US, Canadian universities hire Israeli firms to curb Free Palestine protests

JERUSALEM (AA) – A report published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth says that several universities in the US and Canada have entered into agreements with Israeli security companies to suppress protests for Palestine occurring on their campuses.

The report notes that after the election of Donald Trump, who pledged to penalize academic institutions that failed to control “radicals and Hamas supporters,” a number of universities in both countries turned to Israeli security firms, or those with links to Israel, to manage protests supporting Palestine.

The City University of New York (CUNY), a major hotspot for protests last year, has recently signed a $4 million contract with Strategy Security Corp. This company, owned by Yosef Sordi, a former New York City police officer, has publicly disclosed his professional training in Israel.

The report also draws attention to the involvement of an Israeli security firm in violent confrontations that occurred in May at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Protesters stated that personnel from Magen Am, a company with Israeli military ties, were aggressive in their actions during the demonstrations. UCLA confirmed that the firm worked alongside local police to manage the protests, with the company receiving $1 million in return.

In addition, the Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC), which has a branch in Israel, was contracted to oversee protests across multiple US university campuses.

Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, also enlisted two Israeli security firms: Perceptage International, led by Adam Cohen, the former head of security for the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem, and Moshav Security Consulting, operated by Eyal Feldman, a former Israeli army reserve commander and ex-advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

In April this year, students and faculty opposing Israel’s war on Gaza held a sit-in at Columbia University in New York, demanding that the administration sever academic ties with Israeli universities and pull investments from companies supporting the occupation of Palestinian territories.

As police intervened and arrested dozens of protesters at US universities, similar demonstrations started at universities in France, the UK, Germany, Canada, and India, calling for an end to the war on Gaza.

Israel has killed over 44,600 people, most of them women and children, since October last year.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice due to its war on Gaza.