Apartheid Off Campus Newcastle reportedly asked for donations of hot water bottles, blankets, and ground sheets on the first night of their encampment at the University of Newcastle, according to UK media reports from Friday.
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The Telegraph described the donation request as an “Echo” of a mocked request by a Columbia student for “humanitarian aid.”
Students at University Central London (UCL) have also requested that “nutritious and healthy” food be donated to the encampment for free.
Jewish counter-protesters reportedly got into a verbal spat with the campus occupiers, who claimed that Hamas is not a terror group despite being recognized as such in the United Kingdom.
“How is this allowed to happen?” a 19-year-old Jewish student asked the Telegraph. “How are Palestine flags replacing the university flags? It’s unreal. It’s unacceptable. It’s my university, I’m trying to come and study at the library and I can’t even go through the main entrance – how crazy is that? I’ve got exams in a week... I’m lost for words.”
A UCL spokesman said, “Like many other universities, a small protest with tents is taking place in our quad. We are speaking with the organizers and carefully monitoring the situation.
“We will manage this in line with our legal duty and commitment to promote freedom of speech within the law, whilst ensuring the safety and security of our community and enabling our education and research activity to continue.”
Occupying global college campuses
Encampments have taken over major US universities like Columbia and NYU, and the campus occupation protest style has now made its way to the European continent.
On Friday, French police removed anti-Israel students from a sit-in at Science Po university.
The craze has now hit UK institutions, with tented encampments being set up across the University College London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol, according to The Telegraph.