Columbia Bans Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace Over Campus Safety Concerns

Columbia University suspended two student groups on Friday over anti-Israel protests that included an unauthorized event with "threatening rhetoric and intimidation."

Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace were barred from holding events on Columbia's Manhattan campus through the end of the fall semester, university Senior Vice President Gerald Rosberg wrote in a message posted on the school's website.

"This decision was made after the two groups repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation," Rosberg wrote.

On Thursday, hundreds of students took part in a walkout and gathered in front of the Ivy League school's Low Library, according to student-run Columbia Spectator newspaper.

The demonstration reportedly marked the latest in a string of demonstrations against Israel and in support of Palestinians.

Five large paintings on plywood sheets were displayed on the steps in front of Columbia's iconic "Alma Mater" statue, with the centerpiece showing the female figure waving a Palestinian flag, photos of the event show.

Another listed demands which included "Publicly call for a ceasefire" and "Call it a genocide," in an apparent reference to Israel's blockade and bombardment of Gaza.

The military action followed the surprise Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, leading to counterstrikes that have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Small white bundles smeared with red were also spread out on the steps, apparently to represent the 4,000-plus dead Palestinian children.

Students delivered speeches and led chants, according to the Spectator, and at one point an unidentified person began screaming antisemitic and anti-Black statements, according to the Spectator.

Two students attempted to calm the person before officers from the New York City Police Department and Columbia University Public Safety intervened, the Spectator said.

A speaker with a megaphone reportedly responded by denouncing antisemitism and student Moshen Mahdawi, who'd dealt with the disrupter, later told the crowd, "Shame on the person who called [for] ‘death to Jews.’”

The ended with a "die-in" during which demonstrators laid down en masse on the plaza.