With flares raised high, anti-Israel protesters marched on New York City Police Department headquarters Monday night after more than 130 people were arrested for refusing to leave Gould Plaza at New York University.
Video of Monday night's demonstrations, posted online, shows protesters marching toward One Police Plaza under the bright red light of the flares, while chanting, "Gaza," waving flags, and beating drums.
In other clips, NYPD officers clad in riot gear monitored protesters vowing to "free Palestine within our lifetime."
On Tuesday, the NYPD said that 133 protesters had been arrested by late Monday as the encampment at NYU was dispersed.
NYPD's deputy commissioner of operations, Kaz Daughtry, wrote in a post on X that some of those demonstrating "chose violence" and attacked the officers who were breaking up the camp.
"When NYU asked the NYPD to clear Gould Plaza of individuals who were refusing to disperse and were 'interfering with the safety and security of our community,' our officers moved in without delay," Daughtry wrote. "Unfortunately, as they were dispersing the crowd, some chose violence and pelted the police with bottles & chairs.
"The professionalism and composure our officers showed as they cleared the plaza — despite these dangerous acts of aggression they encountered — are to be commended."
An NYU spokesperson told PIX 11 that the university sent the NYPD a written request to intervene when "disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing" protesters mobbed Gould Plaza demanding the university divest from weapons manufacturers and cut ties with Tel Aviv University.
Some NYU staff members also joined the rally, with online video reportedly showing dozens of faculty members linking arms in an effort to prevent the NYPD from moving in on the students' encampment.
Monday's unrest at NYU mirrored a wave of anti-Israel protests sweeping the city and nation in recent weeks, as simmering antisemitism on college campuses — stoked in the aftermath of Israel's ongoing retaliatory war against Palestinian militant group Hamas — boiled over.
At Columbia University, classes were moved online Monday amid student safety fears, and the New York Post reported more than 100 people were arrested in connection with the demonstrations.
Columbia Business professor Shai Davidai, who is Jewish, was barred from campus Monday after he says his card was "deactivated."
"I have not just a civil right … a civil right as a Jewish person to be on campus, I have a right as a professor employed … employed by the university to be on campus," Davidai said.
School officials reportedly told Davidai they banned him from campus because they could not ensure his safety.
Davidai had on Sunday demanded that New York City Mayor Eric Adams "do something" to quell the antisemitism at the school.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.