Pro-Palestine organizers began an encampment in Harvard Yard on Wednesday to protest the Monday suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and demand the University divest from Israel’s war in Gaza.
The encampment marks the largest protest on Harvard’s campus since former University President Claudine Gay resigned in early January.
A smaller number of students set up about 13 tents, as hundreds more people rallied in support in front of the John Harvard statue in Harvard Yard.
Starting on Sunday, the University restricted access to the Yard to only Harvard University ID holders in anticipation of pro-Palestine protests, and posted signs informing students that setting up tents or tables in the Yard without permission could subject them to disciplinary action.
The encampment is the latest in a string of widespread student demonstrations at campuses across the country. Students have been arrested for their participation in demonstrations at Yale, Columbia, and New York University. Nearby, at MIT, Emerson College, and Tufts University, students have set up encampments protesting the war in Gaza.
In a Monday interview, interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 declined to rule out using police in response to student protests, but said there would be a “very, very high bar” before their involvement. University officials have remained firmly in opposition to calls to boycott Israel.
Still, some students at the protests are prepared to be arrested, while another group is willing to face disciplinary action by the Harvard College Administrative Board, according to an organizer at the encampment.
The tents were set up as Harvard University Police Department officers watched, but they have not intervened thus far. The protest has remained peaceful so far.
Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement Wednesday evening that University administrators “are closely monitoring the situation and are prioritizing the safety and security of the campus community.”
Overnight Preparations — 11:31 p.m.
Organizers notified those at the encampment that the Yard’s sprinklers will go off at some point in the night, as regularly scheduled. They asked student protesters to bring their and others’ bags out of the encampment so they don’t get wet overnight.
As the weather gets colder into the night, organizers also reminded protestors of the stash of extra blankets and hand warmers. Temperatures are expected to dip into the low 30s overnight.
Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana is currently standing at the edge of the encampment and was seen walking near the perimeter.
Harvard Chabad Slams Yard Encampment — 11:28 p.m.
Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi called on the University to clear out the encampment in Harvard Yard in a statement posted to Chabad’s X account just before 11 p.m., referring to the protesters as “Jew haters and Hamas lovers.”
Zarchi wrote that he had heard from freshmen students who felt unsafe after hearing chants to “globalize the Intifada,” referring to the Arabic term for uprising. He also wrote that he had received calls from the parents of freshmen who were “frightened” that the encampment was continuing “in brazen defiance to the university’s explicit guidelines.”
Zarchi’s statement came as Passover ended on Wednesday evening. When the encampment was first set up on Wednesday afternoon, many observant Jews were not working or using technology.
The Crimson could not independently verify that the phrase “globalize the intifada” was used during the protest. One video posted to X showed protesters chanting: “there is only one solution: intifada revolution!”
Harvard Divinity School student…
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