Hellen Wainaina

On April 25, 2024, two Princeton University (Princeton) students were arrested at Princeton’s anti-Israel encampment, as reported by the Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW).

PAW said that at least one of the chants at the encampment compared the police to the Ku Klux Klan and made reference to “intifada,” which translates as “uprising” or “insurrection” and carries the connotation of terrorist violence. A flag of Hezbollah, an anti-Semitic and genocidal terror organization dedicated to destroying Israel, was also seen at the encampment.

The student group Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (PIAD) helped organize the encampment, which ran for three weeks on Princeton’s campus and was in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

On April 29, 2024, another 13 protesters were arrested after occupying the university’s Clio Hall for more than two hours while a large group of other protestors stood outside the building and chanted [00:00:34]: “There’s no rest until divest!” and [00:00:03]: “Up, up with liberation! Down, down with occupation!”

In another post, PAW said that those occupying Clio Hall told staff inside the offices of Princeton’s graduate school dean that they had 60 seconds to leave. As the protestors began counting down the time, someone outside shouted [00:00:23]: “Everybody block the doors!”, and the crowd ran to block the exits, later chanting [00:04:36]: “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop! We will not rest!” All staff inside Clio Hall locked themselves in their offices until campus security could safely evacuate them from the building.

After the first two arrested protesters were placed on a bus for removal from the area, protesters ran to the vehicle, banged on it and cracked the glass on the rear door. They reportedly shouted: “Princeton, you want arrests! This doesn’t end without divest!” They also chanted [00:00:04]: “The more you try to silence us, the louder we will be!”

In light of the crowd’s behavior, the other 11 arrestees were released and issued summonses instead of being walked out of Clio Hall and placed on the bus.

On July 7, 2025, in exchange for community service and a letter of apology, the judge dismissed the charges with prejudice and ordered the arrestees’s records to be expunged.

For many years before Israel's 2023-2025 war against Hamas, pro-terror and anti-Israel activists claimed that Israel was committing "genocide." The term's use from October 8, 2023, and on, was an organized effort to mainstream the libel.

There were over 200 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.

Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Many Palestinian civilians participated in and supported the attacks, and Gazans working in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on where to strike.

For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.