All those student protests on the US seem to be about stopping their universities from supporting the Israel government. But supporting a foreign government is not a normal thing for a university to do, why do they do it?
Is there some educational or research resource they get?
Many universities have money that they are allowed to use to invest, as long as the principal is used for explicit educational purposes. The investments are supposed to be public/reported, though there have always been complaints that they aren’t.
Students are protesting at college campus that have reported investments in Israel related companies (some, notably, directly related to war efforts) to demand the universities divest from those investments. Some universities have conceded and done so. Others have just called the cops.
NYT Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/business/brown-university-divestment-israel-gaza.html
Brown University explanation of their endowments: https://investment.brown.edu/endowment