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Columbia University Shutters Campus as Jews Fear for Safety, Critics Call for President to Resign
Anti-Zionist protesters at Columbia University on April 18, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender/Reuters Connect
An explosion of anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University in New York City continued throughout the weekend and into Monday, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, prompting the administration to shutter the campus and institute “virtual” learning.
“To deescalate rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Columbia University president Minouche Shafik said in a statement announcing the measure, the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic. “Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy. Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will come to campus.”
All weekend, footage of Columbia students — who commandeered a section of campus and named it “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” — chanted in support of the Hamas terrorist group, called for the destruction of Israel, and even threatened to harm members of the Jewish community on campus.
“This unsanctioned mob of students and agitators being permitted to continue to target Jewish students has led to several documented incidents of despicable antisemitic harassment and calls for violence and terrorism,” all 10 New York Republican members of the US House of Representatives said in a letter to Shafik on Monday. “It is time for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter. This can only be done through the restoration of order and your prompt resignation. We, the undersigned members, urge you to step down immediately so that someone who will take action against this mob can step up to meet the moment this crisis demands.”
Amid the chaos at Columbia, a prominent rabbi at the school urged Jewish students to leave the campus for the sake of their safety.
Some members of the Columbia community expressed regret that their fears of students becoming vocal proponents of terrorism and subversion have been proven true.
“One thing that I’ve been telling people is that the truth is not up for election; its revelation is not dependent on popular vote,” Columbia University professor Shai Davidai, who is under investigation by the school after publicly commenting on the presence of pro-Hamas supporters on campus, told The Algemeiner on Monday. “Right now, we have a pro-Hamas, pro-Islamic Jihad mob still on campus and buried deep in the encampment, and you have pro-Hamas professors, and above all, you have the administration negotiating with them.”
Columbia University exploded into a welter of anti-Israel protests on Wednesday while Shafik was in Washington, DC testifying before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce about antisemitism on the New York campus, where law enforcement had to be called to pacify the ongoing demonstrations on Thursday.
The situation was so severe that security officials deactivated Davidai’s identification card and temporarily banned him from campus because his safety could not be “guaranteed,” a measure which that could reflect the administration’s suspicion that its students, as well as the non-students they have attracted to campus, may resort to violence to make their point.
“Terrorism is wrong; rape is not a means to an end,” Davidai continued, referring to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 invasion of Israel.. “Yes, you have the right to freedom of speech, to shout your hatred for America, but that shows bad character and it’s very sad to see exactly that happening at Columbia.”
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles told The Algemeiner that the demonstrations at Columbia reflected the degree to which antisemitism has achieved respectability. Over the weekend, he and 200 0ther faith leaders issued an open letter expressing support for Jewish students and faculty.
“As we witness antisemitism and Jewish hate becoming normative, it is powerful to witness the unity of rabbis, pastors, and faith leaders across the theological divides stand together for what is right and what is good,” Sherman said.
Convulsions of anti-Israel activity continued at Columbia throughout Monday. In the afternoon, anti-Zionist faculty at the school, as well its affiliate Barnard College, staged a walkout in support of the pro-Hamas demonstrations. According to an open letter published in the Columbia Spectator, virtually all of them are nontenured.
“We are working to overturn the student suspensions that have been issued and to ensure that administrators are not allowed to summon the NYPD [New York City Police Department] on a whim, when there is self-evidently no danger,” the group said. “Most of all we want you to feel at home here.”
NYPD officers arrested dozens of demonstrators last week for staging a riotous and unauthorized demonstration in which students, as well as non-students, declared solidarity with Hamas and called for the destruction of Israel. Video circulated on social media over the weekend showing some of the demonstrators harassing, intimidating, and threatening Jewish students.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Columbia University Shutters Campus as Jews Fear for Safety, Critics Call for President to Resign first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
The post Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.