Crisis on campus: Tensions swell at Yale, Columbia, NYU

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators plan to risk mass arrest on Tuesday by closing down the Brooklyn street where US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resides, a coalition of Jewish groups opposing Israel's actions in Gaza said.

The protest, planned on the second night of the week-long Jewish feast of Passover, is one of a dozen to be held in cities around the country, including Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.

There have been a spate of major demonstrations on college campuses from California to Massachusetts over the past week. On many of the campuses, protesters have set up unauthorized encampments of tents to press their demands.

New York Republican Reps. Mike Lawler and Anthony D'Esposito and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined actor Michael Rappaport and radio show host Sid Rosenberg for a news conference outside of Columbia University on Monday afternoon to condemn the antisemitic protests on campus. 

Lawler said every college and university president who refuses to take action should immediately "resign in disgrace" or be thrown out.

Talking to reporters after an Earth Day event in Triangle, Virginia, President Joe Biden said he condemned the antisemitic protests occurring on college campuses, according to White House press pool reports. 

"That's why I've set up a program to deal with that," Biden said. 

Biden was interrupted before finishing his next sentence. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referenced campus pro-Palestinian protests while praising the "power of young people" during remarks at an Earth Day event at the White House on Monday. 

Ocasio-Cortez said it's important to remember the power of young people shaping the country today of all days as we "once again witnessed the leadership of those peaceful student-led protests on campuses like Columbia, Yale, Berkeley, and many others."

Columbia University has deactivated the ID card of Shai Davidai, the Israeli-American professor at Columbia Business School whose crusade against pro-Hamas student activity has brought global attention, Davidai claimed on Monday. 

"They deactivated my card," Davidai said in a video circulating on social media, adding, "We just want to be Jewish on campus." Further videos showed Davidai attempting to enter the campus but being blocked. 

Columbia has deactivated Shai Davidai’s ID, he is blocked from campus pic.twitter.com/38pIgdDFf3

— Luke Tress (@luketress) April 22, 2024

Davidai had earlier advertised a "PEACEFUL sit in at Columbia's declared 'Liberation Zone,'" inviting followers on X to bring Israeli and American flags. 

All ten Republican congresspeople representing New York wrote to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on Monday, charging that "anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University" and calling on Shafik to resign. 

The congresspeople referred to protesters gathered inside and outside the Columbia campus as an "unsanctioned mob of students and agitators being permitted to continue to target Jewish students," adding this "has led to several documented incidents of despicable antisemitic harassment and calls for violence and terrorism."

The letter cites several news reports from the protests, as well as the recommendation of Rabbi Elie Buechler, who serves Jewish students at Columbia, that Orthodox students return home until their safety can be guaranteed.

"The ongoing situation that has unfolded is a direct symptom of your continued lax enforcement of policy and clear double standards," the congresspeople wrote. "While the rot is systemic, the responsibility rests squarely on your shoulders.

"We, the undersigned members, urge you to step down immediately so that someone who will take action against this mob can step up to meet the moment this crisis demands," the Republicans added.

"I’m deeply disturbed by the appalling antisemitism being displayed on Columbia University’s campus," wrote New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a post to X on Monday.

"Threats of violence against Jewish students are absolutely despicable, and this appalling rhetoric must end now. Our Jewish friends and neighbors deserve the right to live and worship in safety — here in New York, and all across America."

I’m deeply disturbed by the appalling antisemitism being displayed on Columbia University’s campus. Threats of violence against Jewish students are absolutely despicable, and this appalling rhetoric must end now. Our Jewish friends and neighbors deserve the right to live and…

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) April 22, 2024

Gillibrand is one of two senators from New York, the other being Senator Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history.

In a statement released on Sunday, Senator Schumer said that "Every American has a right to protest, but when protests shift to antisemitism, verbal abuse, intimidation, or glorification of Oct. 7 violence against Jewish people, that crosses the line." 

The White House also condemned expressions of support for Hamas at Columbia, as have New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Jewish Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Dan Goldman, and Kathy Manning arrived at Columbia University Monday afternoon.

Happening now: Jewish Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Dan Goldman and Kathy Manning preparing to walk through the Columbia University campus. pic.twitter.com/6IrFeiQWaB

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) April 22, 2024

New York Governor Kathy Hochul visited Columbia University on Monday, amid a week-long protest movement that has included open expressions of support for Hamas and other proscribed terrorist organizations.

In light of the protests, Jewish leaders have provided walking police escorts to and from campus for students concerned for their safety. The university has also switched to remote classes, and the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce has sent a letter to the university's president charging that the school is in breach of its obligations under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

This morning I went to Columbia University and convened City Hall, NYPD & Columbia’s President to discuss the need to fight antisemitism and protect public safety.

The recent harassment and rhetoric is vile and abhorrent. Every student deserves to be safe. pic.twitter.com/zLYWJV3MHD

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) April 22, 2024

"Right now, there are many students not feeling safe on campus," Hochul said, vowing to protect public safety and security and also to protect people's right to peaceably assemble. The governor met with a group of students who, she reported, "are scared to walk on campus."

"I was once a student protester," Hochul said in a video posted to X. "I protested institutions, I protested governments, I protested against apartheid. But I've never seen a level of protest that is so person-to-person, it is so visceral, and I'm calling on everyone: people need to find their humanity. Have the conversations. Talk to each other." 

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced on Monday a same-day shift to virtual classes, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator, to "deescalate the rancor" at the Ivy League school that has been embroiled in controversy as student protests express open support for Hamas and other proscribed terrorist groups. 

Earlier this week, one rabbi serving Jewish students on campus advised his community to leave campus until their safety could be guaranteed. Columbia Hillel, a center for Jewish life at the university, has offered students police walking escorts to and from the school. 

In an overnight statement to students, Shafik wrote that “The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas. We need a reset.”