new york — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) holds a press conference on the steps of Columbia University, above a campsite occupied since last week by protesters demanding the university divest from Israel-related businesses. Ta.
Speakers accused university leaders of allowing “mob rule” and intimidation tactics to “supersede” the Founding Fathers’ ideals of free speech, religious freedom, and the “free exchange of ideas.” denounced.
Colombian President Minouche Shafik was seen leaving the Lowe Memorial Library after Johnson’s speech.
Columbia University President Minoush Shafiq leaves the Lowe Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The embattled chancellor, who is under pressure to resign, reportedly met with US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson in advance. A speech he once gave at a university. (Fox News Digital)
“We cannot allow this type of hatred and hostile anti-Semitism to flourish on our campuses, and we must stop it,” Johnson said.
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Hecklers repeatedly interrupted him, but the shouting was delayed because many people were listening to his remarks on their cell phones over the PA system, and the stream lagged behind his real-time remarks.
Chair Michael Johnson arrives at Columbia University on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Chairman Johnson will address the crisis in Gaza, which has been the focus of protests at Ivy League universities. (Fox News Digital)
North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, who spoke after Johnson, said the camps appeared to have disrupted preparations for upcoming graduation ceremonies and created a dangerous and intimidating environment for Jewish students and teachers. He claimed that “detainees are running the asylum” because of criticism from others. The heart of an Ivy League campus.
“You took action last week,” he said, referring to short-lived efforts to end the protests that resulted in several arrests. “It’s time to act again.”
He warned that if administrators failed to do so, council could take action.
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The encampment itself appeared quiet on Wednesday, when university authorities lifted the school’s lockdown and allowed media members to enter. There were about 100 people inside the hedged gate, talking in small groups. Those allowed in were asked not to take pictures of their faces, not to use drugs or alcohol, and not to speak to the media. Multiple people who claimed to be authorized to speak on behalf of the group declined to be interviewed by Fox News Digital.
Some demonstrators said they came outside to watch the speaker’s press conference or for other reasons. Lunch time was written on the schedule written on the whiteboard in the center of the lawn. Several students critical of the camp said they believed the protesters deliberately tone things down, citing the presence of the media and the Congressional delegation.
On Monday, April 22, 2024, anti-Israel agitators set up an encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York City. The university announced that all classes will be held virtually today in response to ongoing demonstrations on campus. (Peter Garber)
Josh, one of the students who asked only to be identified by name due to safety concerns, told Fox News Digital that he could hear protesters chanting anti-Israel slogans and beating drums late into the night. Ta.
“The scariest thing I want to stress is that we have no idea who was in these camps,” he said. “As I was walking home at night, I saw people climbing over fences and smuggling things out the back door.” He said he looked similar to the student who had been suspended from school.
He also played a cellphone video taken over the weekend showing a group of anti-Israel agitators calling a pair of Jewish students “Zionists” and showing them wearing Star of David necklaces. It showed how he was surrounded by reasons.
“I’m just scared,” he said.
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As a result, he said, groups of Jewish students began monitoring non-students and suspended students in the square.
“None of us wanted to be activists,” he added. “But we all got caught up in it.”
Outside the encampment, missing person leaflets display the faces of dozens of the more than 200 people abducted when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly attack on October 7. , pro-Israel students held American and Israeli flags. 2023.
A Columbia University student sits next to an exhibit of photos of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
Columbia University students sit next to an exhibit of photographs taken by Hamas of Israeli hostages during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
“These are the people who are being held hostage in Gaza right now,” said Itai Dreyfus, a Columbia University student and Israeli veteran from Tel Aviv. “I don’t think a lot of people here understand that if you just bring the hostages home, that’s it.”
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Instead, he said he was spat at, followed around campus and harassed.
“It’s loud, it’s scary, and a lot of Jews and Israelis don’t walk around campus after dark,” he told Fox News Digital.
