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‘Crush Zionism’: Masked Anti-Israel Agitators Disrupt Israeli History Course at Columbia University
Anti-Israel agitators disrupting an Israeli history class at Columbia University, New York City, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
Masked anti-Israel protesters interrupted a class titled “History of Modern Israel” on the first day of the new semester at Columbia University on Tuesday.
The anti-Israel agitators entered the room, disrupting the class, and handed out flyers showing a leather boot stomping on a Star of David, shattering it, with the words “Crush Zionism” in all capital letters. Another poster depicted a keffiyeh-clad, masked man holding an Israeli flag on fire.
On the first day of classes, anti-Israel protestors interrupted @Columbia’s “History of Modern Israel” class and handed out flyers showing a boot crushing a Star of David. Columbia is out of control. And to be clear, there is no “academic freedom” to disrupt classes. pic.twitter.com/n0x9d0AxHw
— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students
(@CUJewsIsraelis) January 21, 2025
After video of the incident and pictures of the fliers began to circulate on social media, the university responded.
“We strongly condemn this disruption, as well as the fliers that included violent imagery that is unacceptable on our campus and in our community,” Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong said in a statement. “No group of students has a right to disrupt another group of students in a Columbia classroom.”
The statement continued, “Disrupting academic activities constitutes a violation of the Rules of University conduct and the nature of the disruption may constitute violations of other university policies.”
The president pledged to “move quickly to investigate and address this act” and emphasized that “any act of antisemitism, or other form of discrimination, harassment, or intimidation against members of our community is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
January 21, 2025 Statement From Interim President Katrina Armstrong on Class Disruption: https://t.co/SujD4x59yU pic.twitter.com/Y9uQVX1Zgv
— Columbia University (@Columbia) January 22, 2025
The Columbia University/Barnard College Hillel replied to the university’s message, writing that it is “grateful for this strong statement.”
However, it also argued that Columbia “must now identify the students who disrupted the class with hateful flyers and hold them accountable for their violations of university policies.”
The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association said that while the statement, which was posted to social media, may be an improvement for the administration, “we need action not words.”
Specifically, it argued the university should ban masking. “Show you mean business,” it wrote, “by doing this ONE THING [sic] that will transform campus by introducing real accountability.”
Over the past year, Columbia has been at the center of campus controversies related to Israel and its war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza. It was the home of the first anti-Israel encampment last spring, which took off to become a national trend.
The Algemeiner documented dozens of instances of explicit support for terrorism within only a couple days of the encampment beginning.
Additionally, Khymani James, a Columbia student and reportedly one of the organizers of the encampment, was on video last year saying “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and proclaiming that people should “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”
He also said, “I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a winner or a loser, I fight to kill.”
In defense of James, major anti-Israel organizations at Columbia — Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) — later wrote on social media that “violence is the only path forward.”
It continued, “We are proud to be a part of the fight for the liberation of all oppressed peoples.”
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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