University over Gaza protests, school goes remote, Gov. Hochul visits campus

Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of more than 100 student groups that organized the tent demonstration, slammed characterizations of their protest as antisemitic or menacing.

“We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us,” the statement said.

“We have been peaceful,” it continued. “We will remain until moved by force or Columbia concedes to our demands,” including to divest from Israel, and reverse all student and faculty discipline measures related to pro-Palestinian activism.

The latest chapter in the ongoing tension over Gaza at Columbia began last week as Shafik readied for a congressional hearing on the university’s response to antisemitism. On campus Wednesday, students began occupying a lawn with dozens of tents, which they called the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”

University administrators warned students to leave and began notifying them Thursday of suspensions. By the afternoon, Shafik called the NYPD in riot gear to clear the lawn.

But the sweep only emboldened the demonstrators who continued to camp out on the lawn, while they chanted, hosted lectures, danced and held screenings throughout the weekend. Four progressive councilmembers joined students, while protesters along the perimeter of campus continued to show support for their cause.

While some Jewish students participated in the demonstration, others reported feeling uneasy both in and around campus. The university rabbi warned Jewish students to stay home, and more than 100 of them signed onto an open letter asking to attend classes online “until the situation has entirely de-escalated.”

In recent days, student protesters on other college campuses, including New York University and The New School, have erected anti-war encampments of their own to back the Columbia students and call for divestment from Israel.