Boston University students protest in solidarity after arrests at Columbia University
BOSTON - Students at Boston University took to the streets Friday, protesting violence in the Middle East, claiming school officials are staying silent ignoring the needs of Palestinian students.
They're not alone. College students at Columbia University were arrested Thursday for similar actions after the school's president asked the NYPD to remove a tent city on campus being used to protest the war in Gaza.
Students at BU say they're standing in solidarity with those Columbia University students. It's protests like this that officials say are dividing students on college campuses in New England.
Israel's Consul General to New England concerned
"We as foreign observers in the consulate are very worried about the direction that all of this is taking," said Meron Reuben, Consul General of Israel to New England.
"We worry about the Israeli students in the higher educational system in the northeast because they are our citizens," Reuben said.
The Anti-Defamation League released its first "Campus Antisemitism Report Card" last week, giving universities including Harvard, MIT, and Tufts a failing grade for fighting antisemitism on campus.
"This is something that is very worrisome to the Jewish community," Reuben said.
Boston Universities Coalition for Palestinian Liberation made up of students, faculty, and alumni - supporting the protests released a statement reading in part:
"The history of student movements in this country and others is long and vast and radical. These protests seek to continue shedding light on the ongoing occupation of and current genocide in Palestine."
WBZ reached out to Boston University to ask about safety protocols and their comment on the protests but did not immediately hear back.
"I have no problem with people who don't think like I do," Reuben said. "But I definitely think that this should be kept on the level of discussion and not in violence and mass protests."