Police detain around 100, clear pro-Palestinian encampment at Northeastern

Dozens of police in riot gear cleared students early Saturday from a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northeastern University after the school said the tone of the protest had turned antisemitic.

There were around 100 arrests. They were joined on campus by the Northeastern University Police Department, Boston Police and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. The Huntington News, Northeastern's student-run newspaper, shared several photos and videos of the arrests.

In a statement, Northeastern spokeswoman Renata Nyul said, "What began as a student demonstration two days ago, was infiltrated by professional organizers with no affiliation to Northeastern." She added, "Last night, the use of virulent antisemitic slurs, including 'Kill the Jews,' crossed the line. We cannot tolerate this kind of hate on our campus."

Videos shared with WBUR appear to show a counter protester holding an Israeli flag who attempts at one point to provoke the crowd to chant “kill the Jews.” The videos show some in the crowd responding with boos. Northeastern would not say whether the incident caught on video contributed to the decision to call police and clear the camp.

"Any suggestion that repulsive antisemitic comments are sometimes acceptable depending on the context is reprehensible," Nyul said. "That language has no place on any university campus."

Students who were able to show Northeastern identification were released and will face disciplinary hearings held by the school, according to Nyul. Anyone at the encampment without a valid Northeastern ID was arrested.

The arrests at Northeastern come after a week of protests across campuses in Boston and around the country to oppose the Israel-Hamas war. On Wednesday, 118 people were removed from an Emerson College encampment and arrested. City officials said the encampment at Emerson violated a new ordinance on the books aimed at banning tents pitched by homeless people on public property.

On Saturday, the president of MIT called for an end to the encampment on its campus.

President Sally Kornbluth released a video statement in which she said the university has not yet interfered with the demonstration out of "respect for the principles of free expression." But she said that the student encampment is diverting school resources such as campus police and is "creating a potential magnet for disruptive outside protestors." She said the university would not cut research ties to Israel as protestors are demanding.

She ended her statement declaring "this particular form of expression needs to end soon," but did not put forth a specific deadline.

Some Boston city councilors have raised concerns that breaking up the protests could violate students' first amendment rights.

Students have been protesting the war in gatherings at Harvard University, Tufts University and elsewhere this week. The protests in Boston ramped up after students were arrested at Columbia University in New York and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.