2024 Columbia University Pro-Palestinian Campus Occupations

A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City from April to June 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war related protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents on the university campus, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and demanded the university divest from Israel.

The first encampment was dismantled when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus on April 17 and conduct mass arrests. A new encampment was built the next day. The administration then entered into negotiations with protesters, which failed on April 29 and resulted in the suspension of student protesters. The next day, protesters broke into and occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to a second NYPD raid, the arrest of more than 100 protesters, and the full dismantling of the camp. The arrests marked the first time Columbia allowed police to suppress campus protests since the 1968 demonstrations against the Vietnam War. On May 31, a third campus encampment was briefly established in response to an alumni reunion.

As a result of the protests, Columbia University switched to hybrid learning (incorporating more online learning) for the rest of the semester. The protests encouraged other actions at multiple universities. Several antisemitic incidents took place during the protests. Organizers have said they were the work of outside agitators and non-students. Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have said that incidents of antisemitism by protesters are not representative of the protest movement. On May 6, the school administration canceled the university-wide graduation ceremony scheduled for May 15.

Background

Israel–Hamas war demonstrations at Columbia University

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students have staged demonstrations at Columbia University during the Israel–Hamas war. Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia have said that their movement is anti-Zionist, and protests at Columbia have been organized by anti-Zionist groups.

On October 12, 2023, the university closed its campus after opposing demonstrations collided. In November 2023, the administration suspended Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace after they held an unauthorized student walkout, furthering conflicts between faculty and administration; the university claimed that one person at the event shouted anti-Semitic epithets. That same month, students walked out of a class taught by Hillary Clinton after she made remarks opposing a ceasefire.

In January 2024, students at a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus were sprayed with a chemical that they alleged to be Skunk, a foul-smelling spray usually used as crowd control by the Israel Defense Forces, causing various injuries. In response, demonstrators organized a protest outside the university. The New York City Police Department announced that it would investigate the event as a potential hate crime. SJP and JVP published a report stating that the perpetrators were former IDF soldiers and current Columbia students. In April, one of the perpetrators, who had been suspended the previous month, sued the university under the pseudonym John Doe, claiming that he had actually sprayed non-toxic "gag gift" fart sprays he had purchased from Amazon, adding that pro-Palestine students doxxed him in retaliation.

In March 2024, students held an unauthorized "Resistance 101" event. University administration hired a private investigation firm to investigate the event and suspended four students for hosting it.

The encampment

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University in April 2024
At the entrance to the encampment on Columbia's east lawn was posted "Gaza Solidarity Encampment Community Guidelines". Some of these guidelines were to not take pictures of people without their permission, not to use drugs or alcohol in the encampment, and not to engage with counter-protesters. Speaking to the press was allowed only between 2 and 4 pm. Other signs on the perimeter said "Demilitarize education" and " Globalize the Intifada". Students created their own chants and passed out flyers that read "Do you feel safe sending your child to a school which gives up its students to the police?" There was a buffet-style meal service with abundant food.

Student protesters called on Columbia to financially divest from any company with business ties to the Israeli government, including Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Participants

The campus occupation was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student-led coalition of over 120 groups; Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP); and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). These groups have participated in New York City's pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the October 2023 start of the Israel–Hamas war.

Local group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) organized protests around the campus perimeter in support of the encampment, clashing with the NYPD. Other groups protesting outside campus included Neturei Karta, a Jewish anti-Zionist sect, Uptown for Palestine, and a coalition composed of Palestinian Youth Movement, The People's Forum, ANSWER Coalition, and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-Awda.

Groups of pro-Israel counterprotesters were also present outside the university and were generally much smaller, with the exception of an April 26 march outside campus organized by StandWithUs and right-wing Christian Zionists that drew hundreds of people.

Timeline

April 17–21: first encampment, eviction, and second encampment

On April 17, beginning around 4 am, about 70 protesters sat in tents bearing the Palestinian flag on the East Butler Lawn. Protesters put up banners reading "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" and "Liberated Zone". A substantial NYPD presence was noted outside the university as soon as the encampment was established. Activity in the encampment included a teach-in and film screening. That morning, at about 10 am, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, an event that had been planned weeks before. She had previously been invited to attend the November 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism but had declined, citing a scheduling conflict.

