The White House on Sunday condemned the ongoing anti-Israel protests at universities across the country, including New York City’s Columbia University, “in the strongest terms” and said they have no place anywhere in the United States.
“While all Americans have the right to peacefully protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly anti-Semitic, unconscionable and dangerous. And they should never be allowed on college campuses or anywhere in America,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates. “And repeating the rhetoric of a terrorist organization is despicable, especially in the wake of the worst genocide perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms.”
On Wednesday, anti-Israel agitators occupied the university’s South Lawn for hours while the school’s president, Minoush Shafik, testified before Congress about anti-Semitism on Columbia’s campus.
A tented encampment was set up on the campus’s main lawn, and protests continued into the evening for several days.
Susan Sarandon joins anti-Israel protest at Columbia University, months after being fired from talent agency
New York City Police Department officers patrol as anti-Israel agitators demonstrate outside the Columbia University campus on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in New York City. Several students were arrested when police cleared an encampment on the campus lawn. (Peter Garber, Fox News Digital)
The protests are calling for the intifada and the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A Jewish Columbia University student was kicked repeatedly in the stomach during a protest, even telling him to kill himself.
Tensions continued to rise, and on Thursday, New York City police arrested 108 people who refused to leave their posts and issued citations for each of them for trespassing.
Fox News has learned that the university began issuing suspension notices to students who were arrested on Thursday.
Anti-Israel activists occupy Columbia campus, president faces rebuke from Congress
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, anti-Israel demonstrators occupied the main lawn of Columbia University’s campus in New York City. (WNYW)
When contacted by Fox News Digital and asked why the president is not speaking out about the protests, Shafiq’s office issued a statement saying, “As President Shafiq has repeatedly said, Safety is our top priority. Columbia students have rights.” You may protest, but you are not permitted to disrupt campus life or harass or threaten other students or community members. We are acting on the concerns raised by our Jewish students and providing additional support and resources to ensure the safety of our community. . ”
Anger over Shafiq’s lack of response continues to grow, and he has yet to personally condemn the protests.
Billionaire Bill Ackman posted about the protests on “Will Columbia continue to support the demonstrations for these reasons?” Will free speech commitments or university codes of conduct suddenly have an impact? ”
According to The New School, some students have set up an unauthorized camp in the lobby of the University Center Building.
President Donna Shalala will speak with the students to resolve the situation and will set up a meeting with Executive Vice President of Business and Operations Mark Diaz and designated members of the school for Monday, according to a statement from the New School. He said he agreed. A group of students who wish to discuss their interest in selling specific holdings within the university’s endowment.
The chancellor will also meet with the board’s investment committee to discuss students’ demands for financial transparency.
After “successful dialogue” with students, the president and school officials will not punish students for demonstrating.
“During this particularly stressful time in our society, the university is strongly committed to supporting the rights of members of our community to peacefully protest and express themselves in accordance with the university’s Code of Conduct,” the statement reads. has been written. “We hope these measures will help us all move forward together.”
But protests continue to evolve in Colombia.
On Monday, students are planning a demonstration to demand amnesty for student and faculty protesters and for the university to withdraw from “Israeli apartheid.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called recent threats against Jewish students “anti-Semitic.”
“The First Amendment protects the right to protest, but students also have the right to learn in an environment free of harassment and violence,” she said. “Threatening Jewish students with violence and glorifying the October 7 attacks at Columbia University and on campus is anti-Semitism.”
New York City Mayor Adams said on TVX on Sunday that he was “horrified and disgusted” by the “eruption” of anti-Semitism at Columbia University.
“There is no place for hate in our city. I have directed the NYPD to investigate every violation of the law that comes to our attention and arrest anyone found to have violated the law,” he said. . “We will not become a lawless city, and professional agitators who seek to seize control of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and sow chaos and division will not succeed.”
But the mayor also wanted to remind people that the university is on private property and the NYPD cannot be there unless requested by school officials.
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He called on administrators to improve and maintain open communication with the city’s police department to ensure the safety of students and staff on campus.
“As the mayor of a city with the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel, I am deeply saddened by the pain these protests are inflicting on Jews around the world, especially as Passover begins tomorrow night,” Adams said. I haven’t forgotten,” he said. “I also see and hear the pain of those protesting in support of the innocent lives being lost in Gaza.
“At this moment of heightened tensions around the world, we must stand united against hate,” he added.
Gabriel Hays of Fox News Digital and CB Cotton of Fox News contributed to this report.
