for anti-Semitic hatred" . 

However, Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau later said the French government had no plans to suspend funding for Sciences Po, adding there had been "no anti-Semitic remarks" and no violence had been committed during the demonstrations. 

The prestigious French university is scheduled to host a town hall debate on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions, following negotiations between university officials and students. 

Protesters angry over the Gaza war also took to Paris' Sorbonne University, which led the university to close the building for the day. 

UK

Pro-Palestine student activists have demonstrated at universities in a number of cities across the UK in opposition to the war on Gaza. 

The New Arab reported on Wednesday that students attending five of the UK’s most prestigious universities, including Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle, have set up encampments in solidarity with Palestine. 

Other schools are also expected to follow suit, as student protesters demand their universities divest or cut ties with Israel. 

Students at London-based university Goldsmiths had occupied campus buildings for many weeks, while University College London (UCL) has continually protested the Gaza war, including a 34-day occupation of a university room. 

Australia 

Student protest sites at seven universities across Australia - including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide to Perth - saw a mixture of demonstrations and pro-Palestine encampments established. 

The University of Queensland said in a statement that it is “committed to freedom of speech and is reiterating expectations that while expressing their views, people treat one another with dignity and respect to ensure our community can go about their studies, research, work or other activities.” 

Lebanon 

Hundreds of students at the prestigious American University of Beirut (AUB) have held protests in support of Gaza.  

AFP reported that other students were also seen carrying banners declaring solidarity with south Lebanon, where Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since October. 

In Lebanon, at least 385 people have been killed in months of cross-border violence, mostly fighters but also including 73 civilians 

Jordan 

Jordan has also stepped up rallies in solidarity with Palestinians in several universities such as Al-Hussain Technical University, although some students were arrested on "trumped up charges". 

 The New Arab reported that the Jordanian universities also involved faculty and staff-including dozens of academics. 

Jordanian academics also issued a statement in a show of solidarity with students and academics in US universities, signed by over 100 teachers. 

Other universities around the world that have held/ are holding pro-Palestine protests and encampments: 

  • American University in Cairo

  • Al-Nahrain University

  • Beirut Arab University 

  • Concordia University 

  • IPSI - Institut de Presse et des Sciences de l'Information 

  • İTÜ | İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi 

  • Jawaharlal Nehru University 

  • Kuwait University 

  • McGill University 

  • NYU Berlin 

  • NYU Bueno Aires 

  • Selçuk University 

  • University of Alberta 

  • University of British Columbia 

  • UQAM | Université du Québec à Montréal 

  • University of Tokyo 

  • University of Valencia 

Multiple press agencies have also contributed to this report.