Police remove pro-Palestine protesters on Yale University campus

By Mike Cerullo and Olivia Schueller

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    NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (WFSB) — Protesters camped outside the Schwarzman Center on Yale University’s campus.

Monday morning, police removed them.

The Yale Daily News reported that police blocked entry on Beinecke Plaza while they moved in on the protestors. It said that 40 to 50 of them were arrested.

Just before 8 a.m., the area was clear of students.

Over the past several days, a group called “Occupy Beinecke” was stationed in tents outside the center and Beinecke Plaza.

It said it was upset because a university committee refused to divest from military manufacturers.

During the protest, a sophomore student, who is Jewish, said that pro-Palestinian protestors assaulted her.

Sahar Tartak said she is the editor of The Yale Free Press. She recorded a portion of the protest on Saturday, then published an essay about what happened to her.

In part, it read that “they pointed the middle finger at me and yelled free Palestine and the taunting continued until a 6-foot-something male protester, holding a Palestinian flag, waved the flag in my face and then stabbed me with it in my left eye.”

Tartak went on to say that the man wore a mask. She said she tried to chase after him, but a wall of students blocked her.

She did file a report with campus police.

Tartak said that she is ok, but feared that violence is taking place during the demonstrations.

As for the reason for the protest, the Yale committee said “military weapons manufacturing for authorized sales did not meet the threshold of grave social injury, a prerequisite for divestment.”

Protestors said they weren’t pleased with the decision.

“I’m here because I believe that the university can do better and must do better. Our demands are very clear, we would like Yale to disclose all of its investments in war weapons manufacturing and divest from all of them as well,” said Lumisa Bista, a protestor.

New Haven police were spotted inside the Schwarzman Center in riot gear earlier over the weekend.

In a statement, Yale shared that one person was detained but not arrested.

The demonstration targeted University President Peter Salovey’s send-off dinner event that 16 Yale Corporation trustees attended on Saturday.

“To see this campus grow in its awareness and in the number of students that are brave enough to speak up and be bold, that is how history was made on these campuses. By students being willing to risk something,” said Nika Zarazvand, a Yale alumni.

Some students participated in a hunger strike as part of the protests.

Protestors said the strike ended. However, students pledged to continue to occupy the plaza until the university cuts ties with military weapons manufacturers.

It was estimated that up to 400 people protested Friday night.

It’s not known if they will face disciplinary action as a result.

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