Jessica Costescu writes for the Washington Free Beacon about opening-day problems at an Ivy League school.
Anti-Israel students brought chaos to Columbia University on Tuesday morning, returning the campus to its new normal: dozens of keffiyeh-clad protesters blocked the entrance to the school, praising Hamas, vandalizing a statue, and clashing with police. At least one group involved aims to bring violence to America, while others called on their followers to help shut down the university.
Agitators with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter prevented students from entering campus, promising that “this is just the beginning.” A flyer posted to social media advertising the protest encouraged attendees to “wear a mask,” “bring noisemakers,” and to “shut it down.” And Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter released a statement praising Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin and the terrorist group’s current chairman, Yahya Sinwar.
“Sheikh Yassin was assassinated by the Zionists in 2004, but even in death, his legacy of unrelenting resistance in the face of oppression lives on,” the group wrote on Telegram. “He lives on in his students, which includes the current head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar—the man who fooled the Zionist entity—and all the Palestinian fighters who embody the steadfastness that Yassin taught.”
On X, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter said protests will continue.
“As we begin our new semester, students in Gaza have no universities to return to. Instead of listening to the student body, Columbia University is doubling down. We will not stop & we will not rest until @Columbia divests from apartheid and genocide. This is just the beginning,” the group posted to X.
“We refuse to trade in the blood of Palestinians, and until Columbia commits to full financial disclosure and complete divestment from Zionist apartheid, occupation, and genocide — we do not deserve a first day of school,” a statement by CUAD said.
