In the early morning hours of April 30, 1968, then-Columbia University President Grayson Kirk summoned the NYPD to arrest hundreds of student protestors.
Unfortunately, the protest against Israel's actions against Palestinians, especially the destruction in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and children has morphed not only into anti-Semitism but also into extreme anti-American rhetoric in some places [Michigan, where protestors are chanting "Death to America"]. We are all witnessing the dangers of protest when it turns from peaceful to expressions of hatred. Missing in Judd's article appears to be how the Columbia U. protestors have harassed the Jewish students who were simply walking to get to their classes--this was experienced as disruption of University functioning. This article shows no examples of any harassment so maybe the harrassment came from students who were not part of the peaceful encampment. So important to proceed investigation without bias, but with any proof.
I appreciate your comment. I am not on campus and do not want to diminish the experience of any student that feels unsafe. The purpose of this article is to provide some historical context to the decision to call in the NYPD. It seems like it should be possible to create an environment that is free of harassment but also preserves the right of students to protest.
Some context that is missing about specific personal attacks against people. While chanting for the death of countries is regrettable, I don’t believe that’s why the cops were ultimately called in. This is the badly executed end result of months of harassment. Jews going to class have received death threats. I am in the process of sourcing these. Additionally, I have a photo of a Columbia student pro-Palestinian protester holding a sign that says “Al-Qasam’s next targets” with an arrow pointing at the group of Pro-Israel protesters behind her. Al-Qasam is Hamas’s militant wing. She is directly calling for the targeting of peaceful students. Perhaps public universities have more of an obligation to split hairs, but if I were a Jewish or Israeli student there who had received death threats, I would have called the police. I am not seeing this anywhere. Even Biden’s response is banal. The current writing reinforces the notion that anti-semitism is levied whenever a slight criticism emerges. This is simply not true, and it is doing a huge disservice to the larger discourse.
I would be happy to share the photo. I will add that I am anti-police in this regard and many others. Individuals who have been harassed have reported it to the police or officials, but their concerns have been dismissed. Some fear that in reporting they will be singled out. Many complaints require the accused be told who is accusing them. As a sex trafficking survivor who later became an activist at my alma mater, I can tell you people don’t feel safe coming forward when those asking for their deaths will find out they’ve been accused.
Sorry for all of my follow up responses. I think the botched actions we’re seeing across the board against pro Hamas activists (like the above and like the USC commencement cancellation) are being handled poorly because they’re not an organised group with well thought out plans to address a conflict like this. The leaders of the pro-Hamas supporters knew how to play this at every turn. Universities have one tool in response to protests: violence, and they should by now have realised it is antithetical to ethical engagement and to the broader discourse.
Do you not hear what you are saying? "Pro-Hamas supporters" ? There can be no justification of any "Pro-Hamas" movement. If indeed the Columbia demonstrators are "Pro-Hamas" they deserve to be quashed by any means possible, be it NYPD or immediate expulsion from the university. There is absolutely no parallel between late 1960s anti-Vietnam protests at Columbia and today's student-faculty advocacy of a terrorist organization hiding under the umbrella of 'the Palestinian people'. The purpose of anti-Vietnam protests was to expose a genocide being committed by the United States in a wholly illegal and unwinnable military enterprise. The naive and ignorant students at Columbia and elsewhere are ignoring the decades-long history of violent war against Israel, which is the modern extension of centuries-old efforts to exterminate Jews everywhere. What I find absolutely baffling is the total inability of university students across America to see the immediate danger of a fascist takeover of the free world. Why in hell aren't they taking over university administration buildings to expose the profound risk of world war staring us in the face?
Exactly! Despite the fact that the congressional investigation on these is being led by right wingers, Popular Information should not ignore the harassment and true hatred expressed over and over again towards Jewish students on many campuses across the country. This is not a right of left issue. Judd, please also write about the latent authoritarian tendencies of these student activists.
