Live updates: Elected officials, Jewish leaders respond to Columbia protests

An encampment has been erected at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along the model of the ongoing demonstration at Columbia University in New York City, according to video posted by Talia Khan, President of the MIT Israel Alliance, on X. 

In the video, which shows dozens of people marching around tents set up on a campus lawn, a crowd can be heard chanting, "Min el-maiyeh lel maiyeh, Falastin arabieh," or, "From the water to the water, Palestine is Arab."

And, it’s happened. The anti-Israel, pro-terrorist encampment is now up at @MIT. We are afraid to go near. pic.twitter.com/EMRIzMYmmJ

— Talia Khan (@TaliaKhan_MIT) April 22, 2024

The chant, distinct from the more common English version, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," has become commonplace at demonstrations about the Israel-Hamas War. 

It was cited on Sunday by Representative Virginia Foxx, who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, in a letter to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik that charged the school was in violation of its obligations to Jewish students under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

Brian Cohen, Executive Director of the Kraft Center for Jewish Life at Columbia University— the campus's branch of Hillel International— wrote an email to students on Sunday announcing that Passover programming would proceed with a heightened police presence, including walking escorts to and from campus for Jewish students concerned for their safety. 

"It is unacceptable that I need to send this email in 2024," the message began. "The University continues to fail to enforce its rules," Cohen said, "despite escalating antisemitic harassment and around-the-clock protest activity on and around campus." 

#Breaking - The executive director at Columbia’s Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life just sent out an email beginning with the words: “It is unacceptable that I need to send this email in 2024.” Read it to understand why. The NYPD will be at the Kraft (Hillel) Center throughout… pic.twitter.com/kAKYeoKgL9

— Jonathan Harounoff (@JonathanHaroun1) April 22, 2024

Cohen also noted that "If anyone currently on campus wants to relocate for any part of Passover, [Hillel is] happy to help connect them with local alumni hosts."

The note came after Rav Elie Bruechler, a rabbi serving Columbia students on behalf of the Orthodox Union, advised students returning home with their families not to return to campus amid concerns for their safety. 

"Columbia Univeristy must put an end to the on-campus protests that violate the University's events policies," Cohen wrote, adding "Off-campus protests need to be moved if the protestors will not end their harassment of students."

US Representative Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, wrote a letter to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on Sunday charging the university with a failure to meet its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to ensure an environment of equal opportunity for Jewish students.  

Foxx, a Republican who represents a constituency in North Carolina, wrote that "Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified.

"If you do not rectify this danger, then the Committee will not hesitate in holding you accountable," the congresswoman wrote. 

The university has been roiled by protests all week, since students set up an encampment on a campus lawn the night before Shafik was set to testify before the House of Representatives. Shafik authorized the New York Police Department (NYPD) to dismantle the encampment on April 18, leading to the arrest of over a hundred students, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator.

The gates to Columbia University are locked with a padlock as demonstrators gather outside to demand a ceasefire and the end of Israeli attacks on Gaza, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, during a protest in New York, U.S., April 20, 2024. (credit: Reuters/Adam Gray)

Letter cites 24 separate incidents of pro-Hamas rhetoric, violations of policy 

The letter, which ran seven pages, cited 24 separate incidents, including physical assaults, and cites twelve different slogans chanted at demonstrations, including "From the river to the sea, Palestine is Arab," "Settlers, settlers go back home, Palestine is ours alone," and "Brick by brick, wall by wall Israel will fall." 

Condemnation of the protests, building throughout the week, poured in on Sunday following news that a campus rabbi had advised students to return to their families rather than remain on campus out of concerns for their safety. The White House, the President of Israel, and the Mayor of New York as well as other elected officials have demanded that the university do more to protect Jewish students. 

The statement by Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday similarly cited a number of specific incidents in which students had expressed support for Hamas, the jihadist group that invaded Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, taking 250 people hostage, and opening the ongoing war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians as well as more than 500 Israeli soldiers. 

The Simon Weisenthal Center, the Holocaust-education and human rights organization, called on Columbia University to request police presence on campus to protect Jewish students amid ongoing demonstrations marked by pro-Hamas rhetoric. 

"SWC calls on the President of Columbia University to immediately allow for local law enforcement to enter campus grounds," the organization said on X, "to ensure the protection of Jewish students who are currently facing an unprecedented level of anti-Semitic harassment."

SWC calls on the President of @Columbia University to immediately allow for local law enforcement to enter campus grounds to ensure the protection of Jewish students who are currently facing an unprecedented level of anti-Semitic harassment.

— Simon Wiesenthal Center (@simonwiesenthal) April 21, 2024

US President Joe Biden issued a statement on Sunday in advance of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins Monday night.

The statement addressed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, as well as the surge in global antisemitism that followed its outbreak with Hamas's October 7 attack, and the ongoing plight of Israelis held hostage in Gaza.

"This Passover falls particularly hard on hostage families trying to honor the spirit of the holiday – a story centered on freedom – while their loved ones remain in captivity," the statement said. "Our hearts are with all the victims, survivors, families, and friends whose loved ones have been killed, taken hostage, wounded, displaced, or are in harm’s way."

Addressing the situation in the Middle East, Biden wrote that his "commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad," writing that the administration "is working around the clock to free the hostages, and we will not rest until we bring them home." 

The President noted his administration's commitment to a two-state solution and its work "to establish an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a deal that releases the hostages and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians."

Photos of the Bibas family, held hostage in Gaza, are seen at a Passover ceremony in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on April 11, 2024. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

Biden condemns "calls for violence" on campuses

He also made note of "the alarming surge in Antisemitism — in our schools, communities, and online," writing that "in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews."

