Protests against Israeli military actions in Gaza have intensified on various American campuses for more than a week, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as well as a halt to US military aid to Israel.

Indeed, the growing protests highlight that the recent escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which coincides with the Biden administration doubling its support for Israel, is fueling anti-war sentiment within the United States, with popular discontent with the government rapidly rising.

However, these semi-peaceful protests are met with strict measures by universities and local authorities, with more than 700 people arrested so far.

- Protests are boiling 
On April 17, students opposed to Israel's war on Gaza pitched tents on Columbia University's campus, demanding that the university divest financially from companies and institutions that "profit from Israel's apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine."

In just ten days, waves of protests swept across universities in more than 30 states in the United States. As Bloomberg reported, as of Friday, at least 50 sit-ins had been held at colleges across the country, and these sit-ins extended from Ivy League universities to public schools across the country.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Thursday at UCLA, one of the top public universities in the United States, and set up a protest camp in support of the Palestinians.

The demonstrators raised banners on campus with slogans such as “Let Gaza Live,” “This is not a war, this is genocide,” and “Stop the massacres,” calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and for universities to disclose financial holdings linked to Israel. And American arms manufacturers withdrew them.

The rally at UCLA came a day after a pro-Palestinian protest against the Israeli war on Gaza on the USC Los Angeles campus, where more than 90 demonstrators were arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department during the hours of the clash.

“Shame on you! Shame on you!” the demonstrators chanted as police arrested students and activists outside the campus.
-- Harsh crackdown

USC is not the only place where local authorities have cracked down on protesters. The New York Times reported that since nationwide protests erupted on April 17, hundreds of students from about 20 American universities have been arrested.

In Texas, police bulldozed student demonstrators at the University of Texas in Austin on Wednesday. More than 50 people were arrested, according to local media outlet Austin American-Statesman.

On the other hand, many university administrations are actively working to stop demonstrations and, in some cases, punish their participants.

Amid widespread protests on campuses, the University of Southern California on Thursday canceled its major graduation ceremony for students, which was scheduled to take place on May 10. This decision came after Muslim student Asna Tabassum was prevented from giving the outstanding students’ speech because of her public call to support Palestine.

Such repressive and punitive campaigns sparked a violent reaction from professors. As hundreds of pro-Palestine students are arrested and more and more protests are resolved on university campuses, teachers are showing increasing support for students.

The Guardian newspaper quoted Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California, Brittany Friedman, as saying, “Instead of responding to the concerns of faculty and students about canceling Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian speech and arresting peaceful protesters, the University of Southern California unfortunately doubled down.” "Her authoritarian approach simply negated an aspect of the graduation they had earned and aspired to."

“It is disheartening to see the current state of higher education in our country, the mass exposure of students to police violence, and the complete disregard for what USC claims to stand for,” she added.

In New York, some teachers at New York University were arrested shortly after they protected Muslim students as they prayed, while professors at the City University of New York formed a barrier with their bodies separating their students from the police.
“To reach our students, you have to pass through us,” they chanted together.

In fact, the protests are not limited to the United States. After the camps that were set up at Columbia University, the protests spread to universities from France to Australia. In Australia, for example, students from the University of Sydney set up pro-Palestine camps and raised banners reading “Columbia first, followed by the University of Sydney,” while students from the University of Melbourne set up tents on the south lawn of their main campus.

- Israel is completely protected 
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has so far left more than 34,000 dead and about 77,000 injured, most of them women and children.

While anti-war demonstrators continue to show sympathy for civilian victims as they refuse to give up in the face of repressive campaigns, the response of the US administration and some politicians appears indifferent to public sentiment.

On Wednesday, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson called on the president of Columbia University to resign. "We cannot allow this kind of hatred and anti-Semitism to flourish on our college campuses, and it must be stopped in its tracks. Those who commit this violence must be arrested," he said.

While the US administration directs excessive and strong condemnation of local peaceful protests, it turns a deaf ear to the cries emanating from Gaza.

US President Joe Biden recently signed a US$95 billion foreign aid bill, in which US$26 billion goes to Israel despite international criticism over the loss of civilian lives caused by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

((The Hills)) quoted Khaled Al-Jundi, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, as saying that the issue of supplying weapons to Israel remains a “sacred matter” in Washington, and that this aid package highlights the existence of a “big gap” between Democrats in Congress. And ordinary voters, including those currently protesting at colleges across the country.

Sina Tosi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, said in a statement to Al Jazeera that they are calling on all other parties in the region to exercise restraint, while “encouraging the Israelis to carry out actions with complete impunity.”