Columbia University students arrested for occupation of library to protest university’s ties to ‘imperialist violence’
Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University staged a protest against the university’s link to Israel by occupying the main library.
Footage from social media showed demonstrators on library tables chanting and beating drums.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, claimed responsibility for the protest and renamed the library the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University” to honor a Palestinian activist killed in 2017 by Israeli forces.
“The flood shows that as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, the people will continue to disrupt Columbia’s profits and legitimacy. Repression breeds resistance – if Columbia escalates repression, the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus,” the group said.
Acting University President Claire Shipman released a statement condemning the protest as “completely unacceptable” and calling police after demonstrators refused to leave the building or provide identification.
“Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies; this is especially unacceptable while our students study and prepare for final exams,” Shipman said.
She added, “Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today.”
Two Columbia Public Safety Officers were injured when individuals attempted to force their way into the building, and the New York Police Department arrested “multiple individuals” who did not listen to verbal warnings.
1010 WINS reported that around 80 protesters were taken into custody.
Columbia University, one of the top US universities, experienced similar protests last year when student demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza occurred on over 100 campuses in the United States.
Footage from social media showed demonstrators on library tables chanting and beating drums.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student group, claimed responsibility for the protest and renamed the library the “Basel Al-Araj Popular University” to honor a Palestinian activist killed in 2017 by Israeli forces.
“The flood shows that as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, the people will continue to disrupt Columbia’s profits and legitimacy. Repression breeds resistance – if Columbia escalates repression, the people will continue to escalate disruptions on this campus,” the group said.
Acting University President Claire Shipman released a statement condemning the protest as “completely unacceptable” and calling police after demonstrators refused to leave the building or provide identification.
“Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies; this is especially unacceptable while our students study and prepare for final exams,” Shipman said.
She added, “Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today.”
Two Columbia Public Safety Officers were injured when individuals attempted to force their way into the building, and the New York Police Department arrested “multiple individuals” who did not listen to verbal warnings.
1010 WINS reported that around 80 protesters were taken into custody.
Columbia University, one of the top US universities, experienced similar protests last year when student demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza occurred on over 100 campuses in the United States.