Where are the protests against Hamas? Where are the demands for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages? Where are the demands for aid to Ukraine to defeat Putin? Where are the demands to defeat fascist Republicans in November? Where are the demands for life imprisonment for Donald Trump? Where are the demands for the arrest and prosecution of Steve Bannon? Have our university students lost their minds?
My understanding from a student who attends Columbia currently is Jewish students are leaving campus because they feel unsafe. There have also been documented cases of hate rhetoric used against Jewish students during these protests. You should investigate that too.
Thank you for this comment, Brooke. No student should feel unsafe. And I know that there has been hateful rhetoric directed at students. This article explores the historical context, the outside pressures, and the distinction between the student protesters and outside agitators. As always, we will continue to investigate the issue.
What outside agitators? That's what Nixon used to say about Students for a Democratic Society who submitted to brutal beatings by the Chicago Police Department and fatal bulllets by the Ohio National Guard. There is no parallel, Judd, to Vietnam here. Vietnam was an American tragedy that took a decade of brilliant student and faculty and general population protest, including the storming and take-over of the Columbia University administration building, to educate the public about the tyranny being perpetrated by the United States government in southeast Asia for the sole purpose of hubris and greed. To the extent that today's students and faculty support a terrorist organization like Hamas (which is a wholly Palestinian entity directed by Iran and others), they are blinding themselves to the theocratic, totalitarian nature of the forces arrayed against Israel and against which Israel must defend itself. The present situation is merely the extension of repeated efforts to exterminate Jews everywhere that has been under way for centuries.
If there are "documented cases of hate rhetoric used against Jewish students during these protests" you should provide the documentation. The reports I've seen from eye witnesses all say the opposite. Many, many Jewish students are involved in the protests
Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA) told Shakik that, in the Bible, God is "real clear" that "if you bless Israel, I will bless you" and "if you curse Israel, I will curse you." Allen asked Shakik if she wanted "Columbia University to be cursed by God?"
Get this piece of trash out of government. Who gives a flying crap what "the bible says". Get religious zealots out of government.
A comment from John Marshall: On the broader point of the situation at Columbia. It's important to know who's doing what. Students vs hangers-on, activists from off campus etc. But let's not kid ourselves. Think abt this situation from the perspective of a minority group you actually care about.
Students can't and shouldn't be expected to know that the person who just told them to go back to Poland or that the next Oct 7th will get them wasn't a student. And does it matter that much whether it's just inside or outside the gate? Columbia merges into the rest of the neighborhood. And really who cares if it's a student? We're talking about a climate of harassment where there are clearly a substantial number of people making wildly antisemitic and menacing comments, especially to students who are identifiably Jewish or ones who express opinions which don't cut it with the protestors. (Which seems, in many case, like basically anything short of Jewish Israelis evacuating to their non-existent "other countries".)
I completely buy that there are many pro-Palestinian protestors who aren't saying any of these things and are engaged in legitimate protest. Probably most. But that's not really a rebuttal. How many Charlottesville tiki torch dudes wilding around campus is too many. Just a few are too many, I'd say. If just a few of your fellow protestors are running after black folks and calling them the n-word. Too many. And something like that is clearly happening. Just with different costumes and arriving at the same place on a different ideological path.
I think this is a valid point from the perspective of students who are being targeted. On the other hand, I don't think its fair to conflate student protestors with people in New York City that they don't know and don't control.
I agree. But it’s difficult to select a reasonable median, as Jewish students are being instructed to work from home for safety concerns, and protestors should be allowed to protest. But, nowadays, many protests - like BLM for example, attract extremists with their own goals.
Agree. First Amendment clearly states the right to protest, despite people like DeSantis who are trying to make it illegal. But how to have peaceful protests without outside agitators is a tough question.
Utterly naive, Judd! Columbia students should have been out in force to protest the October 7 massacre, just as they should be taking over their university to protest MAGA and the fascist takeover of America. No amount of 'outside infiltrators', assuming there were any, could succeed if the students weren't mislead, ignorant, or stupid in the first place. In any event, there is no parallel to the Vietnam war and the protests to stop it.