The next day, the Shafik-authorized New York City Police Department Strategic Response Group entered the encampment to arrest protesters as Columbia University employees cleared the tents. CUAD (Columbia University Apartheid Divest) said the university had dumped students' confiscated belongings in a nearby alley. Three students were suspended, including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar. After the NYPD appeared, a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters congregated to celebrate the university's response, waving American and Israeli flags. A protest on 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue formed, but dispersed to allow buses with detained protesters to exit.

Despite the dismantlement of the encampment, protesters soon moved to an adjacent lawn on campus, the West Lawn of the Butler Lawns, where they hoisted their banners and pitched several tents. Public intellectual and independent presidential candidate Cornel West appeared to show solidarity. A group protested outside the university's main entrance on 116th Street. Protesters on 116th Street and Broadway moved toward 120th Street after a man was taken into custody. All of the protesters the NYPD arrested were released by late evening.
On April 19, protesters remained camped out on campus; SJP chapters at the University of North Carolina, Boston University, and Ohio State University, as well as the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee at Harvard University, announced rallies in solidarity with the Columbia protesters. Norman Finkelstein, an anti-Zionist political scientist and activist, appeared and gave a speech to protesters. A Muslim jummah prayer service and a Jewish Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service were held at the encampment in the afternoon and evening, respectively. On April 18, the university informed the student protesters who had been arrested that they were indefinitely suspended.

During the weekend of April 20-21, public safety officers from the administration told WKCR-FM, which had been broadcasting information about the protest, to vacate its office due to an unspecified danger. Staff refused, saying they had a responsibility to broadcast information 24/7. WKCR later said it was a misunderstanding. Protesters also targeted some Jewish students with "antisemitic vitriol", leaving some Jewish students "fearful for their safety on the campus and its vicinity".
On April 21, Elie Buechler, a rabbi associated with Columbia University’s Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, recommended that Jewish students "return home as soon as possible and remain home", arguing that the ongoing campus occupation had "made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety". Footage of protests over the weekend showed some protesters using antisemitic language against Jewish students, and many Jewish students said they felt unsafe.

April 22–28: walkout, negotiations suspended, and counter-protests

Hundreds of Columbia faculty members walked out of classes to protest the university's response to the protest. Because of the protest, the university canceled classes on April 22, and then said it would switch to blended learning for the remainder of the semester. The Columbia Elections Board announced that a referendum on divestment from Israel, originally proposed by CUAD on March 3, 2024, had passed by a large margin, showing that Columbia's student body mostly supported the initiative. In the evening, the students celebrated a Seder on the first evening of Passover.
On April 23, A student organizer said that protesters were in negotiations with the university through a legal negotiator but declined to share details. Ben Chang, Columbia's spokesperson, said that organizers had met with university officials in the early morning to discuss the situation. Shafik issued a midnight deadline for protesters to either agree to vacate campus or face the university's consideration of "alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus". Jewish pro-Palestinian students held Passover Seder within the encampment.

Shortly after midnight on April 24, SJP reported that protesters had suspended negotiations because the university had threatened to call in the New York Army National Guard to clear them out, saying they would not return to the negotiating table until Columbia rescinded its threat. But the university said that "important progress" had been made in negotiations and that Shafik's original deadline would be extended by 48 hours, that the students had agreed to reduce the number of tents, and that they would ensure that protesters not affiliated with Columbia would leave campus. Protesters were seen taking down and moving some tents. Meanwhile, the NYPD dispersed about 100 protesters outside campus.

In the afternoon of April 24, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson gave a speech in front of Low Library condemning the protesters and calling for Shafik to resign. Some in attendance loudly booed him. During his speech, Johnson said that during the October 7 attack, " infants were cooked in ovens", an unsubstantiated claim. Later, he called on President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to quell the protests; White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied that such deployment is up to the state governor, not the president. The next day, Palestine Legal filed a Title VI suit with regard to suspended students. The Columbia Board of Trustees issued statements in affirmation of Shafik. The Columbia student senate held an emergency meeting with Shafik to consider censuring her.

