Editorial: From the river to the sea

University campuses in the US are roiling in the wake of student agitations in response to Israel’s disproportionate shelling of Palestine. Last week, anti-war demonstrations ceased at a small number of US universities after school leaders struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters, fending off disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies. Deals included commitments by universities to review their investments in Israel or hear calls to stop doing business with the longtime American ally. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., protesters asked MIT to end all research contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defence, which they estimate total $11 million since 2015.

The agreements to even discuss divestment signal a major shift on an issue that has been controversial for years, with opponents of a long-running campaign to boycott Israel saying it veers into antisemitism. Since April 17, when the first protests broke out, as many as 2,400-plus people have been arrested on 46 campuses nationwide. The agitation found resonance in varsities in Ireland, a longstanding champion of Palestinian rights and statehood (at the prestigious Trinity College Dublin University) as well as in France, Australia and Canada.

The ripple effect was felt here in India too, when a Coimbatore-born student at Princeton was arrested during a Gaza solidarity sit-in. A wave of panic ensued as students began losing sleep over the notion of delayed semesters, deferred degrees, postponed placements, and the possibilities of visas not being extended beyond the study permit. What has also emerged as a cause of anxiety for guardians in India is the probability of their children joining in the movement, courting arrest or deportation, and jeopardising their hard-earned scholarships, visa and semester time, not to mention, the millions of dollars that have been poured into prestigious colleges to secure a once-in-a-lifetime education.

The stakes are considerably higher for Indian students as their legal rights are significantly limited compared to those of domestic students. Some scholars have remarked that the wave of agitation witnessed on US campuses fits into the narrative of the revival of America’s civil disobedience movements — from the Occupy Wall Street sit-ins of 2011 to the Black Lives Matter gatherings of 2020. In a twist of fate, those protesting Israel’s disproportionate reaction are now at the receiving end of extraordinary measures employed by law enforcement authorities in the US. Fully compliant, tuition-paying students who participated in peaceful protests were arrested on charges of ‘trespassing’, on their own campus, no less.

Many university officials have also been called out for their high-handed behaviour. A case in point happens to be Columbia University’s first woman president Nemat Minouche Shafik who asked the New York Police Department to enter the campus and arrest students who were peacefully protesting in a Gaza solidarity encampment. The crackdown on campus agitations have other motivations too. Most leading American varsities are private, substantially run by philanthropic donations. Twenty-odd elite institutions hog nearly 50% of the total endowments, which in turn are invested in large companies. Following the protests, a few billionaires have forfeited their donations, while some finance and law firms have blacklisted protesting students and cancelled job offers. But then, the cry of ‘from the river to the sea’ is a humanitarian plea issued by the youth, that hasn’t been blinded by the cynicism of the overlords.