The demand stems from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a decades-long campaign against Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians that has gained new momentum with the six-month-long war between the Israelis and Hamas. The students are asking their universities to cut ties with companies that contribute in any way to Israel’s military efforts in Gaza and even in the country as a whole. Inspired by ongoing protests and last week’s arrests of more than 100 students at Columbia University, students at campuses from Massachusetts to California are staging sit-ins that they have vowed to maintain until their demands are met. The protests have been organized by campus groups that often include local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. The various groups have acted independently, though there has been some coordination. Among other things, the students are demanding an end to business ties with weapons manufacturers that supply Israel and a halt to the acceptance of Israeli government money for projects that support the country’s military. They are also calling for an end to the investment of university endowments in companies that profit from the Israeli occupation or its affiliates, and for greater transparency about the money that is received from Israel and how it is spent. Officials at several universities said they were committed to engaging with the students and supporting their right to free speech, but they also expressed concern about the feelings of many Jewish students, some of whom have accused the protesters of anti-Semitism in their words and actions. The protests on American campuses began soon after a deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on July 8 that killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostage. In the ensuing Israeli retaliation, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians but says more than two-thirds of the dead were women and children. Read Also: EUA consideram "preocupantes" e "inquietantes" valas comuns em Gaza (Portuguese version)