On April 26, a United for Israel counter-march, organized by StandWithUs and some right-wing organizations, was held around Columbia and stopped at the gates. Some marchers harassed pro-Palestinian counter-protesters and targeted some counter-protesters inside the gates. U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman visited the encampment. Columbia library workers issued a statement condemning Shafik for deploying police and private security against the protesters. More than 1,000 pro-Israel protesters organized by the "New York Hostage and Missing Families Forum" rallied at 116th and Broadway. The University Senate announced plans to call for a censure vote against Shafik but decided instead to vote on a resolution expressing displeasure with her out of fear of ousting the president in a time of crisis.

Khymani James, a Columbia student who had emerged as a leader of the protest movement, was barred from campus after a video from January surfaced in which they said, "Zionists don’t deserve to live". Other protest groups condemned the comment. ''The New York Times'' said the student's comments raised the question, "How much of the movement in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza is tainted by antisemitism?" On April 27, the student suspended for their "Zionists don't deserve to live" comment apologized. The NYPD said that outside agitators were trying to hijack the protests, and that they were ready to raid the campus if needed. The next day, the administration called for the protesters to leave, and said that bringing back the NYPD would be counterproductive.

April 29–May 2: occupation of Hamilton Hall, subsequent raid, and arrests

Negotiations between protesters and the university came to a "dead end" on April 29. The administration threatened to suspend students still in the encampment by 2 pm. It also offered a partial amnesty deal. CUAD voted to stay in the encampment after the deadline, and SJP told members not to sign any administration deals. Faculty linked arms around the encampment before the deadline. Despite the threats, students stayed in the encampment and surrounding areas. Suspensions began later that day. Meanwhile, a Jewish student sued the university for failing to provide a safe environment, police set up barricades outside the university, and alumni wrote Shafik a letter asking her to clear the encampment.

In the early morning of April 30, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, breaking windows, and barricaded themselves inside. Protesters unfurled a banner purporting to rename the building "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. As a result, the campus was locked down and higher police presence was noted near campus; the NYPD and the university said they would not send police in. The administration threatened to expel students who participated in the hall takeover. "Professional agitator" Lisa Fithian was spotted aiding protesters breaking into Hamilton Hall.

Late in the evening, a heavy riot police presence was seen outside the campus. The administration told students to shelter in place due to "heightened activity". The NYPD prepared to raid the campus after a letter from Shafik gave it permission. Protesters appeared undeterred, continuing chants. At around 9 pm, the NYPD entered campus with administration approval. The administration blamed protesters for escalating by taking Hamilton Hall. According to Shafik's letter to the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters requesting police intervention, someone hid in the building until it closed, then let others in. Columbia believed that while students were among those who entered, their leaders were unaffiliated with the university. Police used flash-bang grenades to breach the building and arrested more than 100 protesters. Officers were seen entering the building with weapons drawn, and a shot was fired inside the building. The district attorney's office said no one was injured and their Police Accountability Unit was reviewing the incident. By the end of the night, Hamilton Hall and the entire campus were cleared, including the encampment.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, 109 people were arrested at Columbia. In the letter to the deputy commissioner, Shafik requested an NYPD presence through at least May 17, two days after the scheduled commencement. On May 2, the NYPD announced that during arrests at Columbia, out of 112 people arrested, 32 were not affiliated with the school. Mayor Eric Adams said there was evidence that two outside agitators and "professionals", Lisa Fithian and the wife of Sami Al-Arian, had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate the protests.

May 6–16: Graduation ceremony canceled and continued protests

Despite claims that the police sweep was done to ensure a main graduation commencement, especially as the class of 2024 had its high school commencement canceled due to COVID, the university decided on May 6 to cancel the main commencement, though the various colleges and schools of the university planned to hold separate commencements.

Small pro-Palestinian protests were held outside the homes of some Columbia University trustees on May 7. During one such protest, a pro-Israel man argued with some of the protesters before driving into the protest. The driver and a struck protester were both arrested and treated at the hospital for minor injuries.

On May 16, faculty, students and religious leaders held a "People's Graduation" ceremony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for students who were punished for participating in the encampment. Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah and Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary spoke at the event.

