A large group of masked anti-Israel demonstrators entered the Butler Library at Columbia University while students were preparing for their exams on Wednesday.
Social media footage captured the activists as they bypassed a security guard at the library entrance, who tried but failed to stop them.
Once inside, they displayed a substantial sign draped over the shelves. One part labeled the library a “liberated zone,” while another commemorated Bassel Al-Aladi, a Palestinian activist who was killed by Israeli forces in a 2017 incident in the West Bank.
Latest updates on student protests at Bernard College and Columbia University
The demonstrators chanted for “free Palestine,” donning Kefiyeh headscarves and playing drums as they joined in the call.
Rumors have been circulating since last month that organizers aimed to reestablish the campus tent camps that had been present at various Ivy League schools during much of the previous spring.
This situation is still developing. Please look for further updates.
