On Wednesday, police intervened as dozens of activists chanting “Free Palestine” stormed the foyer of Barnard College’s library building in New York City, and several people were detained. They were also protesting the suspension of pupils for engaging in “anti-Zionist” actions in the classroom, which disrupted instruction. Demonstrators wearing keffiyehs chanted slogans and waved Palestinian flags in the library’s corridors. Officers arrived and cleared the building, claiming they were responding to a bomb threat. “The NYPD is responding to a bomb threat at Barnard College’s Milstein Center and has evacuated the building. Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest. Please stay away from the area,” the NYPD warned on X.

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 catches a student confronting Columbia University Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo outside the school courtyard, questioning her attitude on hosting a controversial political figure. The video shows Yarhi-Milo avoiding contact with the students’ inquiries. The newest protests are part of a bigger wave of student action that originally gained steam on April 16, 2024. At the time, pro-Palestinian students created a “Gaza Solidarity Camp” at Columbia to protest the university’s financial ties to firms accused of backing Israel’s military actions.

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