Dozens of protesters set up a second encampment in the Liberal Arts Quadrangle at the University of Washington on Wednesday, calling on the school’s administration to cut financial and academic ties with Israel and Boeing.
The second group, the University of Washington United Front for Palestinian Liberation, referred to the encampment of more than 20 tents as a Popular University for Gaza — following the lead of similar protests across the country — and a “liberated zone for Palestinian solidarity.” By the evening, 150 people had gathered in the space.
The new encampment is separate from one established on Monday by the Progressive Student Union, also in the Quad.
So far, the UW administration has said little in public about the protests.
“We continue to monitor the situation and will respond as appropriate to maintain a safe and secure environment for our campus community,” UW spokesperson Victor Balta said Wednesday afternoon.
Nationwide, more than 1,600 people have been arrested at student protests since April 18, when Columbia University had the New York Police Department clear a protest encampment there.
So far, no arrests have been reported at protest encampments in Washington, including at UW, the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and The Evergreen State College in Olympia.
At Evergreen State College, protesters took down their encampment on Wednesday after penning an agreement with school administrators. The memorandum of understanding, signed Tuesday night, says the college will create various task forces, including one that will look at “divestment from companies that profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.”
UW has a long history of partnership with Boeing, which has manufactured products arming the Israel Defense Forces for decades. The university has a research collaboration with the company for aerospace scholarship, offers professional education programs to current Boeing employees and is home to a professorship and department named after Boeing. The aerospace company is among the top employers of engineering graduates from the school and has donated millions to UW.
Boeing helped develop Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense system, which was used against retaliatory attacks by Iran, and provided bombs to the government after the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas.
As of Wednesday, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them children and women, according to local health officials. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
At the UW encampment, music played through loudspeakers as protesters settled in to camp overnight. Palestinian flags flew as chants of “free, free Palestine” sounded through the Quad.
Passersby looked at the protesters as they held listening sessions about the war in Gaza.
Zho Ragen, a recent UW graduate and spokesperson for the United Front for Palestinian Liberation, said while there are concerns over potential repercussions, the decision to build the encampment stems from a desire for solidarity.
“We are showing our commitment and our deed of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” she said.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.