A number of lawmakers have denounced the discrimination against Jewish students at Columbia University and the university has shifted classes to online platforms due to an ongoing anti-Israel solidarity assembly on campus.
“Horrific episodes like the recent violence at Columbia University are a reminder to all of us to reaffirm that the world’s oldest form of hate has no place in our society.”
Since protests erupted at the 270-year-old university in the Manhattan borough of New York City on April 17, New York police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators after they set up an encampment made of tents.
Call for Biden to Step In
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) weighed in, saying in a social media post, “Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock,” referencing former President Eisenhower’s move to call in the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 to ensure the safety of nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School.
“It’s time for [President Joe] Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans,” Mr. Hawley said of the Columbia protests.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) went to Columbia University on April 22 with a group of Jewish Democrats as the university deals protests on campus.
From the Education Committee
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) also denounced the events taking place at the Ivy League university. Ms. Foxx, who serves as the chairwoman of the Education and Workforce Committee, sent a letter to Columbia President Dr. Minouche Shafik Columbia, asking for a resolution on April 21.“This situation is unacceptable, and it is imperative that Columbia’s leaders restore order and safety without further delay, in line with their commitments before the Committee at its April 17 hearing. … Columbia is failing to deliver on these commitments, as Jewish students are being harassed, assaulted, threatened, and intimidated to the point where they are departing campus for safer environments.”
Ms. Foxx also asserted that, “The students, faculty, and staff responsible for this mayhem, including members of the groups Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, repeatedly and flagrantly have violated multiple University rules, and in many cases, federal law.
The lawmaker called for the university to move to “decisively hold them accountable in a manner commensurate with the severity of their offenses, including expulsion and termination of employment.”
President Joe Biden condemned the recent behavior at U.S. campuses in a message for Passover, which is a major Jewish holiday that starts on April 22.
In his statement the president pointed to the “alarming surge of Antisemitism” in U.S. schools, communities, and online. He didn’t, however, specifically mention the events at Columbia University.
“Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews,“ President Biden said. ”This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous—and it has absolutely no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country.”
Former President Donald Trump also weighed in on the violence, commenting on the police presence at his legal hearing in a post on Truth Social.
“Why not send some to Columbia to protect Jewish Students, and others. The University would then not have to Shut Down. Republicans want the right to protest in front of the Courthouse, like everyone else!”
