Police intervene at Barnard College amid renewed Gaza protests

NEW YORK/ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Police intervened as dozens of demonstrators calling to “Free Palestine” occupied the lobby of the library building at Barnard College in New York City on Wednesday, with several people taken into custody.

They were also protesting the suspension of students who had participated in “anti-Zionist” activities in classrooms, which disrupted lessons.

Demonstrators wearing keffiyehs chanted slogans and displayed Palestinian flags in the library’s corridors.

Officers arrived to clear the building, claiming they were responding to a bomb threat.

"The NYPD is responding to a bomb threat at the Milstein Center at Barnard College and is evacuating the building. Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest. Please stay away from the area," the NYPD said on X.

Clashes subsequently broke out between police and demonstrators, resulting in multiple arrests.

Earlier in the evening, more than 200 pro-Palestinian students and activists protested outside Columbia University’s campus building as former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave a speech inside.

Footage circulating online captures a student confronting Columbia University Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo outside the campus courtyard, questioning her stance on hosting a controversial political figure. The video shows Yarhi-Milo avoiding engagement with the students’ inquiries.

The latest protests are part of a broader wave of student activism that first gained momentum on April 16, 2024.

At the time, pro-Palestinian students established a "Gaza Solidarity Camp" at Columbia to protest the university’s financial ties to companies allegedly supporting Israel’s military actions.

The following day, Columbia President Minouche Shafik requested police intervention, leading to the arrest of 108 students.

Later, on April 29, tensions escalated further when protesters occupied the university’s historic Hamilton Hall after negotiations with administrators stalled. The next day, NYPD riot police, acting at the administration’s request, forcibly cleared the building and dismantled the encampment.

The movement soon extended beyond Columbia, with similar protests erupting at more than 50 universities across the US. Law enforcement agencies arrested more than 3,100 demonstrators nationwide, including both students and faculty members.

Organizations linked to the Trump administration have said they are reassessing Columbia University’s federal funding and grants, citing concerns over antisemitism amid the ongoing protests.

Barnard College is a separate institution from Columbia University, although it is affiliated.