Student protests in the US

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The war in Gaza has triggered demonstrations at dozens of universities thousands of miles away in the United States. There have been hundreds of arrests as police have gone in to break them up and remove the protest camps that have been set up. Amid the heightened tensions, three Jewish students - with different views towards Israel and its government - share the impact it is having on them; their experience on campus, including their studies. They tell host James Reynolds about being verbally abused, being shunned in class, and feeling forced to change their plans when using public transport. We also hear from protesters at two Ivy League universities in the US, Colombia and Harvard. One describes witnessing the police raids. They explain their motivation for being part of the protest and reflect on whether their actions might have possible repercussions in the future. “When these sorts of challenges arise and even when there are costs attached to them,” says Asmer, from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, “I want to live a life that - at the end of the day - I can look back and say yeah, when the time came to it, I did the right thing.” A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team. (Photo: NYPD enter Columbia University after protesters take over Hamilton Hall, New York, 30 Apr 2024. Credit: Stephani Spindle/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)