Yale Anti-Israel Encampments Cleared by Police

New Haven and Yale Police took swift action on Tuesday morning to dismantle an anti-Israel encampment that had been set up on university grounds.

Authorities cordoned off Cross Campus with caution tape and issued warnings that anyone remaining on the premises after 6:30 am would face arrest and “emergency suspension,” as reported by the Yale Daily News.

Protesters advocating for Yale to divest from military weapons contractors had erected tents on Cross Campus on Sunday, situated in front of Sterling Memorial Library.

“Anyone within the caution tape will be subject to arrest,” a New Haven police officer informed the Yale Daily News. About 60 protesters had gathered on the College Street sidewalk, chanting as police restricted access to various school entrances.

Chief Anthony Campbell of the Yale Police Department addressed the crowd, stating, “This lawn remains Yale property, and you must evacuate or face arrest.”

In response, the crowd chanted, “Chief Campbell, history will remember you with shame,” according to the New Haven Independent.

Protests have escalated on multiple college campuses in April, with demonstrators requesting schools to divest from companies they claim “benefit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.”

While responses from college administrators have varied since the protests gained momentum earlier this month, Yale has taken action in line with President Peter Salovey’s commitment to order.

Salovey cautioned the Yale community on Sunday that “students who persist in occupying Cross Campus without adherence to university regulations risk university discipline, arrest, or re-arrest.”

By 8 a.m., a university spokesperson confirmed that the encampments were being dismantled by Yale maintenance workers, and no arrests had been made.