Latest news with #antiIsraelProtest
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former Greens candidate may lose her sight after being arrested at an anti-Israel protest
A former Greens candidate may lose sight in one eye after an incident at an anti-Israel protest in Sydney 's west. Hannah Thomas, 35, who recently ran against Anthony Albanese in the Sydney electorate of Grayndler, was photographed with a bruised and bloodied eye in Belmore on Friday morning. She had gathered with about 50 other protesters outside a Lakemba business accused by the Greens of supplying materials used by the Israeli military. The NSW Greens accused the business of 'reportedly [being] involved in providing plating services for various parts used in F-35 jets. 'The State of Israel's fleet of around 40 F-35 rely on the global supply chain and supplement supply from countries like Australia to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people,' it said in a statement on Friday morning. Police issued a move-on direction to the group at about 5.35am on Friday to disrupt the alleged unauthorised protest. Ms Thomas allegedly refused to comply with the order and sustained facial injuries during her arrest before being taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment. It is not clear exactly what caused Ms Thomas' injuries. Doctors are worried she may never regain sight in her injured eye, the Daily Telegraph reported. The NSW Greens said the extent of her injuries meant she may require facial reconstruction surgery. It said lawyers had been engaged to represent Ms Thomas and the other protesters who were arrested during the incident. Ms Thomas has attended anti-Israel protests in the past, having called on Australia to impose sanctions on Israel, whose government she accused of genocide. She was among dozens of demonstrators who descended on Albanese's electorate office to demand action after Greta Thunberg's 'Freedom Flotilla' was seized by Israeli defence forces earlier this month. A spokesperson for NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia Ms Thomas had not been charged following the incident. 'She sustained facial injuries while being arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a police direction and the arrest was discontinued and (she) was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment,' they said. Four others were arrested and charged during the protest, including a 24-year-old man who was allegedly found in possession of a stolen police body-worn camera. Police said the camera was stolen by an unknown protester during a scuffle and was tracked to the 24-year-old's location. Greens MP Sue Higginson described the actions of police as 'brutal and excessive', before calling on NSW Premier Chris Minns to take accountability. Three men and a 29-year-old woman were taken to Campsie Police Station following their arrests. The 29-year-old woman was charged with refuse/fail to comply with direction under part 14 while the 24-year-old man was charged with larceny and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen (not m/v). The 41-year-old man was charged with use offensive language in/near public place/school and the 26-year-old man was charged with refuse/fail to comply with direction under part 14 and hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty. All four were granted conditional bail to appear before Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday July 15. Police said inquiries were ongoing.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Columbia faculty rights group condemns university's handling of library takeover: 'Authoritarian ethos'
A faculty rights group at Columbia University condemned the administration's response to an anti-Israel protest at the campus library on Wednesday, which resulted in dozens of arrests. A letter from the executive committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Columbia aimed at addressing the "erosion of shared governance" denounced a decision made by acting president Claire Shipman to call the NYPD for assistance. The protest broke out on Wednesday afternoon when anti-Israel agitators stormed Butler Library, occupying a reading room inside and breaching one of the building's exterior doors. Two campus police officers were also injured during the protest. The NYPD said 80 arrests were made, and Fox News learned approximately 50 of those people were confirmed to be Columbia students. In its letter, the AAUP mostly ignored the details of the protest, which damaged and disrupted a study area for students preparing for finals, and described the incident as "tragic" while focusing on the university's "institutional slide toward executive rule." The group said in an attempt to "placate" the Trump administration, Columbia's leadership has weakened academic freedom, shared governance and student protest, "echoing the authoritarian ethos now holding sway in Washington." "As the Trump administration has demanded ever more draconian crackdowns on student protest, our administration has responded by granting enhanced powers to public security that can as easily escalate as defuse confrontations with students and that last night did not prevent the administration from again summoning the NYPD to campus," the group wrote, in part. Prior to Wednesday's protest, Shipman had said she would be reviewing and reforming the University Senate, which is a governing body at Columbia made up of elected representatives from all departments on campus, amid negotiations with the federal government over the drastic cut in funding to the university. In March, Columbia lost more than $400 million in federal grants after the Trump administration said the school failed to address the rise in antisemitism on campus. The AAUP called on her not to follow through with the review as the university is experiencing a "moment of crisis," adding that it "strenuously objects to both the timing and the plan" for it. "In imposing this review at this time and in this manner, the President and the Board of Trustees are taking aim at shared governance and replacing it with top-down corporate management, indicating a profound misunderstanding of what university leadership and fiduciary obligations require," the group said. The group shared a list of six recommendations, which call for a "unified response to the current crisis" instead of dismantling the decision-making structures that have been in place for decades. The AAUP has also been vocal in its criticism of Columbia for punishing, suspending and expelling students involved in anti-Israel protests on campus. One of the group's recommendations includes radically enhancing "mediation, consultation and de-escalation protocols for immediate deployment during campus disturbances, especially student protests."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mostly women arrested in Columbia University library takeover: NYPD
