CNA Staff, May 9, 2024 / 17:05 pm
As anti-Israel protests sweep the nation, 17 protesters were arrested last week at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, for trespassing in violation of the university’s code of conduct as part of an anti-Israel protest.
Colleges across the U.S. have seen classes canceled or made remote with some top universities canceling graduations in response to the anti-Israel protests and encampments. President Joe Biden condemned the “ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world” on Wednesday in an address on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Notre Dame joined the ranks of colleges such as the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and Columbia University in New York where student protests have been rampant. Protests at Notre Dame began at the end of April and continued this week, with a rally on Sunday just off campus.
Protests have continued despite the arrests of 17 students on May 2 at about 10 p.m. in the pouring rain, according to the local newspaper The Observer. Earlier that day, students had attempted to establish an encampment on campus, but Notre Dame police confiscated the tent. After being asked to leave by school administrators, police arrested the students for criminal trespassing. Most students were released shortly with court dates set for June 28, though three protesters charged with resisting arrest had hearings on May 3.