Police removed anti-Israel demonstrators from the Columbia University campus in New York City on Thursday after student protesters set up camp on the campus lawn.
Columbia University President Minoush Shafiq said in a message to the student body that these “extraordinary measures” are necessary because of “extraordinary circumstances.”
“Out of great concern for the safety of Columbia University’s campus, I have authorized the New York City Police Department to begin clearing an encampment on the South Lawn of the Morningside Campus that students set up early Wednesday morning. ” said Shafiq. He said.
Video from the campus showed officers loading dozens of protesters onto police buses.
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NYPD officers bused anti-Israel demonstrators Thursday after setting up an encampment on campus. (Fox News)
Dozens of protesters set up tents on the school grounds early Wednesday after Mr. Shafiq testified at the Capitol about anti-Semitism on Columbia University’s campus, demanding that the university cut back on companies with ties to Israel. I asked him to pull back.
The university had locked down its campus to ID holders only in anticipation of unrest related to Shafiq’s testimony.
Columbia University President Minoush Shafik testified Wednesday at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing entitled “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Anti-Semitism.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
In his message, Shafik said those who set up the encampment “violated a long list of rules and policies.”
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Shafik said the university notified him multiple times of these violations and that the students involved rejected all of the university’s attempts to resolve the situation.
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, anti-Israel demonstrators occupied the main lawn of Columbia University’s campus in New York City. (WNYW)
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“This is a difficult moment and I deeply regret the steps that have had to be taken,” Shafiq said. “I encourage all of us to show compassion and remember the values of empathy and respect that unite us as a Columbia community.”
