A pro-Palestine demonstrator holds a sign during a rally marking Nakba Day in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 15 May 2024.  Palestinians marked the 76th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe), commemorated annually on 15 May to remember their displacement following the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence.   EPA / ROLEX DELA PENA


Over the past few weeks, many college campuses around the world have become focal points for anti-war protests, with thousands of students and faculty members showing solidarity with Palestinians..

There have been different responses, from massive support on social media to swift actions from some college administrators in the US who requested police help to clear encampments, leading to the arrest of hundreds of students and staff members.

Similar protests took place at major universities in the UK, Canada, Australia and across Europe.

So where is this movement heading? What are the responses of faculty administrators? And which universities have agreed to student demands?

In this week’s Beyond The Headlines, host Tom Watkins, The National’s Washington bureau chief, looks into all of this with the co-director of the Centre for Palestine studies at Columbia University, Nadia Abu El-Haj, and The National’s senior US correspondent Willy Lowry.

Updated: May 20, 2026, 6:37 AM
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