The New York Police Department (NYPD) stormed the campus of New York University (NYU) this week to persecute students and faculty who set up a "Gaza Solidarity" encampment in opposition to Israel's genocidal actions in the Gaza Strip.
The law enforcement raid resulted in more than 100 students, faculty and staff members being arrested by police in the evening after they were warned to vacate the campus plaza in Greenwich Village where the protest was taking place.
Officers clad in riot gear warned the protesters that if they did not leave the area, they would all be punished. This led to many of the protesters responding in like kind with a raid of their own through New York's Chinatown and One Police Plaza, the headquarters of the NYPD.
According to reports, the pro-Gaza protesters carried flares and Palestinian flags as they demonstrated publicly in defiance of the NYPD's handling of the original Gaza Solidarity encampment protest. Many of them, most wearing face masks, were heard chanting the word "Gaza."
(Related: In case you missed it, Israel has begun bombing Rafah, the last remaining bastion of refuge in Gaza for Palestinian refugees.)
A repeat of George Floyd?
Hundreds of people set up camp at NYU's Gould Plaza around 6 a.m. the morning of as they demanded that the school divest from any Israel-related holdings. Similar protests were also set up at other nearby campuses, including at Columbia University.
Angered by their presence, school officials told the protesters to vacate the campus, warning them that trespassing violations would be enforced. Not long after that, police were seen flooding the protests, tipping over tents and making arrests.
The protests have so far been peaceful, but the pro-Israel crowd is claiming that the pro-Gaza crowd is engaging in "intimidating chants and several antisemitic acts.
"We will not stop! We will not rest! Disclose! Divest!" were among the chants heard resounding through the plaza.
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!" was another, this one constituting a call for genocide, according to the pro-Israel crowd.
Commenting on the NYPD's actions, NYU law student Byul Yoon expressed disgust over how the protests are being handled.
"It's a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus," Yoon said.
NYU's head of security said that administrators "witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community," this being the impetus behind the NYPD raid.
At one point, protesters were seen breaching the barriers the school set up at Gould Plaza, Fountain Walker, which is the straw that broke the camel's back.
"The one safety requirement we made was that no additional protestors could enter Gould Plaza," NYU said in a statement.
"With the breach of the barricades early this afternoon, that requirement was violated, and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community."
All of this is starting to look a whole lot like what happened in response to the George Floyd psychological operation. Almost four years to the day, we once again have masked "leftists" – in case you haven't noticed, the media is trying to align those who oppose genocide in Gaza as liberals – marching through the streets in opposition to police abuse.
"I also condemn those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians," commented President Biden about what he described as "the antisemitic protests."
How do you think the raging Middle East conflict will end? Learn more about it at Prophecy.news.
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