May 31–2 June: Alumni weekend encampment

On May 31, students regrouped and launched a third encampment. About 100 students participated in the protest, which was said to be a response to the Rafah offensive and a Washington Post article revealing that elites pressured Adams into sending the NYPD in during the second raid. Students said the encampment was only the first of a continued protest presence on the campus, remaining for alumni reunion weekend. By 7 pm, about two dozen students with ten tents had occupied part of the South Lawn during the university's alumni reunion. According to Columbia SJP, the protesters identify as "an autonomous group of Palestinian students". The encampment was dismantled on June 2, once the alumni weekend ended. The NYPD briefly entered the campus to document vandalism that took place.

Protests at other university campuses

Controversies

Allegations of antisemitism

Multiple sources have quoted some Jewish students as feeling unsafe or targeted as a result of the protests. Criticism increased when a January 2024 recording of one organizer, Khymani James, saying "Zionists don't deserve to live" was released. One Jewish student who wore a Star of David chain said she was confronted by a masked pro-Palestinian demonstrator on campus, who demanded to know if she was a Zionist. James apologized when the remarks were publicized in April 2024. James said on X: "I affirm the sanctity of all life and the movement for liberation." James was later barred from campus and suspended. At Columbia, U.S. Representative Kathy Manning described seeing signs calling for the destruction of Israel. Freshman student Nicholas Baum described hearing protesters "calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel." Another protester was recorded holding a sign reading "Al-Qassam's next targets" in front of student counter-protesters holding Israeli flags.

On April 20, protesters both on and off campus were recorded targeting Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol, resulting in condemnation from both the White House and the New York Mayor's office. A chapter of the international Orthodox Jewish movement present at the campus hired guards to escort Jewish students home from Chabad. According to ''The Times Of Israel'', protesters at the encampment were filmed chanting "Zionists not allowed here", while another protester called for "10,000 October 7ths". One Jewish student reported protesters saying "kill all the Jews" and "we want one Arab state", describing the campus as a "hotbed for radical antisemitism". Protesters from outside the campus were filmed yelling "Go back to Poland". CUAD organizers put out a statement distancing themselves from "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us".

Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have rejected assertions that the protest is antisemitic and unsafe for Jewish students, and the ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' reported that pro-Israeli counter-protesters have called pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters "fake Jews" or " kapos". Many Jewish students, while denouncing antisemitism, felt solidarity with pro-Palestinian protesters. Progressive and student opinion writers have argued that national media may be pushing a skewed narrative by characterizing the protest as antisemitic and hateful. Some protesters have alleged that agitators and non-students were responsible for antisemitic incidents.

Susan Bernofsky, a Columbia professor, said: "I do not feel that this project is antisemitic in any way. I do feel that the students are highly critical of Israeli politics. And I do not feel threatened as a Jewish faculty member in any way by what's happening on this campus – except by the arrest of many of our students." In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it."

Allegations of anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia

Palestine Legal's lawsuit against Columbia University alleges that Columbia held pro-Palestinian students to a different standard "through its policies, statements and other administrative actions". The lawsuit says that Columbia did not respond to the doxxing of pro-Palestinian students in October 2023, that it mishandled an incident where two pro-Israel students sprayed pro-Palestinian students with skunk spray in January 2024, and that it delayed an investigation into the conduct of professor Shai Davidai, who had over 50 harassment complaints against him.

Columbia is quick to condemn speech it deems hateful or offensive to non-Palestinians, but when Palestinian students are the targets of anti-Palestinian hate or violence, the university stalls or fails to condemn the actions. When it does make a statement, Columbia fails to note that Palestinian students were the victims, unlike when non-Palestinians are harmed.

Eric Adams cited the presence of Nahla Al-Arian at the Columbia encampment as a justification for the NYPD's raid, calling her an "outside agitator" trying to "radicalize our children" and implying that she posed a threat because of her husband Sami Al-Arian's prosecution on terror charges during the early years of the War on Terror.

