More than 100 protesters gathered outside the Columbia University building on Tuesday evening in response to an appearance from former Israeli Prime Minister Naphtari Bennett, according to the university's student newspaper.
Columbia/Bernard Hillel, World Politics Institute at the International School of Public Service, and Craft Center for Jewish Student Life held an event with Bennett of New York City.
“The discussion has been a key part of our ongoing mission to help students explore, learn and grow intellectually,” said Brian Cohen, a spokesman for the Jewish Student Lifestyle Center in Columbia, in a statement to Fox News Digital about Bennett's visit. “The event went on without any confusion. Unfortunately, the current campus dynamic has forced us to open up last night's event to students who invited us.”
Cohen added that.”[s]An audience of diverse backgrounds and political trends listened to world leaders and asked challenging questions, as would be expected in a world-class university. ”
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Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside the Columbia University campus in New York City during Prime Minister Naphtari Bennett's visit on March 4, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)
The Colombian JVP and the Colombian Palestinian Solidarity Union coalition have jointly combined protests against the event. Colombian audience. Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas first attacked Israel, countless anti-Israel demonstrations have been held on university campuses across the United States, triggering the beginning of a 15-month war in which tens of thousands of people have died.
“The university will coordinate with Columbia Hillel on public safety preparations for an event with former Israeli Prime Minister Naphtari Bennett regarding campus protests, and to minimize potential disruptions to academic activities,” Columbia University said in a statement Wednesday. “This event was often attended and took place without any confusion or interference.”
The school said “NYPD also has the responsibility to manage “outside groups” that Colombian communities protested in public spaces outside the university's gates.”
“As always, we monitored to ensure that our activities on campus were safe and that we were compliant with our rules and policies, including immediate enforcement of policies to prevent discrimination and targeting of community members in any form,” the school said.
On March 4th, 2025, pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Columbia University in New York City. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)
Three Bernard University students were recently expelled after breaking into Hamilton Hall in Columbia last April.
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“It is our duty to ensure that war criminals and genociders are not welcomed on our campus despite invitations from groups such as Hillel,” the branch of Columbia University Jewish Voices of Peace (Columbia JVP) said in an Instagram post announcing the location of the protest.
The Instagram post includes photos of an event email invitation asking attendees to “minimise discussions with other events about this event” and ask them to describe the guest's identity as “confidential.”
“The group of individuals who tried to disrupt the event proved this was a necessary precaution,” Cohen said of the decision to invite only the event. “We are grateful that the NYPD has prevented protesters from going to the venue due to careful planning.
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“We look forward to once again the day when we can have such a significant educational opportunity for the wider university community,” Cohen said.
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Columbia University Jews also issued a statement ahead of the protests on Tuesday, with Bernard Hillel saying “having taken away the majority of student groups from the opportunity to engage in critical discourse with elected officials of genuine political power.”
“This is in conflict with Cbhillel's repeated demands for a campus culture open to dialogue, especially given that this debate is on the very issue that sparked such a demand,” the group wrote in a statement.
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The protest came after President Donald Trump said earlier this week that “federal funds at universities, schools or universities that allow illegal protests will be suspended.”
The crowd gathers outside Columbia University to protest former Israeli Prime Minister Naphtari Bennett, who visited campus on March 4, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Agency (GSA) released a review of Colombia's federal contracts and grants in light of recent anti-Israel protests “on potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” according to a reporter release from HHS.
According to HHS, the federal task force fighting anti-Semitism is considering suspending $51.4 million in federal contracts with the university. The task force will also review more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Ivy League College.
“Anti-Semitism, like racism, is a spiritual and moral disease that makes society sick and kills deadly people, comparable to the deadliest plagues of history,” HHS's Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement Monday. “In recent years, the censorship and false narratives of the cancel culture that awakened have transformed our great university into a greenhouse due to this deadly, intense plague.
NYPD officials will intervene as Israeli protesters meet outside Columbia University in New York City to attack pro-Palestinian protesters on March 4, 2025, to protest Prime Minister Nafari Bennett's visit. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)
With Hamas and Israel's recent ceasefire agreement, which suspended the deadly war, Hamas was accused of Israeli hostages and five Thai citizens of their country on October 7, 2023, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, leading to an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. Six Americans remain In Gaza.
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According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 46,000 Palestinians have died in the war, half of which are believed to be women and children, but the number could be high. Over 90% of the roughly 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza were evacuated during the war.
Alexis McAdams and Madison Colombo of Fox News contributed to this report.
