Pro-Israel Counter-Protests Are Growing on College Campuses

Tensions at college campuses are rising as more counter-protests break out against students demanding universities cut financial ties to Israel because of the suffering caused by war with Hamas.

The pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread to universities across the U.S. after the arrests of more than 100 protesters who set up a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at Columbia University on April 18. In the days since, hundreds of students have been arrested after setting up similar encampments to demand their universities divest from companies they say are enabling the war in Gaza.

Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to The Associated Press. The war erupted after Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, when about 1,200 people were killed and 250 hostages taken.

But, as the pro-Palestinian protests continue, a number of pro-Israel counter-protests have occurred on or near college campuses. And tensions between protesters on opposite sides of the issue boiled over during rival demonstrations on campus at University of California, Los Angeles, on Sunday.

Here, Newsweek rounds up some of the universities where pro-Israel counter-protesters have gathered in response to the pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia University

Hundreds of counter-protesters marched up Amsterdam Avenue to Columbia's entrance on Friday, according to local news reports.

They waved Israel flags and chanted "bring them home!"—a reference to the more than 100 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. At least two people were arrested, NY1 reported.

University of California, Los Angeles

Fights broke out among protesters during dueling demonstrations on the UCLA campus on Sunday.

The Harriet Center for Social Justice had scheduled a demonstration to show support for the right of students to protest, while a group called Stand in Support of Jewish Students planned a rally to oppose hatred and antisemitism on campus in partnership with Israeli-American Council.

Protesters from both sides shoved one another and shouted slogans and insults, according to reports and videos on social media.

A group of demonstrators "breached a barrier that the university had established separating two groups of protesters on our campus, resulting in physical altercations," Mary Osako, vice chancellor of UCLA strategic communications, said in a statement on Sunday.

"UCLA has a long history of being a place of peaceful protest, and we are heartbroken about the violence that broke out."

On Friday, counter-protesters on the UCLA campus reportedly waved bananas in an apparent taunt aimed at a student in the pro-Palestinian encampment with a severe banana allergy. Video on social media also showed a counter-protester wrapped in an Israel flag dancing while eating a banana.

University of Pennsylvania

About 250 students and faculty attended a pro-Israel demonstration at the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

They marched toward the pro-Palestinian encampment, where the two groups chanted at each other separated by a path and barricades, the newspaper reported.

University of Central Florida

Dueling protests took place at the University of Central Florida on Friday.

At least 150 students showed up for a pro-Palestinian protest, while close to 50 students gathered for a pro-Israel counterprotest nearby, Fox 35 reported.

More than 70 campus police officers and other law enforcement stood between the two groups, according to the station.

University of Texas

At the University of Texas in Austin, state troopers were deployed to arrest pro-Palestinian protesters on the campus.

A group of counter-protesters gathered to oppose the pro-Palestinian protesters, some of them waving Israeli flags, according to videos on social media.