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Columbia University Suspends, Expels, Revokes Degrees of Pro-Hamas Activists Who Seized Butler Library

Pro-Palestinian protesters are detained by NYPD after taking part in a demonstration at Butler Library on the Columbia University campus in New York, US, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dana Edwards

Columbia University has imposed severe disciplinary sanctions — including degree revocation — on upwards of 70 students who perpetrated an illegal seizure of campus property during the final weeks of the academic year and refused to surrender it unless school officials acceded to a list of five demands which, among other things, called for a boycott of Israel and divestment from armaments manufacturers.

As reported by the New York Post on Tuesday, a school official told the paper that Columbia on Monday expelled a “handful” of students and suspended “dozens” of others who stormed and occupied Butler Library on May 7, an action which resulted in two Columbia private security officers being assaulted when a crush of students attempted to breach a human barrier they had formed to prevent additional protesters from joining, and thereby strengthening, the demonstration.

Without stating the number of punishments meted out to the students, Columbia University confirmed the main contention of the Post’s reporting — while announcing one disciplinary measure, degree revocation, to which it was not privy — on Tuesday in an unsigned statement.

“The sanctions issued on July 21 by the University Judicial Board were determined by a UJB panel of professors and administrators who worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes,” the university said, stressing that the punishments resulted from a consensus reached by officials representing every level of the university. “While the university does not release individual disciplinary results of any student, the sanctions from Butler Library include probation, suspensions (ranging from one year to three years), degree revocations, and expulsions.”

During the May protests, events forced president Claire Shipman — the school’s third new chief executive in two years — to summon the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to Butler Library after negotiations with the protesters to end the occupation hit an impasse, a decision Shipman later justified in a statement as “necessary” for preserving Columbia’s academic mission. The NYPD quickly completed its operation to clear Butler after arriving there during the early evening. Bundling the protesters “20 at a time,” as described by the Columbia Daily Spectator, the officers transferred the students to an NYPD bus used for mass arrests.

On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, commended Columbia University for penalizing misconduct, a step the institution has allegedly eschewed in the past.

“Columbia has more progress to make before Jewish students can truly feel safe on its campus,” Walberg said in a statement. “The committee’s work has underscored the depth and breadth of antisemitism at Columbia that can’t be ignored. We will continue to investigate antisemitism at Columbia and other universities and develop legislative solutions to address this persistent problem. Our nation’s institutions of higher education must fulfill their legal obligations under federal antidiscrimination law.”

Meanwhile, the group behind the protest and many others which have disrupted academic life at Columbia since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel issued a statement charging that the university’s trustees are conspiring with Jewish organizations and the Trump administration to promote “their Zionist agenda.” The statement concluded by threatening further actions of “struggle,” which were left undefined.

“The sanctions are believed to be part of a federal deal Columbia is about the announce that includes a formal partnership with the zionist [sic] Anti-Defamation League and an agreement to use the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s] definition of antisemitism, which equates criticism of Israel with discrimination against Jews,” a non-recognized group which calls itself Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said in a press release. “The disciplinary letters demand suspended students submit apologies in order to return to campus in one to three years, which some students have stated they will refuse. If those protesters hold their ground by refusing to apologize, the suspensions will convert into de facto expulsions and the number of permanent sanctions will skyrocket.”

Earlier this month, Columbia University announced a series of reforms to address campus antisemitism amid its negotiating a deal to pay $200 million to settle allegations that it exposed Jewish students and faculty to discrimination.

In a statement, Shipman said the university will hire new coordinators to oversee complaints alleging civil rights violations; facilitate “deeper education on antisemitism” by creating new training programs for students, faculty, and staff; and adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — a tool that advocates say is necessary for identifying what constitutes antisemitic conduct and speech.

Shipman also announced new partnerships with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other civil rights groups while delivering a major blow to the anti-Zionist movement on campus by vowing never to “recognize or meet with” CUAD.

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Columbia University’s campus has yielded some of the most indelible examples of anti-Jewish hatred in higher education since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel set off explosions of anti-Zionist activity at colleges and universities across the US. Such incidents included a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting.