The New York Police Department arrested 61 females after anti-Israel agitators stormed Columbia University's Butler Library on Wednesday as students were studying for finals. In total, the NYPD made 80 arrests – 19 males and 61 females, according to a source. A source also said at least 50 of the 80 protesters arrested were Columbia University students. Protesters renamed the Butler Library "Basel Al-Araj Popular University." Students at the Ivy League institution said protesters climbed on a desk and chanted "Free Palestine," and demanded that the university divest from Israel. At the entrance gate to Columbia University, a security guard said, "Nobody comes in, nobody comes out." Dozens Of Anti-israel Agitators Arrested After Storming, Taking Over Columbia University Library During Finals Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, said in a statement on Wednesday that the NYPD was called to help "secure" the building. She added that two university police officers were injured. Read On The Fox News App "Sadly, during the course of this disruption, two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301," Shipman said. "These actions are outrageous." Columbia U Threatens To Arrest Anti-israel Protesters Remove Encampments As New Demostrations Loom In a separate statement, Shipman said individuals broke into one of the library's reading rooms. "Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies; this is especially unacceptable while our students study and prepare for final exams. Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today. We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University," Shipman said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was also monitoring the incident, noting the agency would work to determine if any participants were noncitizens. "Time to make a point," an ICE source told Fox article source: Mostly women arrested in Columbia University library takeover: NYPD
Fox News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Anti-Israel protesters occupy University of Washington building, 30 arrested
A group of anti-Israel protesters occupied a building at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle on Monday before police in riot gear intervened and arrested at least 30 of them, according to officials. The protesters occupied an engineering building on campus for hours and demanded that the school divest from Boeing, the large aerospace and defense manufacturer which has a long history with the university. Video from the scene shows several dumpsters on fire as police moved in to regain control of the building after the demonstrators had locked themselves inside. One protester outside could be heard shouting: "Abolish the police. Every cop dead is a victory for the resistance." DAVE PORTNOY SAYS AUSCHWITZ OFFER TO MAN ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN ANTISEMITIC SIGN IS REVOKED The UW said in a statement that the protesters had created a "dangerous environment" in and around the building. The protesters, who mostly covered their faces, blocked access to two streets outside the building, blocked entrances and exits to the building and ignited fires in two dumpsters on a street outside, the university said. UW Police worked with local police to contain the situation and began clearing the area outside the building at around 10:30 p.m. before moving into the building at 11 p.m. About 30 protesters who occupied the building were arrested and charged with trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit all three, the university said. TRUMP SAYS HE'LL REVOKE HARVARD'S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS "The UW is committed to maintaining a secure learning and research environment and strongly condemns this illegal building occupation and the antisemitic statement that was issued by a suspended student group Monday," UW said in a statement. "The University will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and will continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms." The Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return, a student group at UW, said it helped organize the protest and said that Boeing funded the building to the tune of $10 million. "The University of Washington is a direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its allegiance to its partnership with Boeing," the group said in a social media post Monday night while rallying others to join the protest. "Wear a mask, and cover identifiable features," the group wrote. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The group accused Boeing of building weapons of mass destruction which they said are then used by the government of Israel in its war in Gaza. "We refuse to be complicit while our education is directly funded and controlled by a corporation whose business leads to a mass genocide of Palestinian people," the group said. "These bombs, missiles, and other weapons of destruction are made possible through Boeing's access to UW's campus, research facilities, and student labor." After occupying the building, the protesters erected a banner reading "Sha'ban Al-Dalou Building," symbolically renaming it after a 19-year-old Palestinian man from Gaza who was killed during the bombing of the Al-Aqsa Hospital on Oct. 14, 2024. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command center embedded in the facility.