Responses

Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Columbia alumnus and the House of Representatives' longest-serving Jewish member, wrote that "Columbia has an obligation to protect students and their learning environment". New York City mayor Eric Adams said, "Students have a right to free speech but do not have a right to violate university policies and disrupt learning on campus". President Joe Biden referenced the protests in his statement on Passover, saying "harassment and calls for violence against Jews ... has absolutely no place on college campuses". A separate White House statement condemned "physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community" on Columbia's campus. Former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said: "The police came in and in exactly two hours, everything was over. It was a beautiful thing to watch."

Columbia University alum and former trustee Robert Kraft, who founded Columbia's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, wrote on Instagram: "I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken." The union representing Columbia student workers released a statement calling for "the immediate reinstatement of all student and student workers disciplined for pro-Palestine protests and the end to the repression of protest on Columbia's campus".

Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X: "Calling in police enforcement on non-violent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act. It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." U.N. special rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor called Columbia's threat to suspend students for not ending the encampment "a clear violation of their right to peaceful assembly".

At Columbia

An editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Milène Klein, said that alarmists were making the protest all about antisemitism or being against Jewish students. The Columbia Faculty of Arts and Sciences policy and planning committee condemned outside media coverage of the protest as "sensationalistic" and said it was "distressed by reports that conflate on-campus protests with the actions of bad actors from outside of our community", while condemning all forms of discrimination.

Columbia Law School professors condemned the mass arrests as well as the suspensions of students in a letter to the university's leadership, calling the actions taken by Columbia's administration "concerning" and saying they "lack transparency".

Media coverage

The occupation, ensuing crackdowns, and national spread had extensive media coverage. Some reporting by mainstream media outlets was decried as misleading and biased against protesters. In an article for al-Jazeera, University of Michigan student Ahmad Ibsais called media coverage of the protest movement "sensationalist" and said that accusations of antisemitism were false. ''The New Republic'' alleged that the protests' true causes were overshadowed by coverage of antisemitism and police crackdowns. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia condemned supposed inaccurate and discriminatory reporting of the protest. Deputy Editor Noah Bernstein of the ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' said that outside media coverage was generally slanted against the protesters. Students were reportedly weary of the media, with some refusing to be interviewed. The media was also criticized for its claims of outside agitators at the protests, which has been called misinformation.

Columbia's campus radio station WKCR-FM partially suspended its usual programming to cover the demonstrations. The station was applauded for its coverage of the situation, especially during the second raid. NBC News said WKCR was praised for its live coverage of the event. ''Business Insider'' praised the anchors' professionalism during the raid. ''The Guardian'' called the radio broadcast "chaotic and thrilling". ''The Nation'' said the student journalists were better than most mainstream media outlets. Other student journalists were also praised for their coverage, including at the ''Spectator.''

Investigative reporters for the Washington Post discovered that New York Mayor Eric Adams participated in a group chat with a group of pro-Israel billionaires with close ties to Israeli cabinet officials and ambassadors who discussed hiring private investigators to "handle" the protest and trying to pressure Columbia's president and trustees to cooperate with Adams and the NYPD.

Restrictions

Early on April 30, Columbia suspended press access to campus, and said only identified students and essential personnel would be allowed in. In preparation to enter the campus, the NYPD closed multiple streets in and around the campus, the administration locked down Hamilton Hall, and all freedom of movement was restricted. In an op-ed for ''The New York Times'', Mara Gay wrote that, because of these restrictions, journalists were unable to fully assess what occurred during the second raid and could not verify allegations of police brutality. Moreover, WKCR and other student journalists were not allowed to leave their building due to threat of arrest. Some outside journalists were pushed off campus or threatened if they approached the scene. Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press called it "one of the most frustrating nights for press access I've experienced as a reporter".

See also

* 2024 University of California, Los Angeles pro-Palestinian campus occupation
* Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
* International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
* Student protest

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia University protests, 2024
2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
2024 controversies in the United States
2024 in New York City
2020s in Manhattan
April 2024 events in the United States
May 2024 events in the United States
Anti-Israeli sentiment
Anti-war protests in the United States
Anti-Zionism in the United States
Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States
Student protests in New York (state)
2024 protests
Media bias controversies
Palestinian solidarity movement in the United States
Peace camps