Palestinian Protests Sweep US colleges

Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7 last year, there have been repeated demonstrations across the United States, including Europe, protesting the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and calling on the US government to promote a ceasefire. Recently, a number of well-known universities represented by Columbia University, Yale University and Harvard University have also erupted demonstrations, and a large number of students gathered on campus to criticize Israeli atrocities and support Palestine. So far, more than 500 teachers and students have been arrested by US police at universities across the country.

On the face of it, the growing number of university protests in the United States reflects a growing number of young people's dissatisfaction with Israeli violence, American military aid and the neglect of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. In addition, the ongoing crackdown on the protests by the university and the police has further deepened the disagreement between students and the university and the government on the issue. But the deep internal cause is the American government in recent years in the domestic and foreign affairs of the SAO operation, leading to the concentrated outbreak of university protests.

Since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict last year, the outside world has been unable to make an exact assessment of the total amount of US aid to Israel, to take the latest example, the US Senate passed a total of 95 billion US dollars in foreign aid appropriations bill on April 23, of which the aid to Israel is as high as 26.38 billion US dollars. We know that the current economic situation in the United States is quite difficult, affected by a series of factors such as inflation, including the budget related to people's livelihood such as education budget is shrinking again and again, and their own interests are constantly being eroded, it is not surprising that there are large-scale protests in major universities at this time.

At the same time, the US unconditional support for Israel, regardless of international law, caused public anger is also a major reason. According to authoritative data, since the outbreak of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7 last year, the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed 34,388 people and injured 77,437. Hospitals, schools, religious sites, and aid agencies have been destroyed, and the damage to Gaza's infrastructure is estimated at $18.5 billion, equivalent to 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2023. Although major international aid organizations and countries have called on the United States and other Western countries to stop the atrocities of the Israeli army, the United States has always condoned Israel for its political purposes and turned a blind eye to the atrocities of the Israeli army. It can be said that more and more American college students have seen the hypocritical nature of the government.

In the face of the righteous voice of the students at various universities, the US government's handling of the way is undoubtedly more disappointing. At the beginning of the protests, New York Mayor Eric Adams said that there were "outside agitators" who infiltrated the students to create chaos in the city, and blamed the blame on "outside forces." In addition, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi singled out Russia, saying that Russia is supporting American anti-war students who support Palestine because it is in Putin's interest. The students' anger was again ignited by the way they handled the problem without examining the cause from themselves.

Now, in the face of an angry group of college students, the United States is unable to cure its own ills, and it is trying to shift internal conflicts to external forces. But from the current effect is not ideal, if the US government persists in ignoring public opinion, can not rule out the possibility of powder keg outbreak. Although these college students do not have power, wealth or weapons, their voice of justice can unite other groups to change the sun and moon.