Iran Press/ Commentary: Gretta Tunberg, 21, is a globally famous Swedish environmentalist who called on the Chancellor of Copenhagen University for the academic boycott of the Israeli regime. She gained fame due to her campaign to direct attention to the issue of climate change.
She was arrested among the university students who protested the University of Copenhagen for academic cooperation with the Israeli regime and calling for the termination of the cooperation; what happened in the US anti-Israeli movement.
Gretta is neither the first nor the last one who has been arrested due to protests against the Israeli regime's crimes in Gaza. For example, Richard Barnard, 41, one of the founders of Palestine Action Group, was arrested after presenting a series of pro-Palestinian speeches in Manchester and Bradford, under the allegation of violating the UK's Terrorism Law.
The accusation came after the demonstrations that took place last year on October 8, one day after the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and after a demonstration staged on October 11.
Similar clashes and repressions happened in other Western countries, including Europe and the US; in the US alone, more than 3,000 students and professors have been arrested. Protest rallies and sit-ins in support of Palestine began in US universities this year in the spring and quickly spilled over to universities around the world; Condemning the Israeli regime's crimes in Gaza, the American students called on their universities to cut off the financial relationship with companies that cooperate with the Zionist regime; they announced that the deliberate dependence of the US universities on the arms industry has caused these academic centers to become an ecosystem for training forces to work in war projects.
Now, following their protests against the Israeli regime's war on Gaza in the last semester, hundreds of American students have to deal with academic suspension and criminal charges instead of selecting courses to continue their education. Over 3,000 students were arrested most of who have to deal with the consequences the US academic and legal system brought to them for their protests.
With concern increasing about the beginning of a new wave of anti-Israel protests, the US universities are developing new regulations that limit the protests. In recent weeks, New York University has updated a new bylaw that states any speech and behavior targeting "Zionists" from now then violates the university's non-discrimination rules, because the US universities consider "Zionism" to be a codename for Judaism. Critics say the ordinance sets a dangerous precedent as it equates the criticism of Zionism with discrimination against Jews. Other US universities have developed strict regulations for preventing protests.
For instance, Vanderbilt University has banned all sit-ins in which people sleep on the ground as a sign of protest, as well as night protests. Still, at Georg Washington University, the students reported a mandatory session for new students in which they were provided with explanations about what they could and could not do about criticizing the Israeli regime. Columbia University, which witnessed massive pro-Palestinian protests last year, built a fence around the area where protesting students camped and increased the number of its security forces in cooperation with the police. Also, the University of Pennsylvania banned camping and holding night protests. Yet, it seems that these restrictions and repressions will not deter students from pursuing their protests.
After the demonstration held in support of Gaza near the venue of the Democratic National Convention, the supporters of Palestine started a new round of protests at the beginning of the new academic year of American universities.
They are going to gather in Philadelphia and major cities and college campuses on September 10, on the anniversary of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, during the presidential election debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
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