The argument posited here has merit but is poorly received in light of recent increased attacks verbal and physical on Jewish students on the Columbia campus. Jewish students have now been told to leave the campus for their own safety. These protests are no longer peaceful and must be condemned. What is being shouted by protestors is not pro-Palestinian but shear hate speech. This sort of hate speech would not be tolerated against any other group.
A rabbi did say that Jewish students should leave. But Columbia / Barnard Hillel, the largest Jewish organization at the university, has issued a statement saying it does not believe Jewish students should leave campus: https://columbiabarnardhillel.org/campus-update-april-21-2024/
I’m not down with this take. Sorry but I saw videos of the protestors calling for death to Israel. Just because there wasn’t physical violence doesn’t mean that their message wasn’t crystal clear, and Jewish students who are completely innocent feel scared for their lives.
Yes, I agree the messages in those videos are reprehensible. (Although I don't believe either includes, "death to Israel." There is a lot of shouting so I could have missed it.) I would just note that this incident did not occur at the protest site that was subject to mass arrests.
There was another video I saw yesterday that I couldn't find today where the death to Israel chants could be heard. I just think it should be noted that many Jewish students are scared and it should be acknowledged. I have no skin in this game btw. I'm just objectively seeing raging anti-semitism and I'm very worried about it. Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful and extremely well researched journalism.
From Oct 7 forward, students and faculty on campuses throughout the country were dancing in the streets celebrating the success of the Hamas invasion and massacre inside Israel. Did you not notice it, Judd?
Look up Yoseph Haddad. He was violently attacked on the campus last week and is pressing charges. You do not have facts. The protests are not non violent. Their words are not non violent.
The videos of the (to my understanding) off campus discourse is quite disheartening. From what I've seen however there's been no video evidence of such a thing on campus (yet).
Jonathan Lederer was assaulted, yelled at, and physically struck. His possessions were snatched out of his hands and the "peaceful protestors" attempted to set them on fire.
I agree this conduct is abhorrent and unacceptable. I also know that it has been condemned by the organizers of the protests. Hopefully we can condemn violence and also preserve the right to peacefully protest.
It is not enough for the organizers to condemn this conduct. They must prevent it and stop it from recurring. I do not know if this is the case at Columbia, but at other venues (such as city council meetings and protests on city grounds), there have been chants such as “death to America and Israel” and screams that declare that the October 7 massacre and rapes were lies. Truly despicable.
Judd - your responses to these comments seems like you are splitting hairs in regards to students right to peaceful protest. The intent of the protests we are seeing around the country and on Columbia’s campus specifically have a very non-peaceful feel to them. Praying for peace or even chanting for a ceasefire is peaceful protest. Chanting for death to Israel, encircling Jewish students and supporting Hamas, a terrorist group, whose sole mission is death to Israel and Jews, is NOT peaceful. If a Jewish student or professor does not feel safe, the protest is NOT peaceful. If a dog is barring its teeth and growling at you, would you feel safe? I, for one, would not.
This is yet another piece by Judd Legum about (or emanating out of) the Israel/Hamas war that is wildly off the mark. One need only go to Instagram for two seconds to see the multiple layers of harassment of Jewish students on Columbia and other campuses. From wishful thinking about martydom to Al Qassam Brigades, these protests have absolutely nothing to do with freeing Palestine (nor hostages for that matter, some of whom are American), and everything to do with the specific targeting of one minority group, of which there are only 15mm (remaining) in the entire world. We are saddened to see that Judd -- who has shown a demonstrable talent for deep dive research into nuanced situations -- is putting out this sophomoric drivel.
Appreciate the feedback. I would just ask you to consider that the nature of the protests may not be able to be ascertained by browsing video snippets on Instagram. I certainly do not dispute that antisemitism exists inside and outside the gates of Columbia. But the situation is more complex. There are many Jewish students who are also participating in the protests. There was a Shabbat service on the south lawn.
