Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel — or any companies that support its ongoing war in Gaza.
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package April 23 that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and a measure that could ban TikTok in the country.
The campaign is likely to have a negligible impact on the companies or Israel, but activists see divestment as a clear way to force colleges to take action on the issue.
Students from Massachusetts to California are now gathering by the hundreds on campuses, setting up tent camps, and pledging to stay put until their demands are met.
What began last week at Columbia University, where students refused to end their protests against Israel’s war in Gaza despite pushback from the New York school and arrests by police, has spread across the country.
STORY: A sweeping foreign aid package cleared the final hurdle in the U.S. Congress with ease late on Tuesday, to provide fresh funding to Ukraine and Israel after months of delay. The Senate approved the $95-billion package by a wide margin of 79 to 18 votes.
Students across the U.S. are protesting on their campuses, calling for an end to the Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding schools divest from Israel. Many of the protests are peaceful, but others have led to arrests and suspensions,
Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday thanked the US Senate for approving $13 billion in military aid that he said sent a "strong message" to the country's enemies.
With pro-Palestinian protests popping up on college campuses across the country, including at Columbia University in New York City, federal lawmakers are introducing legislation to help address any antisemitic sentiments that may arise at the demonstrations.