Mayor Eric Adams defiantly told New York City universities on Sunday that graduation ceremonies should proceed as scheduled and not give in to anti-Israel provocateurs seeking to disrupt the proceedings.
“Graduating from an educational institution is a great experience. I don’t think anything should interfere with normal life.” Adams said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We will do our job. If an institution decides to graduate a student and celebrate a great experience with his or her family, we will ensure that it is done in a peaceful way,” he said. said.
The mayor defended police crackdowns on campus protests at Columbia University in Manhattan and City College of New York, two of the many anti-Israel riots across the country.
Adams said a protest at a Manhattan school escalated into criminality and violence as protesters, including many “agitators” who were not students, took over the building and destroyed property. .
“When protests escalate to the point of violence, we must ensure that the minimum amount of force is used to end the perceived threat,” Adams told co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Hizzoner said the police raid and arrests came after several days of back-and-forth between the NYPD and Columbia state administrators.
He said the information police intelligence had gathered about outsider “instigators” stirring up unrest at Columbia University and other campuses was “concerning.”
“We knew we had to get permission unless there was an immediate threat to life or a serious threat to property,” he said of the riot police officers who moved in. “They had no intention of overstepping their legal authority. There wasn’t,” he said.
Kahl told Adams that campus attacks and student arrests by the NYPD and other police forces across the country were “contrary to the role of education as a cornerstone of our democracy” from U.S. Rep. Jamal Bowman (D-Westchester, Bronx). I asked about the criticism. ”
“People have the right to their own opinions, and I respect that,” the mayor said. “And I have a duty and responsibility to ensure the safety of the city.”
He added that outside agitators are “making a genuine attempt to radicalize our country’s youth.”
“We cannot take this lightly,” he said.
The mayor showed a flyer from one of the protests that read “Death to America.”
“This takes us away from supporting certain items,” he said.
“When you’re on the campus of a university and you don’t attend that university, you’re an outsider. And when you train people to do destructive things, you become an instigator. So I I’m not trying to be politically correct. I’m trying to be right with New York City so that it remains safe.”
