The organization Ikasle Abertzaleak reports the establishment of university student camps on May 6 in the capitals of Hego Euskal Herria. Other organizations like Ernaik or Astinduk have joined the camps. Therefore, Euskal Herria will join the mobilisations of universities worldwide to denounce the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people. On Monday afternoon, the camps at Ibaeta in San Sebastian, Vitoria, Leioa and the campus of the Public University of Navarra began. A two-day programme has now been made public. The Palestinian education community has publicly appreciated the support of school movements to Gaza globally and has called upon to join the pressure measures.

The education community has also called for protests for Palestinian children and adolescents. Representatives of dozens of schools, with the support of the ELA, LAB and Steilas unions, call to join the demonstration in Gasteiz on 10 May.

From America

The wave of protest of students who have spread to the five continents begins in New York. On the campus of Columbia University, about a hundred students started a camp on April 18 against the genocide in Gaza to ask the university to break any relationship with the Zionist state of Israel. Similar camps were opened in over 60 U.S. campuses in the coming days, and protests have gained strength. Despite the many demands that have been made, the most widespread has been the achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza and the breakdown of the connections between universities and Israel. The Responsibility for Palestine group in a note applauded the students' initiative, "demonstrating how human rights should be defended" and supported the holding of camps in the Basque Country.

The response of the US authorities has been violent. In two and a half weeks, more than 2,300 people have been arrested by police in connection with the camps, at least 43 universities have rebelled against Palestinian demonstrators. Journalists have ordered many universities to leave campus and police attacks have left many wounded, both among students and teachers. They've also launched hunger strikes in camps like Princeton University. A small achievement has been known these days. The prestigious Brown University reached an agreement with its students to “discuss” the breakdown of their ties with Israel.

Biden and Israel

U.S. President Joe Bide has denounced the “violence” used by students in camps and defended the legitimacy of “peaceful” protests, even though numerous peaceful protests have suffered violent police battles. Biden drew the mantra from anti-Semitic positions at a press conference and denounced the alleged insecurity of Jewish students on campus. She noted that student mobilizations will not condition their policies.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations linked university protests to Sixteen and denounced the search for the destruction of Israel. “We knew that Hamas was hiding in schools, now we realize that it is not only in schools in Gaza. Also at Harvard, Columbia and elite universities.” The Zionists face students mobilized by Palestine. In the universities of Minnesota, California, Illinois and other countries, pro-Israeli protesters have thrown a mess at the camps. Often with the support of the police.

Global impact

Since the Columbia campus camp started on April 18, protests have spread outside the United States, becoming a global movement in a short time. In countries such as India, Lebanon, Australia, Venezuela, Japan, Mexico, Iraq, Canada, Cuba, Turkey or Chile, students have risen up against the massacre in Gaza.

The movement has also had an impact on Europe. There have been many encampments and protests in many countries and there has been strong repression. In Germany, for example, at Humboldt University in Berlin, the police beat and arrest many students. In the French State, camps have also been opened in many universities and the government has shown its opposition. Valérie Pécress, the regional authority of Paris, has suspended funding for the prestigious Sciences Po University when mobilising in it. Aurore Bergé, French Minister for Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination, said that protesters in favour of Gaza are “ignorant or anti-Semitic”. Also in Spain students have set up camps, as in Valencia and Madrid.

Youth pressure on the Democratic Party

Although university protests have spread throughout the world, those produced in the United States are of particular importance, since for Israel Biden’s protection is fundamental to advance the genocide. The Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, warned that the mobilisations of American students pose an “existential threat” to the Zionist state and stressed the importance of American public opinion in its survival.

Despite the rise of universities, the US Government has continued to defend Israel enthusiastically over the past few weeks. In addition to its military and political support, it has pressured the International Criminal Court (NAZ) not to order the arrest of Netanyahu and his members of government. The SNC prosecutor himself, Karim Khan, has denounced the threats to forensics.

But, according to many media, Joe Biden is not being free from the attitude adopted in the Gaza massacre. Many have pointed out that a significant proportion of Democratic voters do not welcome Biden’s policies, especially the younger voters. According to a Harvard University survey, only 18 percent of young Democrats agree with Israeli Democratic policies, and the CNN network has also given similar data. The various voices of the Democratic Party have expressed concern that in the presidential elections in 2024 the party may lose many votes from young people, as a result of support for Zionists.