Appreciate the note. Perhaps you're right re: videos. But your piece does not properly service the complexity. And just because there are a few Jewish students braving those conditions doesn't mean that the area isn't fraught. See, e.g., video of students singing "HaTikvah," or "the hope" in Hebrew, while a student holds a sign in front of them saying "Al Qassam's Next Targets." Do you think that woman knows whether the students singing are Jewish or Israeli? But "anti-Zionist" and not "anti-Semitic," right? 🙄
The sign is clearly anti-semitic and reprehensible. I'm not sure its fair to use it to characterize all the protesters though. I'm not sure who the person holding the sign is and it did not occur at the protest site on the south lawn.
Sorry, but the Jewish students who are participating in the protests are those who believe Israel should not exist and are defending Hamas. Just because they hold a Shabbat service does not mean anything.
Judd - you seriously missed the mark here. Students who are clearly identified as Jews are being threatened and harassed at both Columbia and Yale. They are NOT being protected by their universities. Do a deeper dive. This article shows a callous disregard for the historical trauma the tiny Jewish population has endured over millennia let alone within the century as well as the current day
Thank you for your comment. I certainly am aware at the injustices that Jewish people have endured and would not want to minimize that in any way. I don't think anyone should be threatened and harassed. The purpose of this piece was to provide some historical context and to delineate the distinction between what is occuring at the protest site and what is occuring outside of Columbia.
I appreciate the honest feedback. I think some people are objecting to the description of the protest on the south lawn as peaceful. But I will just note that was the description by the police chief, not my own opinion. I wrote that "antisemitism exists on and off the Columbia campus."
Shelby, ignoring what Israel has engaged in and constantly invoking the past trauma of Jews should mean more sympathy with these students. No one wants to see innocent people targeted because of what the deranged leaders do. That is a very unfortunate result of Netanyahu’s actions. And he should be held accountable.
Netanyahu should certainly be held accountable. However, callling for the destruction of Israel and supporting Hamas is calling for the death to Jews everywhere.
Calling for a ceasefire in a protest has a very different intent and therefore changes the “feel” of the protest
I appreciate your perspective and bringing to light the historical context about Columbia University’s response to protestors but I feel like there is an important context missing from your investigation, which is the experience of Jewish students on campus. Would you please do a follow up report that looks into the credible reports of anti-Jewish rhetoric and harassment of Columbia students by these protestors? I want to understand the full situation and feel like this was not explored at all, but rather dismissed. Violence and intimidation do not need to be physical to be real or to have serious impacts that cross a line. Help us understand the full reality of what is going on.
Also, I am grateful for this community and the courtesy with which most of the commentors (and you) have responded to criticism and different viewpoints. It is heartening that we can disagree and ask each other to think more deeply without the rancor and disrespect that I sometimes see.
From the moment Oct. 7 attack happened to this moment in time consequences associated with the Hamas attack and the Israeli response in Gaza have been horrifying. No Jewish student at Columbia or anywhere nor a child in Gaza should fear for their lives because of who they are.
The guilty parties are those who use this situation to benefit lust for power, wealth and advance agendas.
How do you report on hatred so great that it has existed for millenia? I will repeat my tired old stance of experience. All of our Jewish relatives that remained in the Austria-Poland region perished in the Holocaust in a systematic, horrific annihilation of 6 million of them by Nazi Germany.
Dead children, along with thousands of civilians dead facing famine besides war, and rubble where their homes stood. Gaza being systematically destroyed by Netanyahu and IDF. Not one country in the middle east has truly stood up for Palestine.
Congress just gave 27 billion in aid to Israel on Friday. I scratch my head.
As for RELIGION?!? If your religion requires you to ignore rights of other persons, to kill others, or to force others to live by YOUR beliefs?! That religion is BS.
All the usual suspects and then some. Btw? Some of these are also some of the worst POLLUTERS with Superfund sites that guess who gets to pay to clean up while they bank billions.
Indeed it is. When I was 14, I read Ivanhoe. The anti semetic situation was much the same in Europe in the late 12th century. While not a non fiction historic story. But I Ivanhoe who loved Rebecca could never marry her because she was Jewish and there was no place where they could live in peace.