"This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."

The comments come as the Biden White House, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and members of New York City's local government and congressional delegation have condemned the rhetoric used during ongoing protests at Columbia University, including calls for "intifada," support for Hamas, and vows to repeat the October 7 attack. 

MK Amichai Chikli, Minister of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism, posted a message to social media on Sunday addressed to students at Columbia University and other college campuses in the United States and Europe where protests over the Israel-Hamas war have been characterized by violent rhetoric, including endorsements of the October 7 attacks and other actions by Hamas and its allies.

"On the lawns of Columbia University, students cry out, 'Resistance is justified,'" Chikli wrote, in an extensive post to X. "Is there any justification for rape? Is there justification for the abduction and torture of innocent citizens, the elderly, and mothers with their children taken from their homes?" The post continues: "If your answer is a foolish slogan like ‘resistance by any means necessary,' the next time you wonder how the Nazis came to power, look in the mirror - you are the answer." 

To our fellow students at @Columbia University, @Yale, and to all Jewish students who are forced to confront the raging waves of hatred sweeping through campuses and streets in North America and Europe:

On the lawns of Columbia University, students cry out, “Resistance is… pic.twitter.com/fyGvtnvQO5

— עמיחי שיקלי - Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) April 21, 2024

The post goes on: "Progressive woke culture dictates that the only truth is that there is no truth. But the truth exists," writing that at Columbia, "the boundaries between good and evil [have] become blurred." The MK went on to quote a verse from the Book of Isaiah (5:20), "What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light, and light is dark."

"I appeal to you to lift your heads to look straight at the haters," Chikli wrote to students. "Don't bother responding to them; those consumed by hatred are deaf to reason. Don't be daunted by their noise or size; as it is said, 'a small amount of truth triumphs over a multitude of lies, and a glimmer of light dispels great darkness.'"

He concluded the post by wishing readers a chag cherut sameach— using a Hebrew name for Passover, the "Festival of Freedom." 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned extremist slogans chanted during ongoing protests at Columbia University over the war between Israel and Hamas, and pledged that "the [New York Police Department] will not hesitate to arrest anyone who is found to be breaking the law."

"I am horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus," the Mayor said, citing "the example of a young woman holding a sign with an arrow pointing to Jewish students stating ‘Al-Qasam’s Next Targets,’ or another where a woman is literally yelling ‘We are Hamas,’ or another where groups of students are chanting ‘We don’t want no Zionists here'". 

"I condemn this hate speech in the strongest of terms," Adams said. "Supporting a terrorist organization that aims is to kill Jews is sickening and despicable."

Adams noted, however, that "Columbia University is a private institution on private property, which means the NYPD cannot have a presence on campus unless specifically requested by senior university officials."

“As mayor of the city with the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel, the pain these protests are causing Jews across the globe is not lost on me," Adams said, "especially as we start Passover tomorrow evening.

"I also see and hear the pain of those protesting in support of innocent lives being lost in Gaza," he concluded.

"Appeasing antisemitism never works," wrote US Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents much of the Bronx borough of New York City in the House of Representatives, in a post to X on Sunday about the ongoing protests at Columbia University that have led one rabbi on campus to advise students to leave campus for their own safety.

"The crisis at Columbia University underscores the urgent need for moral clarity against antisemitism," Torres wrote.

"College administrators should start defending their Jewish constituents and students and stop pandering to the antisemites who seek their destruction."

The crisis at Columbia University underscores the urgent need for moral clarity against antisemitism.

College administrators should start defending their Jewish constituents and students and stop pandering to the antisemites who seek their destruction.

Appeasing…

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) April 21, 2024

US Representative Nicole Malliotakis, who represents the Staten Island and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn areas of New York City in the House of Representatives, called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign, as the university is roiled by protests by pro-Palestinian students.

The protests, which have included calls for "intifada" and declarations of allegiance to "the Palestinian resistance"— including, at times, explicitly Hamas— led Rav Elie Buechler, a rabbi serving the Jewish community on campus, to advise Jewish students to vacate the campus, writing that their safety could not be guaranteed. 

In a post to X on Sunday, Malliotakis wrote, "It’s clear Columbia University President Shafik can’t get her school under control or protect her students & she should resign.

"The gross antisemitism being displayed against Jewish students at Columbia University is horrific, unacceptable and the reason I introduced legislation to strip federal funding from colleges that blatantly allow antisemitism & don’t hold those responsible accountable."

It’s clear Columbia University President Shafik can’t get her school under control or protect her students & she should resign. The gross antisemitism being displayed against Jewish students at Columbia University is horrific, unacceptable and the reason I introduced legislation… pic.twitter.com/mmm1tRyu9S

— Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (@RepMalliotakis) April 21, 2024

The Orthodox Union (OU), America's largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, has condemned what it called "anarchy inside and outside Columbia's campus," after Rav Elie Buechler, who represents the organization on campus, advised students to "return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved," writing that their safety could not be assured on campus.

“We completely and totally stand behind Rabbi Buechler’s message," said Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Executive Vice President of the OU, said in a statement. "The anarchy inside and outside Columbia’s campus is disturbing, disorienting, and frightening for all of us to witness, but it has been downright dangerous for the Jewish students experiencing it."

The OU has "shared Rabbi Buechler’s message with those at the White House, Congress, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education, with whom we have been in ongoing contact about the deteriorating situation on campus," Hauer said, adding, "The fact that Jewish students must seek refuge from their university campus is shameful evidence of the failure of the university and every level of government to effectively address the growing horror of domestic antisemitism."