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Columbia University and Other Schools Allow Incitement to Violence, and Silence Jewish Voices

Anti-Israel students protest at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: Reuters/Jeenah Moon

In 2016, while studying at Columbia Law School, I attended a closed Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) meeting organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Columbia’s campus. What I experienced there left me terrified till today.

After forbidding any recordings, the organizers presented lies and racist descriptions about Jews. They then asserted that terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians were justified, as “that is what you get when you choke a people for 69 years.” This statement was greeted by a standing ovation from more than 50 students in the room.

I was left shaking, terrified by the support for the killing of innocents, and fearing for my safety on campus. My fellow students and I alerted the president of Columbia that these official student meetings were used to incite violence and antisemitism.  The administration, however, refused to act and to protect us because they said there was not a “clear and present danger of bodily harm.”

We are now seeing nonstop violence, and incitement to violence, on college campuses across the country. Columbia did belatedly act to temporarily pause some of these student groups, but it’s not clear how serious they are to combating this hatred in the long-term. They also have not acted against any of the more than 100 professors who justified terrorism against Jews.

The writing was on the wall, but unfortunately, many universities did not address the rise in antisemitism on campuses. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021, 53% of American Jews said they personally felt less safe than they did in previous years. A Brandeis Center survey in 2021 showed even more alarming results, with 65% of the Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus and 50% actively hiding their Jewish identity.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s Audit of Antisemitic Incident Report, there was a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents during 2022 in almost all categories, specifically a 41% increase in antisemitic incidents on college campuses.

Since Hamas’ horrific terror attack on October 7, Jewish students have been subject to an alarming increase in hate crimes and antisemitic incidents on campuses, including death threats, physical attacks, dangerous and inflaming rhetoric, and hostility from faculty. Recently, at Cornell, this violent rhetoric became a reality when a student was arrested for making online threats to kill Jewish students. This incident is just one example of the many violent incidents happening today on US campuses, leaving Jewish students alone in a hostile environment.

As a result, a few universities started taking action to limit student organizations that are promoting violence and antisemitism. Brandeis University announced its decision not to recognize the SJP chapter at the university due to its support of Hamas. The aforementioned Columbia decision temporarily suspending SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) for repeatedly violating university policies is “too little too late,” since it’s only valid until the end of the fall term.

Across the US, many university administrations have not learned much during the last few years, and are continuing to implement a policy of non-intervention in the anti-Israel and hate-mongering rhetoric and activities of their students, claiming they are protected by freedom of speech.

Indeed, students who are critical of Israel’s actions have as much right to express that criticism as those who defend Israel. However, groups like SJP, which are promoting antisemitism and violence on campuses, are harming other students on campus — and taking away their freedom of speech, while hiding behind the concept.

During my studies at Columbia, we hosted Israel’s then-ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. As expected, BDS activists decided to protest the event. Further compounding our dismay, the university’s response was to restrict the number of guests that we, the organizers, could include. Ironically, the BDS activists could turn out without limitation. The start of the event was marked by dozens of BDS protesters blocking people from entering, and verbally abusing those who made it inside. The ambassador’s speech was then subjected to repeated and coordinated disruption — a total of seven interruptions during a 22-minute speech. It made the speech into a farce, a game of cat and mouse. In order to protect the BDS activists’ freedom of speech, ours was trampled upon at our own event. These examples are not rare; Jews and Israel supporters are shouted down and pushed out more and more.

Universities must wake up from the misconception that a policy of non-intervention protects freedom of speech for all. First of all, this protects hate speech and incitement to violence. Second, the inevitable outcome of this so-called neutral policy is that only the most aggressive groups enjoy freedom of speech, because they drown out opponents conducting a more respectful discourse. There must be a complete policy change in many universities that will be unforgiving towards antisemitism and incitement, and actively protect freedom of speech for all.

Assaf Weiss is a Columbia Law School graduate, former board member at Student Supporting Israel at Columbia, and Director of the American Jewish Congress. He also recently served as the Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the Knesset.

The post Columbia University and Other Schools Allow Incitement to Violence, and Silence Jewish Voices first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”

The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.

“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.

Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.

The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.

Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”

The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool

i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.

The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.

The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.

The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.

The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.

The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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