On April 22, 2024, Yale University police officers arrested 47 protesters, including 44 students who were participating in a pro-Palestinian protest on the university’s campus. The arrests followed a day of violent clashes between pro-Palestine protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters.

On April 19, a group of students established an encampment in Beinecke Plaza, demanding that the university divest from businesses associated with Israeli military actions. On April 20 and 21, the protest grew to include nearly 500 participants, including Yale undergraduates, graduates, and non-university affiliated.

On the second day of the protest, April 20, around 25 pro-Israel counter-protesters gathered in front of Woodbridge Hall, near Beinecke Plaza. Later that night, the pro-Israel protesters hung an Israeli flag on a wooden art panel that pro-Palestine protesters had set up earlier. One of the pro-Palestinian protesters pulled down the flag and threw it into a nearby sculpture garden. Shortly thereafter, a clash between the two groups ensued. A Jewish student journalist was taken to the hospital after being injured during the clash; she claimed that a protester stabbed her in the eye with a Palestinian flag while she was reporting on the protest. By the end of the night, the pro-Palestinian encampment had shrunk to around 40 tents and 100 protestors, including Yale undergraduates, graduates and people not affiliated with the university. Videos show the protesters playing music and chanting.

In a statement issued on April 21, university president, Peter Salovey, announced that students had violated university policy by “putting up structures, defying the directives of university officials, and staying in campus spaces past allowed times.” He also noted that student protestors who violated university’s policies would face disciplinary actions. In a separate statement, Salovey said that Yale’s administration offered to facilitate a meeting between the student protestors and Board of Trustees members, including the chair of the Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility (CCIR), in exchange for removing the encampment and leaving the plaza. However, the students rejected the offer and continued to protest.

On April 22, after several dispersal warnings, university police officers began arresting protesters for trespassing. The police officers cleared the encampment and arrested 47 people, including 44 current students.The university spokesperson said that the arrested students could face disciplinary action including reprimand, probation and suspension.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent clashes between student groups on campus and about the arrest of students for exercising their right to free expression and free assembly. Students must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. University authorities have an obligation to take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of students exercising their rights peacefully and responsibly. Likewise, state authorities have a responsibility to respect and refrain from restricting or punishing the nonviolent exercise of the right to free speech and freedom of assembly. In addition to harm to the immediate victims, such incidents undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/04/20/under-threat-of-disciplinary-action-pro-divestment-protesters-continue-beinecke-encampment/
https://salovey.yale.edu/writings-and-speeches/statements/our-commitment-campus-safety-peaceful-assembly-and-civil-discourse
https://news.yale.edu/2024/04/22/statement-regarding-campus-protests-beinecke-plaza
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/04/22/live-police-begin-arresting-pro-divestment-protesters-on-beinecke-plaza/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/yale-students-demonstrators-detained-amid-pro-palestinian-protest/
https://salovey.yale.edu/writings-and-speeches/statements/our-commitment-campus-safety-peaceful-assembly-and-civil-discourse
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/us/yale-students-arrests-protests.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/yale-protests-jewish-student-assaulted-pro-palestinian-rally/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH0UWr7axiY