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2025 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2025 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses are a global wave of student- and staff-led demonstrations, encampments, and building occupations demanding that universities cut academic and financial ties with Israeli companies and universities complicit directly or indirectly in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and the genocide of Palestinians. The protests, which escalated in April 2025, have involved hundreds of campuses across North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia, and are part of the broader Gaza war protests.[1][2][3]
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2025. |
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Background
The campus protest movement began in the United States in April 2024, following mass arrests at Columbia University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and quickly spread globally.[4] Inspired by the anti-apartheid and Vietnam War campus protests, students and faculty called for divestment, academic boycott, and institutional transparency regarding ties to Israel and military contractors. The movement intensified in 2025 after Israel’s offensive in Rafah and renewed violence in Gaza, as well as solidarity actions in response to police crackdowns on US campuses.[1][2]
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Key universities involved
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North America
In the United States, at Columbia University, there were renewed encampments and building occupations, including the occupation of Butler Library (“Basel Al-Araj Popular University”). There were mass arrests by the NYPD, over 100 students were suspended or barred from campus.[2] At University of Washington, protesters occupied an engineering building, demanding an end to ties with Boeing over its military contracts. More than 30 protesters were arrested after police intervention.[1][3]
In Canada, the Quebec Superior Court issued a 10-day injunction barring pro-Palestinian protesters at McGill University from obstructing campus access or disrupting academic activities, following a three-day student protest that included blockades and vandalism. The university, citing threats to safety and academic continuity, sought legal intervention amid calls for divestment from companies linked to Israel. It has also initiated steps to sever ties with the undergraduate student union over its alleged failure to distance itself from disruptive activism.[5]
Europe
In Germany, Berlin police cleared a protest in April 2025 at Humboldt University where 89 pro-Palestinian demonstrators had occupied a lecture hall to oppose the planned deportation of four international students accused of participating in violent protests. The police launched around 100 criminal investigations related to the occupation, citing vandalism, use of incendiary objects, and alleged extremist symbols. The university justified the police intervention partly due to banners denying Israel's right to exist, an issue sensitive in Germany due to its post-Holocaust commitment to supporting Israel.[6] Germany is facing criticism for issuing orders to deport four pro-Palestinian activists, despite none having been convicted of any crimes.[7]
In the Netherlands there were occupations and encampments at the University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, Radboud University and others. Several protests were met with police intervention, with students sustaining injuries.[8]
In the United Kingdom, members of Oxford Action for Palestine occupied the Radcliffe Camera, protesting the alleged complicity of the University of Oxford in Israeli military actions in Gaza and the West Bank and accusing the institution of cutting off dialogue. The university condemned the disruption, citing safety concerns, and stated it was working to remove the protesters, who had renamed the library after a Palestinian political figure linked to a group designated as a terrorist organization by several Western governments.[9] At the University of Glasgow, students from the Justice for Palestine Society disrupted campus events in April, calling for divestment from arms companies accused of complicity in what they describe as genocide in Gaza. Across the UK, over 100 students and staff have faced disciplinary action, with some universities reportedly working with private intelligence firms to monitor protests.[10]
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Protesters' demands
Demands varied by country and campus, but commonly included:
- Divestment from Israel and companies supplying the Israeli military (e.g., Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar Inc.)
- Severing academic and research ties with Israeli institutions
- Disclosure of financial and research partnerships[10]
- Amnesty for suspended or arrested protesters
- Institutional support for Palestinian academic freedom and a ceasefire in Gaza[1][2][4]
Reactions
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Many universities called police to clear encampments and occupations, resulting in mass arrests and suspensions of students and faculty.[2] Some institutions agreed to partial demands, including publishing lists of ties to Israeli entities or freezing select partnerships.
In the US, the federal government threatened funding cuts to universities that did not address alleged antisemitism or campus unrest, and some protesters faced deportation proceedings.[3] Civil liberties groups and faculty organizations expressed concern over free speech, academic freedom, and the militarization of campus policing.[2]
In Canada, following pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Toronto, the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) voted in favor of divesting from Israel, citing its opposition to what it described as Israel’s "illegal occupation" of Palestinian territories. The motion, which passed with 52% support, urges the Ontario University Pension Plan to swiftly divest from entities linked to the occupation or arms production potentially used by Israel in Palestine, aligning the move with the university’s existing divestment policy on Russia.[11]
In the Netherlands, the University of Amsterdam, Tilburg University, Utrecht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Radboud University have in total cut ties with nine Israeli institutes, with some also suspending future collaborations.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
In the UK, King’s College Cambridge announced divestment from arms and companies involved in the Israeli occupation.[10]
In Ireland, Trinity College Dublin has decided to sever all ties with Israeli universities and companies, becoming the first Irish university to fully divest. This includes ending investments, commercial relations, academic collaborations, and Erasmus+ exchanges. The move follows a taskforce review and a five-day student encampment protesting the college's ties to Israel. The university had investments in 13 Israeli companies, some linked to illegal settlements. The decision was praised by student leaders and politicians, who called it a model for other institutions to follow.[20]
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See also
References
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