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Following a wave of protests and pro-Palestinian camps that have swept several American universities, students and professors in Mexico, Canada, France and other countries are now calling on their institutions to divest from companies that profit of the Israeli war against Gaza.

This comes two days after New York police stormed Columbia University, dispersing a pro-Palestinian protest and arresting more than 100 demonstrators. According to an NBC report, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in the past two weeks in connection with pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the United States.

And as protests against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza continue, students in neighboring Mexico and Canada have demonstrated en masse to demand a permanent ceasefire.

Protests in Mexico

As reported, students of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) gathered today in front of the institution’s headquarters in Mexico City, chanting “Long live free Palestine.” France 24. They called on the Mexican government to sever diplomatic and trade relations with Israel.

Valentino Pino, a 19-year-old philosophy student, told France24 they were there to support the Palestinian and American student camps, while another student, Jimena Rosas, 21, hoped the protest would inspire action similar in other universities in Mexico.

Protests in Canada

Pro-Palestinian students have organized camps at the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa. The demonstration coincided with a pro-Israel counter-demonstration in Montreal, where the two camps were separated.

Quebec’s premier has called for the dismantling of a protest camp at Montreal’s McGill University, while similar pro-Palestinian camps have been set up at other major Canadian universities. Law enforcement is monitoring the situation as tensions escalate.

said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Guardian that universities should be safe spaces for learning and freedom of expression. However, he said: “Right now… Jewish students do not feel safe. Not like this.”

Demonstrations in France

A second week of student protests against Israel has begun in France, including demands to sever ties with Israeli universities over the ongoing war in Gaza. The interim director of Sciences Po in Paris, a prestigious school whose alumni include celebrities such as President Emmanuel Macron, has rejected a request from students to form a group to investigate the school’s ties to Israeli universities.

At a recent meeting, interim president Jean Basseres said the school was considering its position on important policy issues but had no plans to overhaul its policies overall. Students admit to being “disappointed” notably those of the Palestinian Scientific Committee of Palestine, who found that none of their requests had been granted. They said they wanted the school to end its cooperation with institutions that promote “Zionist ideology.”

In the seven months since Israel began bombing Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks on October 7, nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 injured. Some 1,139 Israelis were killed when Hamas targeted a music festival in southern Israel, and some of them remain in the group’s custody.