Protesters at Columbia University celebrate Gaza's “martyrs” against “Israel and the US war machine” on Veterans Day, and appalled campus veterans turn to counter-demonstrations and At the same time, we are driven to celebrate this holiday.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an unchartered group of New York City schools, renamed Monday's holiday “Martyrs Day” in flyers distributed around the Ivy League campus.
Their literature states: “Veterans Day is an American holiday that honors patriotism, love of country, and sacrifice of our veterans. We reject this holiday and refuse to celebrate it.” .
“The American war machine should not be honored by the horrors inflicted on others. Instead, we celebrate Martyr's Day in honor of those who were martyred by the Israeli and American war machine. Patriotism, love of country, and people. It is a day to honor the sacrifices of those martyrs. ”
College admissions expert gives shocking message about Ivy League prestige: Is it worth the investment?
Anti-Israel groups at Columbia University distributed “Martyrs Day” flyers on Monday and promoted on-campus events on their social media accounts. (Instagram / @cuapartheiddivest)
A post on the group's Instagram account called on students to “come read the stories of the martyrs and plant poppies in their memory.”
A group called the Veterans Association at Columbia University. Posted on Facebook They said they were planning a Veterans Day celebration Monday around the corner from campus.
Students said campus veterans also planned to celebrate the holiday at the same time in opposition to apartheid divestment at Columbia University. New York Post. One official said the group's Veterans Day plans would be further delayed after demonstrators celebrated Oct. 7's Hamas attacks in Israel, many of which were directed at veterans on campus. He said it was an insult.
“That post really shook up the hornet's nest,” Sam Nahins, an Air Force veteran and graduate student at Columbia University who earned his bachelor's degree at the school this spring, said of the group's online post about Veterans Day. he told the Post. schedule.
“They've never hidden their disdain for veterans, but now it's really out in the open,” he added. “Last year, students and faculty ran around dressed as jihadists, shouting 'Death to America,' 'Death to Western Civilization,' death to all but the cause, while our friends called us infidels, murderers, He was called a baby killer.”
University comes under fire for canceling classes and providing safe space for students upset by President Trump's victory
Students protest against the Gaza War on the anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel at Columbia University, Monday, October 7, 2024, in New York City. (Victor J. Blue of The Washington Post, via Getty Images)
Nahin told the outlet that the protests were “really having a negative impact on the mental health of veterans”, citing the suicide of one of his best friends from school in the weeks after October 7 last year. Ta.
Brandon Christie, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was working on a degree in mathematics and statistics at the university when he stopped attending classes last fall. His body was found in a park in upstate New York after he left the facility and went missing in September last year.
Nahin, who has served as an unofficial liaison for the school's veteran community of about 700 students, raised concerns with administrators after learning of the agitators' plans this week. He told the Post that he had a very “productive” phone call with Colombia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
Armstrong followed the resignation of then-President Minouche Shafiq over his handling of anti-Israel protests that escalated into violence and led to the New York Police Department storming a barricaded campus building in April. As a result, he was appointed interim president in August.
Elite university shocked that students 'don't know' how to read books: 'My jaw dropped'
Columbia University students organize a duel memorial and rally in New York City on October 7, 2024, one year after the Hamas attack. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)
“When I told President Armstrong about what happened last year, she seemed really surprised,” Nehins said.
There was no comment from the university at the time of reporting.
“Columbia University is proud of our students, faculty and staff who are military veterans, and we are grateful for their service and sacrifice and the invaluable contributions they have made to our communities.” a spokesperson told The Sunday Post. “The University honors veterans every day on Veterans Day, and we are proud to participate in tomorrow's New York Veterans Day Parade, as we have for more than a decade.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“We are aware that small groups have called for demonstrations tomorrow, and our public safety team is monitoring campus activities for any disruption. As always, we will educate and educate. “We are committed to upholding our core mission of creating and advancing,” the spokesperson said.
Queens Borough Councilman Robert Holden said, “Any effort to defame our veterans is shameful and must be confronted head-on.”
“Columbia University cannot allow these un-American sponsors of terrorism to insult the brave men and women who protect our freedoms,” Holden said. “These lunatics are not going to bring back Veterans Day – not today or ever.”
