A group of Columbia Law students reportedly declared that Jews would not be “safe” or “free” until Palestine was liberated.
In an email purportedly sent Friday by Columbia Law’s National Lawyers Guild organization, the group blamed the school’s administration and the New York City Police Department for clearing out Hamilton Hall, which had been occupied by anti-Israel protesters. .
In response to Jewish critics, the group insisted that it did not speak for “all Jews” and that Jewish safety could not be guaranteed until Palestine was “liberated.”
The National Lawyers Guild branch of Columbia Law Firm issued a response to the arrest at Hamilton Hall last week. (Getty Images)
“To the Jewish students, faculty, and trustees who are blocking divestment and encouraging violent repression on campus, you are threatening everyone’s safety. Yet you are speaking for all Jews. “Keep our name out of your mouth. You who called us, put us on the list of ‘bad Jews’. They support the atrocities of their comrades and do not represent us,” the message said.
Colombia cracks down on protesters, threatens to shut down as deadline approaches
“While you repeatedly cry wolf, claiming that anti-Zionist speech is anti-Semitic and that it dilutes actual instances of anti-Semitism, we We shared a Shabbat service of uplift and welcome at the encampment.While you threatened to collect personal information and threaten disciplinary action, we found community in the Gaza Strip.” I imagined the world,” the email continued. “Our safety cannot be premised on the oppression of others, whether they are protesters on campus or Palestinians. Jews are not safe until we are all safe, and Palestine is free.” Jews are not free until then.
The group also pushed back against concerns about the safety of Jewish students and faculty, saying they were only being used as “an excuse for violence in Colombia.”
“We have repeated to exhaustion that protecting Jewish students and faculty is a dangerous and flimsy excuse for violence at Columbia University. We now know that this excuse is a gross perversion of the truth. It is abundantly clear that this excuse has been weaponized by white Christian nationalists, including members of Congress, whose primary motive is to dismantle diversity efforts and to protect Jews in Israel. The goal is to facilitate the initiation of the rapture by the majority. ”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Columbia Law and its National Lawyers Guild chapter for comment.
According to the New York chapter of the National Lawyers Guild’s website, its mission is “to provide fellowship to those who pursue excellence in the practice of law and who embrace a radical vision of economic, social, and environmental justice. A core tenet of our work is to advocate for these movements and the victims of police repression at scale. ”
In response to the message, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the European Rabbinical Conference, told Fox News Digital, “The National Lawyers Guild Group of Colombian Law has confirmed that the message they are conveying is a direct threat to safety and freedom.” However, it is reckless to throw around words like safety and freedom.” Ensure freedom for Jewish students on campus and, more broadly, for all Jews across the United States and around the world. ”
The National Lawyers Guild dismissed concerns about the safety of Jews on campus. (Reuters/David Dee Delgado)
He continued, “While I agree that Jews are not safe at Columbia University or on hundreds of campuses across the country, it is not because of the reasons listed in this letter, but simply because we exist.” As someone who knows first-hand the power of words, this is because it can pose an existential threat to groups spewing hatred against Jews. To anyone writing a letter like this, please think twice before hitting send. ”
Rabbi David Markowitz, executive vice president of Olami, added: “What we have learned in recent weeks is that Columbia University is ground zero for violent campus protests across the United States. “Once Columbia University set up an encampment, other universities followed suit, and Columbia students and other universities followed suit.” They stormed and occupied school buildings, and other universities followed suit. ”
“This latest statement from the National Lawyers Guild Chapter of Columbia Law Firm appears to be a new escalation that is expected to continue on other campuses. Calls for the destruction of university property escalate and illegal encampments We need to learn from the lessons of the past few months and stop this before it gets worse. “We also have zero tolerance for intimidation, hatred and violence of any kind,” he concluded.
About 300 people were arrested Tuesday night at Columbia University and nearby City College on preliminary charges ranging from trespassing to criminal mischief to robbery, police said.
Columbia State Board of Law Examiners asks school to cancel finals after students became ‘highly emotional’ after police attack
Many of the protesters at Hamilton Hall were outside agitators, not university students, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs Tariq Shepherd told “Your World Kabuto” on Thursday.
Over the past few days, hundreds of students and outside protesters have been arrested at Columbia University. (Selcuk Achar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“They are professional,” he said. “They might fly in for a day or two and then leave right away. You’ll see them traveling all over the country, and they have the funds.”
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FOX News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
