New York, New York - More than 200 Palestine solidarity protesters gathered Tuesday in front of Columbia University in New York to demonstrate against former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, who was at the campus for a speaking engagement.

After more than a year of protests at the campus in support of the Palestinian people, the appearance of the former leader of Israel's far-right was met with expected resistance.

"The decision to host a man with such a violent and openly discriminatory record sends a message that the university values some voices over others," a spokesperson for Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition – one of the groups taking part in the protest – said in a statement.

Police at the scene worked to separate the protest from a small group of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators nearby, though the two demonstrations passed without any incident.

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The protest was held at the same time as President Donald Trump's administration threatened federal funding for the New York university. The move came in direct response to student-led solidarity demonstrations calling on Columbia to divest from Israel amid the ongoing atrocities in Palestine.

The federal government on Monday said it was considering ending contracts it has with Columbia worth over $50 million, claiming the university has failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism amid the protests.

"All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests," Trump wrote Tuesday on his platform Truth Social.

"Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on ...the crime, arrested," the post continued.

Despite the threats, protesters remained undeterred as they rallied on Tuesday, waving Palestinian flags and chanting, "The students united will never be defeated!"