I am reading comments by others pertaining to this article. There is a problem in that there seem to be conflicts about whether this protest of treatment of Palestinians in Gaza has now crossed a line and has now gone over to antisemitism.
For the first time, I am concerned about what Popular Information has published. Popular Information may want to look again at how the protests have evolved and who the players really are. Unfortunately, protests, especially with the amount of conspiracy and lies floating around online can morph into an unintended consequence.
Thank you, Jan. We will continue to look at the protests. I have no doubt that there are antisemites in New York City that are harassing Jewish people. But I think whether the student protests have crossed the line is a separate question.
Thanks, Judd. I’ve done my share of protesting back in the day and more recently, too, especially when Trump was in Office. I remember the 60s and 70s: some was peaceful and some was not. People were passionate and that was great but sometimes it went beyond a justifiable and peaceful protest and turned into hate. We need to keep in mind how MLK and John Lewis handled protest.
Complex situation in Israel triggered by abuses from a Strongman regime (Netanyahu) which allowed the rise of Hamas, a terrorist organization. And even that is a simplistic explanation. It’s curious to me that this was triggered in a key election year in the US. I wonder what will come out in the future on this: to what extent have Iran and Russia been involved? Jewish people also have reason to be concerned what with the Republican Party spouting fascist and neo-Nazi propaganda and pro-Palestinian protest.
Incidents like this illustrate why the Democrats are losing young people and others who are still young at heart. Obviously the GOP are way worse, but older generations’ continued uncritical support of Israel and conflation of pro-Palestinian protest with anti-semitism exposes party leaders and like-minded elites (like university presidents) as completely out of touch. This could be fateful for Biden, and thus for the whole country, if more people come to believe neither party represents their interests and values.
Yes, uncritical support of Israel ignores decades of cruel and inhuman treatment by the Netanyahu faction (now in power again) leads to dangerous polarization like that we're in the midst of. I'm concerned about Biden losing many votes over the obvious video evidence of hellish destruction of Gaza and murderous elimination of its Palestinian population.
Frankly? ANYONE who votes for TRUMP can expect much worse! Get a clue. Simple advice to those on campus. STAY AWAY FROM PROTESTERS. If you seriously feel threatened, ask campus police for an escort.
My granddaughter has left Barnard, fearing for her own safety and refusing to walk through a campus where antisemitism has become, for many, an acceptable form of social protest. Spend some time on campus and see for yourself what it’s like for Jewish students. This is no atmosphere for learning; it turned toxic when protests about Israel’s actions in Gaza (which many Jewish students, including my granddaughter, abhor) have morphed into full blown antisemitism. Or maybe, it’s sad to say, the antisemitism was there all along and only needed an excuse to come out into the open.
I’ve heard credible reports of indentifiably Jewish students walking past the Columbia protests being yelled at “you should kill yourself”. That’s conscious hate speech with a smug subtitle of ‘hey, no threat by me, just an opinion’. The fact that there are Jews participating in some of the antiJewish hate is sad, not redeeming. Many people who would not tolerate such threats and hatred against any other minority are enacting them against Jews. It’s horrible. And there is no action by any government that justifies any of it.
I heard it from Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum during her drash (aka sermon) during Friday evening services on April 19. Rabbi Kleinbaum has a lengthy history of passionate and creative support for progressive causes, combined with integrity and being well aware that whatever she says will be questioned.
You can find the entire service on Facebook at https://fb.watch/rCalb4f_WM . The rabbi's drash starts after about an hour and a half.
Unfortunately, the protest against Israel's actions against Palestinians, especially the destruction in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and children has morphed not only into anti-Semitism but also into extreme anti-American rhetoric in some places [Michigan, where protestors are chanting "Death to America"]. We are all witnessing the dangers of protest when it turns from peaceful to expressions of hatred. Missing in Judd's article appears to be how the Columbia U. protestors have harassed the Jewish students who were simply walking to get to their classes--this was experienced as disruption of University functioning. This article shows no examples of any harassment so maybe the harrassment came from students who were not part of the peaceful encampment. So important to proceed investigation without bias, but with any proof.
