Columbia students defy order to disperse or face suspension

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University defied an order to leave as Democrats labelled their encampment a ‘breeding ground of anti-Semitism’.

Protesters wave Palestinian flags on the West Lawn of Columbia University in New York. Picture: AFP

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University defied an order to leave their encampment as pressure grew from congress to dismantle what Democrats called a “breeding ground of anti-Semitism”.

The university, which has become the epicentre of protests that have spread to campuses across America, gave demonstrators until 2pm local time on Monday to pack up or face suspension.

As the deadline passed, notices were seen littering the ground scrawled with the words “Columbia will burn” and “Free Palestine”. A dozen faculty members wearing fluorescent orange vests locked arms with students at the edge of the encampment, as police watched from behind a barricade.

“The tensions are at a new level … the tensions are just extremely high,” said Michael Ostuno, a psychology student. “You sense the kind of, there’s a revolutionary spirit, for one, there’s a desire for change.”

In a press conference held after the deadline, student organiser Sueda Dolat told assembled media: “The university has conducted itself with obstinacy and arrogance. Where we asked for amnesty, they gave us more discipline. We will not be moved unless by force.”

The university notice said: “The current unauthorised encampment and disruption on Columbia University’s campus is creating an unwelcoming environment for members of our community. Please promptly gather your belongings and leave the encampment.”

Under the terms spelt out in the letter, students who left the “Gaza solidarity encampment” would be put on disciplinary probation until June of next year.

The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia nearly a fortnight ago as a response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which was launched after Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7. They have since spread across the country, from Indiana to Washington, California and Missouri.

The protests have posed a challenge to university administrators trying to balance the right of free speech with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and threats of violence.

Demonstrations grew across the country over the weekend. At the University of California on Monday numbers were swelling. Protesters had erected signs with slogans including “from the river to the sea”, referring to Palestinian calls to reconnect territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.

They have been largely peaceful, with the protest leader at Columbia insisting the more threatening behaviour has come from outside agitators with no connection to the university. One Jewish student, however, has sued the university for failing to keep the campus safe.

“Many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy,” said Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia, in a statement announcing that talks had broken down. “One group’s rights to express their views cannot come at the expense of another group’s right to speak, teach and learn.”

Protesters vowed to stay until Columbia met three demands: divestment from Israel, transparency in the university’s finances and amnesty for students and faculty disciplined for their part in the protests.

Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student and the lead negotiator on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, called the deadline a “repulsive scare tactic” and said they would not move until Columbia “meets our demands or we are moved by force”.

A group of Democrats in the House of Representatives called on Monday for Columbia’s board of trustees to dismantle the encampment or resign.

In a letter to the board, 21 House Democrats wrote of their “disappointment that, despite promises to do so, Columbia University has not yet disbanded the unauthorised and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus”.

The letter, which has been signed by moderate members and those facing a potential electoral swing, including 10 Jewish congressmen and women, marks an escalation in Democrats’ rhetoric on the conflict.

“The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, but not freedom to harass and intimidate other students,” the members of congress wrote. “The time for negotiation is over – the time for action is now.

“It is ultimately the responsibility of the board of trustees to act. If any trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the university’s legal obligations under title VI [a federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or colour].”

The Democratic Party has been deeply divided on Gaza, with more moderate members joining Republicans in expressing concern at the student movement spreading across American campuses. Progressive Democratic members of the “squad”, meanwhile, have visited the Columbia encampment to offer their support to protesters.

Asked about the Columbia protests, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said President Joe Biden “stands squarely” against hateful speech while also supporting Americans’ right to peacefully protest.

“Anti-Semitism is dangerous. It is hate speech. It is abhorrent,” Ms Jean-Pierre said. “There is no place for anti-Semitism on campuses, or anywhere else. It is a painful moment, we get that. Free expression has to be done within the law.”

Mr Biden, a self-described Zionist, has faced greater division in his own coalition over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war than any other Democratic president has confronted on a foreign policy issue since the Vietnam War.

They have drawn comparisons to the demonstrations of 1968, which involved bloody clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War demonstrators outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Beth Massey, one of the original protesters at the 1968 Columbia occupation, addressed the encampment over the weekend. “We are the majority and all I can say is keep going,” she said, rallying the crowd.

The Times