Sen. Bernie Sanders rebuffed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement yesterday in which he called criticism of Israeli government policies antisemitic.

“No, Mr. Netanyahu. It is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that in a little over six months your extremist government has killed 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000 — 70% of whom are women and children,” Sanders said today.

Sanders pointed out that Israeli government bombings have devastated much of Gaza’s infrastructure like water, electricity and hospitals, and destroyed the homes of nearly half of Gaza’s population. 

"Mr Netanyahu. Antisemitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has done unspeakable harm to many millions of people," Sanders said.

"But, please, do not insult the intelligence of the American people by attempting to distract us from the immoral and illegal war policies of your extremist and racist government," he continued. "Do not use antisemitism to deflect attention from the criminal indictment you are facing in the Israeli courts. It is not antisemitic to hold you accountable for your actions."

A total of 57 people were booked yesterday in association with the protest at the University of Texas at Austin, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office said.

However, it’s not clear how many of those were students versus community members. It’s also not clear how many have been released, but all have had their charges disposed as of this morning.

Yesterday's pro-Palestinian protest saw state troopers in riot gear, horses and police clear out the area around Speedway Mall.

UT Austin President Jay Hartzell said, “The University did as we said we would do in the face of prohibited actions.” But some UT Austin faculty condemned the police presence on campus, accusing the university of turning campus “into a militarized zone,” and said they won’t teach their classes to protest the action.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating multiple universities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

According to the office's list of open investigations, probes were opened into Columbia University and CUNY Hunter College on Tuesday, the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst on April 16.

It comes amid a wave of protests on college campuses expressing solidarity with Palestinians and calling for university divestment from weapons manufacturing.

The Education Department said it doesn’t comment on pending investigations.

The department had announced in the winter probes into a string of schools, including Stanford University, UCLA, Harvard University and Cornell University, over alleged ethnic discrimination, including antisemitic or Islamophobic activities, on the campuses amid the backdrop of heightened tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. 

The University of California, Los Angeles started a solidarity encampment protest this morning.

A flyer by the Students for Justice in Palestine group on campus said: “Join us now at Royce Quad. We are not leaving until our demands are met.” 

“Today, UCLA joins students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from the companies which profit off of the occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine,” the group said on social media. 

CUNY is the latest institution to follow the wave of encampment protests in solidarity with Gaza.

The group CUNY For Palestine shared on social media: “Students have heeded the call to escalate, join the encampment and rally at 139th St and Convent ave at 10AM TODAY and be ready to mobilize all day to defend the encampment in its first 24 hours!”

CUNY For Palestine is making five demands of the university — including that CUNY divest from companies that produce weapons and technology that support settler-colonial violence, ban academic relationships with Israeli universities and end repression and retaliation against organizers supporting Palestinians at the university.

Atlanta's Emory University also launched an encampment protest this morning in partnership with local activist groups.

Social activist group "Stop Cop City" shared on social media that “within two hours” of the encampment protest on campus, the university issued a “final warning” on protesters. 

School paper, "The Emory Wheel," reported on X that Atlanta police and Georgia State Patrol began “arresting protestors around 10:20 a.m. this morning.” 

Police were seen cleaning out the encampment around 11 a.m. and about a dozen people were seen sitting near a police vehicle with their hands zip tied behind their back.

Laura Diamond, the assistant vice president of University Communications at Emory, said in a statement that several dozen protesters “trespassed” onto the campus and set up tents on the quad early this morning. 

“These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals,” Diamond said. “Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus. The Emory Police Department ordered the group to leave and contacted Atlanta Police for assistance.”

Northwestern University police officers are on scene at the school’s encampment protest at Deering Meadow this morning.

School paper, The Daily Northwestern, reported that Chief of Police Bruce Lewis told students to take down the tents. All were down by 8 a.m. local time, but re-erected minutes later. A police officer announced: “arrests will be made for trespassing,” and officers were seen moving in on a line of protesters who had their arms locked. 

As of 9 a.m. local time (10 E.T.), the line of protesters were still standing and chanting without physical confrontations with police. As of 10:30 a.m. local time, no arrests have been made, and Northwestern police and Student Affairs are still on the scene.

The United States and 17 of its allies called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it took on Oct. 7 and agree to an "immediate and prolonged" ceasefire.

A joint statement from the White House and countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and France, called on the Palestinian group to free the hostages, who include Israelis and other nationalities, who have now been held for more than 200 days.

"We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities," the statement said.

The allies added that after a ceasefire deal, "Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions."

Two graduate students were arrested for trespassing at Princeton University's encampment protest this morning, the school said. 

“Fewer than 100 people gathered on campus, and a small number began erecting about a half-dozen tents, which is a violation of University policy,” a university spokesperson said. 

The university's Department of Public Safety issued “repeated warnings” to cease protesting and leave the area, and the two graduate students were arrested. Those students “have been immediately barred from campus, pending a disciplinary process,” the spokesperson said.

All the tents were then “voluntarily” taken down by protesters. 

The morning arrest comes after the vice president of campus life, Rochelle Calhoun, sent a message to students yesterday warning: “Any individual involved in an encampment, occupation, or other unlawful disruptive conduct who refuses to stop after a warning will be arrested and immediately barred from campus. For students, such exclusion from campus would jeopardize their ability to complete the semester.”