Note: For the most updated information on the US campus demonstrations, see this Brief updated on 10 May and Special Focus in the April Regional Overview.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations involving students in the United States have nearly tripled from 1 to 26 April compared with all of March, ACLED data show (see graph below).1ACLED data are currently updated to 26 April 2024, as the US dataset is updated weekly on Tuesdays. New York has been one of the main student protest battlegrounds since the Israel-Palestine conflict flared up in and around Gaza last October, and the arrest of more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York around 18 April heralded a new wave of campus demonstrations.2Collin Binkley, Steve Leblanc, and Bianca Vázquez Toness, ‘Students protesting on campuses across US ask colleges to cut investments supporting Israel,’ Associated Press, 24 April 2024
Student protests on university campuses around the US are the latest sign of public discontent with the Israel-Gaza conflict. While some notable violent clashes have recently taken place, such as on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, where demonstrators and counter-demonstrators fought at a student encampment overnight on 30 April, the overwhelming majority of student protests since October — 99% — have remained peaceful.3Dani Anguiano, ‘UCLA students describe violent attack on Gaza protest encampment: ‘It was terrifying’’ The Guardian, 2 May 2024 Demonstrations involving students make up roughly one-third of all US demonstrations related to the conflict since it reignited in October 2023. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 April 2024, over 90% have shown support for Palestine.
New York has also seen the largest amount of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations overall, closely followed by California. Additionally, ACLED records the highest number of counter-demonstrations staged against pro-Palestine or pro-Israel demonstrations in New York. New York accounts for 28% of Israel/Gaza conflict-related demonstrations with police intervention (see map below).
Police intervention against conflict-related student demonstrations more than quadrupled in April. They arrested demonstrators and physically dispersed crowds much more frequently at demonstrations with counter-demonstrators. However, in cases where student demonstrators have gathered unopposed, police have intervened against pro-Palestine demonstrations more than four times as often as pro-Israel demonstrations.
For more on ACLED’s US coverage:
- US Crisis Monitor
- Beyond the Blue Wall: Exploring the Risks of Political Unrest in the 2024 Presidential Election
- Will Past US Election Turbulence Strike Again in 2024?
For global demonstration trends related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, see this infographic on the first 20 days since fighting erupted.
Visuals produced by Ciro Murillo.
