Anti-Israel Protests Prompt Closure of University of Minnesota Campus Buildings

(KNSI) — Classes are canceled, and buildings are closed at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday as anti-Israel protests continue.

About 30 tents have been set up in an encampment on campus and as a result, the school closed nearby buildings on Monday. Others will be accessible only by key card for students, faculty and staff. The school says Tuesday is a “designated study day,” and there are no previously scheduled classes. Any other activities planned for the shuttered buildings must be moved, switched to remote access or rescheduled. Employees who can work remotely are being asked to do so. Those who can’t but are deemed non-essential should stay home with pay.

An order to disperse was given Monday night, but it has not been enforced. Protesters say the U has cut off Wi-Fi and the water supply, but that has not been independently verified. Pictures from the scene show people holding hands around the encampment, blocking entry to the school.

The school sent out an email stating that it is “working diligently to balance practical safety and operations needs with our commitment to upholding freedom of expression through peaceful and lawful discourse and protest.”

Protesters were overheard Monday night saying Jewish students needed to be brought “home to Germany” and “Go home to Poland.”

During World War II, 3.5 million Jews lived in Germany and Poland and were rounded up, kicked out of their homes, and sent to concentration and labor camps before being systematically exterminated by Nazis.

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