Photographs from the front lines of the pro-Palestinian student protests in New York City
Across New York City in the span of a year, pro-Palestinian protests erupted at college and university campuses, spilling onto the streets. Students, their professors, and other demonstrators marched through the city, protesting against the Israel-Gaza war. Encampments were erected at Columbia University, New York University (NYU), The New School (TNS), and various campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY).
This collection of photographs features images taken from 2024 to 2025, documenting the front lines of the student movement. The photos are presented in a mixed chronological order across different locations, and are in color, and black and white—an editorial decision that stays true and closest to what these images intend to capture and convey.
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The subjects photographed are not named. This was a decision to protect the identities of students and protesters who fear retaliation and reprimand. In March 2025, Columbia University said it had expelled or suspended some students involved in the occupation of Hamilton Hall. In July 2025, the university announced disciplinary action against students who took part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Inspired by the work of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, the main goal of this photo essay, “The Fire This Time,” is to give a glimpse into the moments and sentiments that developed along and within the protests, the ebb and flow of peace and violence, of solidarity and opposition.
Additional image curation by Sophia Rasmussen, Zac Olivadese, Samantha Sanders, Destiny Deno, and Zubin Stillings.
A flare in the night: A young woman raises a flare to the sky as she stands on a platform in the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment at The City College of New York in Harlem, New York, on April 27, 2024. During the brisk spring evenings that year, it wasn’t uncommon to hear the snap and sizzle of students’ roadside flares, which would illuminate everything in their proximity with a red hue. Then, the air would become thick with smoke and the chants of student protesters. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States.
On the front lines: An officer with the New York Police Department’s Strategic Response Group shoves a baton into journalist Marcos Quinones’s chest during a protest. The protest started at Hunter College and made its way to the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States.
Officers, students, and pepper spray: A City University of New York (CUNY) security officer begins spraying into a crowd of students, protesters, and members of the press on April 24, 2025. Protesters were escorted off campus after a peaceful demonstration on the site where their encampment once stood at the City College of New York (CCNY) in Harlem. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. Keffiyehs and evidence bags: Students from The New School in Lower Manhattan are arrested on May 3, 2024, after a raid on their campus encampment. Officers put keffiyehs in evidence bags. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. Solidarity and arrest: A rabbi and member of Neturei Karta International, a pro-Palestinian Jewish organization, is arrested after a protest that made its way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. Danger from the high-rise: An onlooker throws a bucket filled with liquids from the balcony of a building in Midtown Manhattan as pro-Palestinian protesters march below on April 7, 2025. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. A show of support: Jewish supporters from Neturei Karta International, a pro-Palestinian organization, form a line between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel protesters at a Within Our Lifetime rally outside The Trump Building in the Wall Street area on April 17, 2025. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. Chains and freedom: Using bike chains, Jewish students tie themselves to the gates of Columbia University on April 2, 2025, to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and student organizer. Khalil was arrested by immigration agents on March 8, 2025. On June 20, 2025, a judge released Khalil on bail. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. More arrests: NYPD officers arrest student protesters on May 8, 2025, after the Brooklyn College encampment was dispersed. Student protesters were shoved to the ground. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. CUNY Graduate Center takeover: Student protesters take over the CUNY Graduate Center on May 14, 2024. They demanded a meeting with administrators and called for the school to divest from Israel. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. A night routine: Two student protesters staying at the CUNY Gaza Solidarity encampment give each other haircuts before getting ready for bed on April 27, 2024. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. A moment of peace and community: Students and community members watch a screening of Palestinian filmmakers’ work at CUNY in Harlem on April 26, 2024. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States. Morning begins: A student wearing a blanket (center) walks through the Columbia University encampment on April 30, 2024, the morning after protesters took over Hamilton Hall. Image by Marcos Quinones. United States.
February 17, 2026
