(NewsNation) — Several U.S. universities took strident measures this week to address pro-Palestinian student protests, including arresting demonstrators, moving classes online and closing campuses.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor, alleged Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that the protests are being funded and organized by outsiders.

“It’s obvious that someone is funding them,” Foxx said. “They were well prepared.”

At Columbia University in New York, officials canceled in-person classes for the rest of the semester after more than 100 protesters were arrested last week during an encampment on the campus. The university’s president called in police to make the arrests, but that did not stop the demonstrations.

Foxx said students waving Palestinian flags and chanting “We are Hamas” shows “they have minds of mush” and “don’t know what they’re saying.” She called on university leaders to take strong action, expelling any students who break the law.

“Having a strong hand and doing the right thing is what these presidents need to be doing,” Foxx told Vargas. “They need to get spines, and they need to show the students what’s right and what’s wrong.”

In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams also questioned who was organizing the protests, noting the tents used by demonstrators all looked alike.

The protests have left many campuses struggling over how to balance students’ free speech rights with maintaining order and inclusivity.

The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel.

Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group’s Oct. 7 attack.

The protest encampment sprung up at Columbia on Wednesday, the same day its president faced bruising criticism at a congressional hearing from Republicans who said she hadn’t done enough to fight antisemitism. Two other Ivy League presidents resigned months ago following widely criticized testimony they gave to the same committee.

What is behind the protests?

Protests have been taking place across the world since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, which erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in the kidnapping of 250 others.

An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 34,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

American officials and Israeli leaders are striving to discourage Iran and other neighboring countries from further escalating tensions in the region. However, the Palestinian issue is a powder keg, igniting anger and frustration across Arab nations and among the Arab populace who believe that the Palestinians have been denied the promised two-state solution outlined in the Oslo Accords decades ago.   

Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, threats to the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners. 

On the Israeli side, there’s immense anger and a strong desire to dismantle Hamas, a goal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to achieving through the military offensive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.