Crying out for change: A short history of student protests in Europe
EuronewsMay 02
Police Break Up Pro-Palestinian College Protests Across Europe
Image copyright: Axel Schmidt/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
German police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment at the Free University of Berlin on Tuesday at the request of the school, on claims that demonstrators rejected attempts to engage in dialogue and attempted to occupy rooms and lecture halls.
Earlier that day, police in the Netherlands cleared a protest at the University of Amsterdam, arresting over a hundred people, so as to "restore order," after clashes reportedly broke out on the campus the previous night between rival groups.
The Spin
Left narrative
It's no surprise that police officers have forcefully removed peaceful pro-Palestinian student demonstrators. The organized sit-ins at many major European universities, protesting the support of their countries for the Israeli assault on Gaza, were met with similar resistance in America. Hats off to these brave young people who are honoring Europe's centuries-old tradition of standing up to the evils of the day.
Right narrative
It's reasonable that many of the European students trying to replicate college campus protests that have rocked the US do genuinely care for the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as Hamas uses them as human shields. However, many other protesters have outrageously praised the terror group behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel — antisemitism has yet again found a home on the left.
Nerd narrative
There's a 70% chance that Israel will have de facto power in the Gaza Strip on January 1, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.