Arrests made in NYC ‘day of rage’ as anti-Israel agitators burn US flag, deface World War I memorial

A faculty group in support of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Chicago is slamming other schools Monday for calling on police to help break up the anti-Israel demonstrations. 

“The use of police force on university campuses across America is a dangerous precedent to set for the future of our country,” Allyson Field, an associate professor and member of the University of Chicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine, said during a press conference. 

“Yesterday, university administrators suspended negotiations with student protesters. We are here as representatives of the University of Chicago Faculty for Justice in Palestine, a collective of over 120 faculty and staff, to urge administrators to resume negotiations in good faith and to continue to respect freedom of expression on campus,” Field said. 

“The university must not employ police force to put an end to student protests. To do so, would violate the university’s duty to protect its students as well as their right to free expression. The use of police force on university campuses across America is a dangerous precedent to set for the future of our country,” she added.  

“The use of police force in these circumstances does not serve to protect, but rather to intimidate and silence,” Field also said. “The students’ peaceful methods — sitting, chanting, singing and speaking out — are expressions of their commitment to nonviolence and their dedication to a just cause.” 

Last week, a student at the encampment at the University of Chicago said “We demand that U Chicago, divest from weapons manufacturers arming Israel and its partnerships with militarized Israeli universities, and cut ties with the Israel Institute” and “We also demand that U Chicago, divest from all interrelated forces of death and violence into which it is currently complicit, especially fossil fuel production, UCPD and construction projects that fuel South Side displacement.”