Pro-Palestine protests resurge at Columbia University as fall classes start
New York City (Quds News Network)- A large group of Columbia University students gathered at the university gates on the first day of the academic semester, reigniting protests that began last year in opposition to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The students called for an academic and economic boycott of Israel and urged their peers to boycott the first day of classes in response to the destruction of universities in Gaza.
According to ABC News, Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia and representative of the protestors in negotiations with the university, stated that as long as Columbia University continues to invest in and benefit from the Israeli apartheid system, students will continue to resist—not only through protests and sit-ins but by all means necessary.
In mid-August, Columbia University’s President Minouche Shafik resigned after months of student protests against the Israeli war and in support of Gaza. In the weeks following her resignation, the new university leadership has initiated listening sessions with students in an effort to ease tensions. They have also issued a report on what they called “anti-Semitism on campus” and distributed new protest guidelines aimed at minimizing protests.
Since Shafik’s resignation, Interim President Katrina Armstrong has met with students from both sides of the debate, pledging to balance students’ rights to free expression with maintaining a safe learning environment. However, these efforts have not deterred student organizers from intensifying their demonstrations. They have threatened to set up tents on campus until the university agrees to cut ties with companies linked to Israel.
The movement began on April 18, when students opposing the Israeli genocide in Gaza initiated a sit-in at Columbia’s New York City campus. They demanded that the university cease its academic collaborations with Israeli institutions and divest from companies supporting the occupation of Palestinian territories. Shafik called NYPD to intervene and arrest dozens of students, sparking anger and expanding demonstrations to other prestigious universities, including Harvard, George Washington, NYU, Yale, MIT, and UNC, where they were met with violent responses.
With US support, Israel’s war on Gaza has resulted in over 135,000 casualties, including many women and children, and more than 10,000 missing persons amid widespread destruction and severe hunger.
