A line of keffiyeh-clad protesters silently walked out of a Columbia College Jewish heart throughout an occasion that includes a well known Israeli reporter whereas an anti-Israel mob demonstrated outdoors the constructing on Thursday evening.
Footage of the disruption confirmed a few dozen protesters with Palestinian headscarves stroll out of the Kraft Middle for Jewish Scholar Life whereas holding up indicators as Axios journalist Barak Ravid spoke to college students.
An anti-Israel coalition, Columbia College Apartheid Divest, accused Ravid of being a “henchman of genocide” and slammed the Ivy League college’s leaders for permitting him to talk on campus in a web-based put up.
CUAD additionally known as on Columbia and its sister college, Barnard, to chop all ties with Hillel — the Jewish campus group that’s based mostly within the Kraft Middle.
Outdoors of the Kraft Middle, agitators banged on drums whereas chanting, “Over 100,000 folks lifeless, Hillel your arms are purple,” in line with footage posted to X.
Further video posted by one pupil confirmed the protesters chanting, “Be certain that Hillel is aware of we’ll be again.”
Jewish college students slammed Thursday’s protests.
“Hillel is the biggest Jewish group on campuses throughout the nation,” pupil Eden Yadegar tweeted. “This isn’t activism, it’s horrific antisemitism.”
“Protesters @Columbia make their intentions clear: This won’t be a straightforward yr for Jewish college students on campus,” pupil Eliana Goldin posted on-line.
Enterprise professor Shai Davidai additionally blasted the elite college.
“As a professor at @Columbia, it pains me to see how little this administration cares about its Jewish college students (though they love their tuition {dollars},” the Israeli native wrote on social media.
Columbia condemned the anti-Israel protest in a press release Thursday.
“Any efforts to intimidate the Kraft Middle, Hillel and our Jewish neighborhood and all types of antisemitism are unacceptable and inimical to what we stand for as a College,” the college mentioned.
“The Kraft Middle for Jewish Scholar Life, the house of Columbia and Barnard’s vibrant Hillel, is an important a part of our campus, offering a welcoming area for our college students to discover and rejoice Jewish tradition and identification,” the college additionally acknowledged.
“We recognize the various contributions the Kraft Middle and Hillel make to supporting our Jewish neighborhood and constructing our College neighborhood.”
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