As the Columbia University president testifies in D.C. over antisemitism on campuses, students hold a sit-in protesting the school’s financial ties to Israel.
As Columbia University President Nemat (Minouche) Shafik on Wednesday testified before Congress on antisemitism, the Ivy League college in New York City warned students of suspension over their „Gaza Solidarity Encampment“ sit-in on the South Lawn of the campus in Upper Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood.
Organized by a coalition of groups, the students gathered to protest Columbia’s „continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.“
College students have been at the forefront of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests since the Israel-Hamas war began. On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest airstrikes against Gaza. As of Wednesday, at least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, per the Israeli government. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, per the Gaza Health Ministry, according to the outlet.
Protests have since erupted across the nation as tensions escalate, with many calling for a lasting cease-fire amid the rising death toll, particularly among civilians.
Early Wednesday morning, hours before Shafik was scheduled to testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee about increased antisemitism on college campuses, students began gathering and pitching tents for what they called the „Gaza Solidarity Encampment“ in an effort to demand the school administration to divest from companies affiliated with Israel.
