NYPD arrests Gaza war protesters at NYU in fresh U.S. campus flashpoint

• Since New York City police arrested over 100 Gaza war protesters at Columbia last week, pro-Palestine encampments have also emerged at other campuses including Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College and Tufts University.

Details: Police could not immediately share how many people had been arrested or issued with summonses because the situation was ongoing, a New York City Police Department spokesperson told Axios over the phone.

• NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in an online statement there were reports of antisemitism during the protest.
• Faculty members were among those arrested, an NYPD spokesperson told CNN.
• The NYU Faculty for Justice in Palestine, a New York University chapter of the national network of affiliated campus chapters formed in October, said in a statement posted to X that "NYU has authorized NYPD to arrest its own students, faculty, staff and anyone who dares to stand in solidarity with Palestine."

What they're saying: Beckman said college officials erected barriers on the plaza outside the business school to prevent further disruption to classes and school operations after 50 people began protesting there "without notice to the University, and without authorization."

• However, additional protesters, "many of whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU, suddenly breached the barriers" and joined the others already on the plaza in violation of university rules and directions from officials.

• They refused to leave and officials "learned that there were intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents reported" and they asked for assistance from the NYPD, Beckman said.
• The school had earlier said in social media posts that protesters needed to clear the plaza by 4pm, adding: "If you leave now, no one will face any consequences for today's actions—no discipline, no police."

Zoom out: A rise in reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents at colleges since the war in Gaza started has prompted the Education Department to launch a series of investigations into alleged discrimination on campuses.

Go deeper: House members clash over antisemitism in dueling Columbia visits

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.