Amid these incidents, the university struggled to contain CUAD, which in late January committed infrastructural sabotage by flooding the toilets of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with concrete. Numerous reports indicate the attack may have been the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, ADP reportedly distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia were shared with students.

In September, during the university’s convocation ceremony, CUAD distributed literature calling on students to join Hamas’s movement to destroy Israel.

“This booklet is part of a coordinated and intentional effort to uphold the principles of the thawabit and the Palestinian resistance movement overall by transmitting the words of the resistance directly,” one of the pamphlets given to freshmen students said. “This material aims to build popular support for the Palestinian war of national liberation, a war which is waged through armed struggle.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Columbia University Suspends, Expels, Revokes Degrees of Pro-Hamas Activists Who Seized Butler Library first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hezbollah Marks Year Since Israel Killed Veteran Leader Nasrallah

People gather at a site damaged by Israeli airstrike that killed Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a commemoration ceremony in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah on Saturday commemorated one year since leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israel, the opening salvo of a war that ultimately battered his once-powerful group and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.

A string of Israeli bunker-busting bombs on a Hezbollah complex in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Nasrallah, who had led the powerful Shi’ite religious, political and military group for more than 30 years.

His heir apparent Hashem Safieddine was killed weeks later. Now pressure is swelling on the group to disarm – a demand Hezbollah has rejected.

Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, who assumed the post a month after Nasrallah’s killing, delivered a speech to mark the anniversary.

He reaffirmed that Hezbollah would not allow disarmament and warned of a fierce confrontation, describing the fight as an existential battle that the group was capable of facing.

Crowds, including Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, gathered in Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s south and east, to mark the day.

Tensions over the commemoration have been mounting this week, particularly after Hezbollah projected the portraits of Nasrallah and Safieddine on the towering rocks off the coast of Beirut.

The display went ahead, despite orders by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Beirut governor not to do so, angering Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah who said the cliffs should not be used for political displays.

Nasrallah became secretary general of Hezbollah in 1992 aged just 35 after his predecessor, Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi, was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack.

With his fiery speeches, he swiftly became the public face of a once-shadowy group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli occupation forces.

The day after Hamas’ cross-border attack into Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah entered the fray in solidarity with its Palestinian ally by firing on Israel from southern Lebanon.

That prompted exchanges of fire for nearly a year before Israel sharply escalated by detonating explosives-rigged communication devices used by Hezbollah, pummeling the country with air strikes and sending troops into Lebanon’s south.

Israel’s air and ground campaign prevented a formal burial for Nasrallah for months. Followers have since flocked to his grave to pray.

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New Zealand Says Not Joining Push for Palestinian Statehood

The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York, Aug. 15, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

i24 NewsNew Zealand will not join the push to recognize Palestinian statehood, though it remains committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Minister Winston Peters said at the United Nations Headquarters on Friday.

“With a war raging, Hamas still in place, and no clarity on next steps, we do not think that the time is now,” Peters said in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

New Zealand’s position represents a departure from the line adopted by Australia, Britain and Canada, who joined in a recognition of Palestinian statehood on Sunday.

Israel and the US administration of President Donald Trump have said such unilateral moves will only serve to undermine the prospects of a peaceful end to the conflict and achieve nothing for the Palestinians. Both boycotted the New York event.

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Trump: Intense ‘Regional’ Talks on Ending Gaza War Ongoing, Israel and Hamas Briefed

US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 31, 2025. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Reuters Connect

i24 NewsUS President Donald Trump stated on Friday in a message posted to his Truth Social network that talks, ongoing for four days, concerning ending the Gaza war were productive.

“I am pleased to report that we are having very inspired and productive discussions with the Middle Eastern Community concerning Gaza. Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a Successfully Completed Agreement,” the post read.

“All of the Countries within the Region are involved, Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. There is more Goodwill and Enthusiasm for getting a Deal done, after so many decades, than I have ever seen before. Everyone is excited to put this period of Death and Darkness behind them. It is an Honor to be a part of this Negotiation. We must get the Hostages back, and get a PERMANENT AND LONGLASTING PEACE!”

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