Cornell Pro-Hamas ‘Encampment’ Quits: No Agreement, No Police

The pro-Hamas “encampment” at Cornell University ended voluntarily on Monday without being ejected by police — and without any concessions by the university administration. The students just decided to break for the summer.

The Cornell Daily Sun reported:

The Coalition for Mutual Liberation voluntarily took down its pro-Palestine encampment on Monday, two and a half weeks after it was initially erected on April 25.

…

Approximately 250 supporters circled the original “Liberated Zone” space — no longer surrounded by a black tarp — as the encampment held a final vigil for the lives lost in Rafah starting at 6 p.m. Monday. Rafah, Gaza Strip’s southernmost city, has seen heightened Israeli bombardment and operations over the past week, with the Israeli military ordering populations to evacuate areas of the city.

Supporters held small candles as demonstrators discussed the significance of the encampment for themselves and the people of Palestine. The vigil ended with supporters joining in a human chain, reminiscent of the one formed on the first day of the encampment. Supporters had surrounded participants on April 25 as they passed the 8 p.m. deadline to leave, a cutoff marked with threats of academic suspensions from administrators.

Other campuses, notably Columbia University and the University of California Los Angeles, only ended their “encampments” after violent confrontations with police; some, like Harvard, Northwestern, and UC-Riverside, saw administrations capitulate to student demands.

But Cornell’s “encampment” simply decided to pack up and leave.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency covered the end of the Cornell encampment with no small degree of surprise: “No deals were struck. No arrests were made. The students simply left of their own accord.”

The main reason appeared clear: “Classes ended a week ago, and students are now in the midst of final exams, which will end next week.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.