At a turning point? Columbia arrests and anti-Jewish harassment shut down campus

There were only remote classes astatine Columbia University connected Monday arsenic protests, clashes and arrests rendered nan field a cauldron of hostility and fear.

A surge successful antisemitism, attacks and harassment has made life highly uncomfortable for Jewish students astatine colleges crossed nan country, and Columbia has go crushed zero aft constabulary arrested much than 100 protesters location precocious past week.

It’s difficult to fathom that nan gated Upper Manhattan campus, truthful acquainted to maine from my days earning a master’s successful publicity there, felt compelled to support students distant arsenic nan Biden White House condemned anti-Jewish hatred heading into nan first nighttime of Passover.

I judge we’re astatine a long-overdue turning point. Just 4 months ago, Harvard President Claudine Gay and Penn President Liz Magill couldn’t bring themselves to denounce antisemitism astatine a legislature hearing, which yet costs them their jobs. Now Columbia President Minouche Shafik, nether unit aft a akin hearing, has cracked down connected demonstrators who break nan rules.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS: 5 DRAMATIC MOMENTS FROM A WEEK OF CHAOS

An individual is arrested during a pro-Palestinian protestation extracurricular of Columbia University successful New York City connected Monday, April 22, 2024.  (Peter Gerber)

Antisemitic incidents person surged since Hamas terrorists committed unspeakable acts of brutality connected Oct. 7 successful launching nan warfare against Israel. But immoderate your position of nan war, including rising civilian casualties and wide hunger successful Gaza, my consciousness is that a increasing number of Americans are conscionable fed up pinch out-of-control protests by those who would swipe Israel disconnected nan map.

Elie Buechler, a rabbi who heads nan Orthodox Union’s learning halfway astatine Columbia and its sister schoolhouse Barnard College, sent a WhatsApp connection to astir 300 Jewish students connected Sunday saying constabulary had not guaranteed their information "in nan look of utmost antisemitism and anarchy," and that they should enactment location "until nan reality successful and astir field has dramatically improved."

"It is not our occupation arsenic Jews to guarantee our ain information connected campus," nan rabbi wrote. 

There was immoderate backlash against Buechler, arsenic if he was advocating surrender, but he said it pained him to person to make this recommendation.

COLUMBIA RABBI TELLS JEWISH STUDENTS TO LEAVE CAMPUS, WARNS THAT SCHOOL, NYPD 'CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY'

I’m each for free reside and nan correct to protest, but erstwhile pro-Palestinian demonstrators group up 50 tents successful nan mediate of campus, nan schoolhouse warned them that they would beryllium automatically suspended and arrested if they refused constabulary orders to vacate.

The initial media coverage focused connected nan girl of Rep. Ilhan Omar, Isra Hirsi, who was 1 of those arrested. There is nary grounds she was treated otherwise than anyone else. Hirsi, a personnel of nan anti-Israel group Apartheid Divest, told Teen Vogue she has obscurity to unrecorded and nary measurement to get nutrient aft she was evicted from her $90,000-a-year Barnard dorm and eating hall.

The Minnesota congresswoman said she is "enormously proud" of her daughter.

Mayor Eric Adams, a erstwhile constabulary officer, said he is "horrified and disgusted pinch nan antisemitism astatine and astir nan Columbia University campus."

ISRAEL’S SUCCESS, IRAN’S FAILURE AND THE CHANCES OF IGNITING THE MIDEAST POWDER KEG

Shafik, successful banning in-person classes, denounced nan "intimidating and harassing behavior" connected campus. "Anti-Semitic(sic) language, for illustration immoderate different connection that is utilized to wounded and frighten people, is unacceptable and due action will beryllium taken." 

She added that immoderate group not affiliated pinch Columbia person "exploited" these tensions "to prosecute their ain agendas."

Shafik said she was trying "to equilibrium nan authorities of students to definitive governmental views" pinch protecting different students "from rhetoric that amounts to harassment and discrimination."

Some of nan school’s 5,000 Jewish students were cursed out, according to nan Columbia section of Chabad, pinch protesters shouting "all you do is colonize, "go back to Europe" and "go backmost to Poland." 

Some demonstrators, according to a station by 1 student, tried to pain a stolen Israeli flag, while immoderate Jewish students recovered themselves splashed pinch water. Police officers were besides called nan KKK and location were chants astir a free Palestine "from nan stream to nan sea."

New York Post columnist and part-time Columbia University student Rikki Schlott describes what she saw during anti-Israel protests connected campus. (FNTV/Fox News)

This is beyond outrageous. Some of these protesters, who tried to put up tents erstwhile again, are not conscionable against Israel, they intelligibly despise Jews. That is astatine nan guidelines of this deep-seated bigotry that has made life intolerable for Jewish students astatine Columbia and beyond.

(There is simply a portion of Jewish students who opportunity they work together pinch nan protesters that Gaza decease tolls are unacceptable, though I don’t get really they quadrate that pinch calls for Israel’s destruction.)

DISCIPLINE SHOULD BE TAKEN AGAINST THESE THREATS: PHILIPPE REINES

A student identified arsenic Katie told FOX’s Martha MacCallum: "It's sickening. And truly, it's heartbreaking to deliberation that I spell to schoolhouse pinch group who person these horrible anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, and anti-American beliefs. It's really rather disturbing to deliberation that these group are allowed to beryllium astir maine and my classmates and to spot my friends, group I admit connected these videos being screamed astatine that these group condone their rape and murder. And it's conscionable truthful beyond disturbing."

Columbia University student Eden Yadegar describes antisemitism connected field during a news convention astatine nan U.S. Capitol hosted by nan House Education and nan Workforce Committee leadership. (Fox News Digital/Danielle Wallace)

Katie, describing herself arsenic an Iranian who escaped belief persecution successful nan state that straight and unsuccessfully bombarded Israel for nan first time, said Columbia has "hired professors who person said that these attacks connected Oct. 7 were awesome, were awesome victories for nan Palestinian martyrs and who person been known to beryllium antisemitic, and that Professor Joseph Massad teaches nan people connected Israeli-Palestinian conflict astatine Columbia. And you wonderment really these students get indoctrinated pinch these beliefs….I deliberation it's a rejection of American values."

The woman, who was poised and passionate, added that nan ongoing ordeal prompted her to move off-campus. 

"It changed my life arsenic a student completely. I worked my full life to get into Columbia. Worked difficult to go. This is my dream school. I came to perceive from group pinch differing beliefs and to study from them. And it has made nan full acquisition miserable," she said. "Quite frankly, I cannot hold to get retired of location and I will ne'er return."

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There comes a clip erstwhile millions who had looked distant aliases stayed silent emergence up and opportunity enough. I deliberation we are connected nan brink of that moment. 

There is thing astir nan operation of Columbia, nan New York media market, nan arrests, nan shelter metropolis and nan bile directed astatine Jewish students that has tipped nan scales.