Columbia University Gaza protestors defy encampment deadline as talks collapse
New York, New York - Student demonstrators at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted at US colleges, said Monday they would not budge until the school met their demands, defying an ultimatum to disperse or face suspension.
Police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses across the US over the weekend, with the White House calling on the demonstrations to remain peaceful.
Authorities at Columbia in New York issued a statement on Monday saying the protestors' encampment must be cleared and adding that the university would not divest financial holdings linked to Israel – a key demand of demonstrators.
But student protestors pushed back, vowing to defend their camp on the prestigious institution's main lawn despite threats of suspensions and disciplinary action after a 2:00 PM deadline.
"These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians," said a statement read out by a student at a press conference.
"We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or... are moved by force," said the student, who would not give his name.
Protests against the Gaza war, with its high civilian death toll of Palestinians, have posed a challenge to university administrators trying to balance free speech rights with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and hate speech.
For almost two weeks now, a wave of protests against Israel's war in Gaza has swept through US university campuses from coast to coast after around 100 protesters were arrested at Columbia on April 18.
Footage of police in riot gear summoned at various colleges to break up rallies has been viewed around the world, recalling the protest movement that erupted during the Vietnam War.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, skirmishes broke out Sunday between pro-Palestinian protesters and supporters of Israel.
Columbia president criticizes protests as faculty members join rallies
Columbia University president Minouche Shafik, in her statement announcing talks had broken down, said that "many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks.
"Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy."
"Antisemitic language and actions are unacceptable, and calls for violence are simply abhorrent," she said. "One group's rights to express their views cannot come at the expense of another group's right to speak, teach, and learn."
Protest organizers deny accusations of antisemitism, arguing that their actions are aimed at the Israeli government and its prosecution of the conflict in Gaza. They also insist some incidents have been engineered by non-student agitators.
One student protest group called for demonstrators "to protect the encampment" as the deadline to clear the tents or face disciplinary action passed.
The university had been in talks since last week with protest leaders over clearing the encampment, but "regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement," said Shafik. The university said it offered to speed up a review of student proposals for divestment and to improve transparency.
Columbia classics professor Joseph Howley told AFP the school's statement amounted to yielding to outside political pressure. He said Columbia is "affirming the false premise that the mere presence of political speech on behalf of Palestine is a threat to Jews like myself."
He called such a position "absurd and dangerous."
Israel's assault on Gaza has claimed at least 34,000 lives, mostly women and children, as over two million face an imminent threat of famine.
Cover photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP