When a pro-Palestine protester snatched an Israeli flag from a counter-protester on the steps of UC Berkeley’s Sproul Hall this week, it seemed as if it could go the way of violent clashes in universities in Southern California.

May Day is about defending workers’ rights and livelihoods internationally,” said Wassim Hage of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, part of the Oakland Sin Fronteras

More than 2,000 people have been arrested from dozens of US college campuses in recent weeks, amid the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests.

After a night marked by violent clashes between dueling protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, officials moved to cancel all classes on Wednesday in response to the turmoil that erupted on campus.