Jewish fraternity members at Arizona State University (ASU) have been seen throwing away parts of the college’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” as the nationwide furore over pro-Palestine university protests in the US continues to grow.
In footage posted online, a number of students were seen picking up litter and what appears to be tent materials and banners before depositing them in the back of a waste disposal vehicle.
While the students throw the detritus away, bystanders can be heard saying: “We’ve got the white proud boys throwing away protesters’ belongings, and we’ve got the pigs in brown doing nothing about it, although we are being forced off campus.”
Social media users claimed the police were “using frat boys to destroy the camp”, while one of the students involved in the ‘waste disposal’ claimed the university was happy to let them help out.
The frat boys (left) were countering just one of a number of pro-Palestine protests which have erupted across the US in recent weeks
X/Reuters
Protests – both pro-Palestine, pro-ceasefire demonstrations and pro-Israel counter-protests – have been erupting across a number of major US universities since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 last year.
Dylan Marks, a protesting Jewish student at ASU, told conservative US outlet Campus Reform: “We had been speaking with the ASU staff who, having been called in on overtime, were eager to finish their work.
“When we offered our help, they gladly accepted, appreciating that it would expedite the process and allow everyone to head home sooner. We figured the faster they got off our campus, the better – even if that means taking out the trash.”
“I hope more students will take intelligent and effective action to maintain a positive atmosphere on our campuses… Through our actions, I hope we set a positive precedent for how to address and resolve such conflicts by simply cleaning up.”
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Columbia University has received the most coverage for its protests, while similar encampments remain in place at UCLA
Reuters
The university later confirmed that it had arrested 72 people for setting up the encampment – the majority of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff.
Another student in the video, Blake Bicek, said he had spent five hours watching the protest unfold – but when he saw the ASU grounds staff cleaning up the aftermath, he “knew it wouldn’t be right to just sit back and watch”.
Bicek claimed he had witnessed a “dramatic increase in antisemitism” at the university over the course of the year, and said responding to antisemitic slurs would see him “labelled as the aggressor”.
He added: “Helping those police officers was the most productive release of a lot of pent-up anger towards not only the Hamas supporters on this campus but across all college campuses, foreign and domestic.”
A university statement said: “ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorised encampment Friday, in violation of university policy. Encampments are prohibited on Arizona State University property.
“A group of people – most of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff – created an encampment and demonstration that continued until well past 11pm when the group was instructed repeatedly to disperse.
“Individuals who refused to leave after numerous warnings were arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Of the 72 arrested throughout the day Friday, 15 were ASU students; about 80 per cent of those arrested were not students.
“While the university will continue to be an environment that embraces freedom of speech, ASU’s first priority is to create a safe and secure environment that supports teaching and learning.”
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