Columbia University suspends students after they refuse to end pro-Palestine protests

Columbia University has suspended pro-Palestinian students following days of demonstrations demanding that the varsity administration sever all ties with Israeli companies.

Protests at New York University have sparked similar demonstrations on college campuses across the United States and Europe.

In a display of solidarity with Gaza, students gathered on the university lawns, calling for withdrawal of investments from Israeli businesses. 

Authorities have reacted severely, denouncing the protests as anti-Semitic. Police resorted to violence, dispersing students and detaining 100 demonstrators, yet the protests continued unabated.

The officials at the university also issued a directive for the removal of the protest camps by 2pm (18:00 GMT), warning of possible disciplinary consequences for students who disobey the rules.

“These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians,” a student representative stated during a news briefing after the designated deadline had ended. 

“We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or … [we] are moved by force,” the student asserted.

Videos of authorities thrashing students and attempting to disperse student rallies and dismantle encampments at US universities circulated on social media, reflecting the public anger of the Vietnam War era.

Protesters on Tuesday occupied Hamilton Hall and renamed it Hind Hall after the university's deadline to end the protests had passed.

Hind Rajab, a six-year-old from Gaza became a symbol of a multitude of tragedies wrought by the Israeli forces. 

Her desperate pleas for help went unheeded when a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance, dispatched to her aid, was destroyed by IDF, resulting in the death of two paramedics.

Taking over Hamilton Hall as done in 1968, Columbia students unfurl a banner that reads "Hind's Hall," in reference to Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces.
Hundreds of students cheer as the banner is revealed, erupting into chants to "Free Palestine." pic.twitter.com/Oi8WgdZmqf

— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) April 30, 2024

Columbia vice president of communications Ben Chang, reiterated that students were cautioned about facing suspension, rendering them “ineligible to complete the semester or graduate, and will be restricted from all academic, residential, and recreational spaces.”

“Many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks,” Columbia University president, Minouche Shafik said in a statement on Monday.

The organisers of the protest rejected allegations of anti-Semitism, asserting that their actions targeted the Israeli government and its atrocities in the Gaza Strip. 

They further claimed that certain incidents were orchestrated by individuals who were not affiliated with the student body.