As anti-Israel protests continue to intensify on the New York City campus, embattled Columbia University President Minoush Shafik called the past two weeks “one of the most difficult times in Columbia’s history.” ” he said.
In a video message posted on the university’s social media, Professor Shafiq spoke publicly for the first time about the long-running demonstrations that have occupied the campus since police cleared the occupied campus buildings, calling it “chaos, “Tension, division and confusion are affecting universities.” The whole community. ”
She noted that students are “paying a particularly high price” by not being able to spend the last days of the year in their classrooms or dormitories. “Fourth-year students will graduate from college the same way they started it online,” she said. ”
She continued, “No matter where you stand on any issue, Columbia should be a community where everyone feels welcome and safe.”
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Columbia University President Minoush Shafik spoke in a video speech Thursday about the “difficult” past two weeks. (Fox News Digital)
Shafiq’s speech came days after police raided the university’s Hamilton Hall administration building after it was illegally occupied by protesters.
“We tried hard to resolve the encampment issue through dialogue,” she said. “Many of those gathered there were largely peaceful and deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
The president stated that the university had “made a good and sincere offer, but it was not accepted,” and that academic leaders had held talks with the demonstrators for eight days and nights.
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She said a group of demonstrators had “crossed a new red line” by finally taking over Hamilton Hall, which was “an act of violence that not only endangers the protesters, but endangers students.” He said that.
She said she was “heartbroken” to see the damage the rioters caused as she walked through the building where classes in classics, Germanic and Slavic languages were held.
“But despite everything that has happened, I am confident. In the listening sessions I have had with many of my students over the past few months, I have been encouraged by your intelligence, thoughtfulness, and kindness. I did.”
She said she was most impressed that those who opposed them were able to “admit that there were some valid points. We need more of that in Colombia,” adding that “parallel “Conversations parallel to reality have kept us away from other perspectives.”
An anti-Israel demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus in New York City on April 30. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer/Pool)
Shafiq was born in Egypt and raised in a Muslim family, and said in a speech Friday that he has “many Jewish and Christian friends.” “For 20 years, I have worked with international organizations that bring together people of all nationalities and religions from all over the world, and if you can’t see across the divide to see the other person’s perspective, you can’t get anything done. ”
“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have all existed for a long time,” she said, adding that Colombia “cannot solve them on its own.”
But she said Colombia can be an example in the world of civil discourse and having “empathy and compassion for each other.”
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“We have much work to do, but we are committed to working with you every day to rebuild community on campus,” she concluded.
Shafiq has faced calls for his resignation, and on Thursday, Columbia University’s faculty association called for a vote of no confidence in him.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
