Cops arrest over 40 at violent Yale protest inspired by Columbia anti-Israel occupation

Police officers have arrested anti-Israel protestors at Yale University’s campus.  
 
The protest, which began Friday, saw hundreds of students from the Ivy League as well as other residents of New Haven, Connecticut set up tents at the school’s Beinecke Plaza, according to WTNH.  
 
The demonstrators protested against Israel’s war on Hamas and to express support for protesting Columbia University students, according to Fox News.  

Columbia students began a large anti-Israel protest Wednesday that is still ongoing. Roughly 100 students were arrested, as Campus Reform reported. 
 
Sahar Tartak, a Jewish student at the university, was trying to cover the demonstration when a pro-Palestinian protestor allegedly used a Palestinian flag to stab her eye, according to the New York Post.  

[RELATED: Ilhan Omar’s daughter charged for role in anti-Semitic Columbia protest. The kind her mom just suggested don’t exist.]

“Tonight at Yale, I was assaulted by a student today at an anti-Israel protest. He stabbed me in the eye with a Palestinian flag. Now I’m in the hospital. This is what happens when visibly Jewish students try to attend and document these rallies,” Tartak wrote on X.  

Tonight at Yale, I was assaulted by a student today at an anti-Israel protest. He stabbed me in the eye with a Palestinian flag. Now I’m in the hospital. This is what happens when visibly Jewish students try to attend and document these rallies.

— Sahar Tartak🇮🇱🇺🇸 (@sahar_tartak) April 21, 2024

In another post, she added: “After this Yale student jabbed my eye with his flag, I tried to yell and run after him. But the people in this video made a human blockade to stop me from confronting my assaulter. They stood in front of me in a line throughout the night.” 

After this Yale student jabbed my eye with his flag, I tried to yell and run after him. But the people in this video made a human blockade to stop me from confronting my assaulter. They stood in front of me in a line throughout the night pic.twitter.com/R4LfHqN6TN

— Sahar Tartak🇮🇱🇺🇸 (@sahar_tartak) April 21, 2024

Yale’s police had warned the protestors to disperse multiple times before moving in and arresting more than 40 of the demonstrators this morning. 

A video posted to X shows police officers warning protestors.  

BREAKING: Police have just told protestors at Yale they will be arrested if they don’t leave: pic.twitter.com/58ku4S6Iwh

— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) April 22, 2024

Yale University President Peter Salovey issued a statement yesterday about the protests, writing: “Putting up structures, defying the directives of university officials, staying in campus spaces past allowed times, and other acts that violate university policies and guidelines create safety hazards and impede the work of our university.” 

“I am aware of reports of egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts. Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities,” he added. 

The protests at Columbia and other schools are ongoing during the Jewish holy week of Passover. 

A Yale University spokesperson told Campus Reform: “The university . . . spent several hours in discussion with student protestors yesterday, offering them the opportunity to meet with trustees, including the chair of the Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility (CCIR), and to avoid arrest if they left the plaza by the end of the weekend. They declined this offer and continued to occupy the plaza.”

[RELATED: Jewish Voice for Peace to host ‘Anti-Zionist’ Passover Seder at Western Washington University]

“Today, members of Yale’s police department isolated the area and asked protestors to show identification; some left voluntarily. When others did not comply after multiple requests, the Yale Police Department (YPD) issued summonses to 47 students, according to the most recent report from the chief of YPD. Students who were arrested also will be referred for Yale disciplinary action, which includes a range of sanctions, such as reprimand, probation, or suspension,” the spokesperson continued.

The spokesperson added: “The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the Plaza with the safety and security of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities by all members of our community. . . . Since the protest started, the university and the Yale Police Department worked to reduce the likelihood of confrontations and arrests.”

Campus Reform has reached out to Yale University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.