I appreciate your comment. I am not on campus and do not want to diminish the experience of any student that feels unsafe. The purpose of this article is to provide some historical context to the decision to call in the NYPD. It seems like it should be possible to create an environment that is free of harassment but also preserves the right of students to protest.
Some context that is missing about specific personal attacks against people. While chanting for the death of countries is regrettable, I don’t believe that’s why the cops were ultimately called in. This is the badly executed end result of months of harassment. Jews going to class have received death threats. I am in the process of sourcing these. Additionally, I have a photo of a Columbia student pro-Palestinian protester holding a sign that says “Al-Qasam’s next targets” with an arrow pointing at the group of Pro-Israel protesters behind her. Al-Qasam is Hamas’s militant wing. She is directly calling for the targeting of peaceful students. Perhaps public universities have more of an obligation to split hairs, but if I were a Jewish or Israeli student there who had received death threats, I would have called the police. I am not seeing this anywhere. Even Biden’s response is banal. The current writing reinforces the notion that anti-semitism is levied whenever a slight criticism emerges. This is simply not true, and it is doing a huge disservice to the larger discourse.
I would be happy to share the photo. I will add that I am anti-police in this regard and many others. Individuals who have been harassed have reported it to the police or officials, but their concerns have been dismissed. Some fear that in reporting they will be singled out. Many complaints require the accused be told who is accusing them. As a sex trafficking survivor who later became an activist at my alma mater, I can tell you people don’t feel safe coming forward when those asking for their deaths will find out they’ve been accused.
Sorry for all of my follow up responses. I think the botched actions we’re seeing across the board against pro Hamas activists (like the above and like the USC commencement cancellation) are being handled poorly because they’re not an organised group with well thought out plans to address a conflict like this. The leaders of the pro-Hamas supporters knew how to play this at every turn. Universities have one tool in response to protests: violence, and they should by now have realised it is antithetical to ethical engagement and to the broader discourse.
Do you not hear what you are saying? "Pro-Hamas supporters" ? There can be no justification of any "Pro-Hamas" movement. If indeed the Columbia demonstrators are "Pro-Hamas" they deserve to be quashed by any means possible, be it NYPD or immediate expulsion from the university. There is absolutely no parallel between late 1960s anti-Vietnam protests at Columbia and today's student-faculty advocacy of a terrorist organization hiding under the umbrella of 'the Palestinian people'. The purpose of anti-Vietnam protests was to expose a genocide being committed by the United States in a wholly illegal and unwinnable military enterprise. The naive and ignorant students at Columbia and elsewhere are ignoring the decades-long history of violent war against Israel, which is the modern extension of centuries-old efforts to exterminate Jews everywhere. What I find absolutely baffling is the total inability of university students across America to see the immediate danger of a fascist takeover of the free world. Why in hell aren't they taking over university administration buildings to expose the profound risk of world war staring us in the face?
Exactly! Despite the fact that the congressional investigation on these is being led by right wingers, Popular Information should not ignore the harassment and true hatred expressed over and over again towards Jewish students on many campuses across the country. This is not a right of left issue. Judd, please also write about the latent authoritarian tendencies of these student activists.
Where are the protests against Hamas? Where are the demands for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages? Where are the demands for aid to Ukraine to defeat Putin? Where are the demands to defeat fascist Republicans in November? Where are the demands for life imprisonment for Donald Trump? Where are the demands for the arrest and prosecution of Steve Bannon? Have our university students lost their minds?
My understanding from a student who attends Columbia currently is Jewish students are leaving campus because they feel unsafe. There have also been documented cases of hate rhetoric used against Jewish students during these protests. You should investigate that too.
Thank you for this comment, Brooke. No student should feel unsafe. And I know that there has been hateful rhetoric directed at students. This article explores the historical context, the outside pressures, and the distinction between the student protesters and outside agitators. As always, we will continue to investigate the issue.
What outside agitators? That's what Nixon used to say about Students for a Democratic Society who submitted to brutal beatings by the Chicago Police Department and fatal bulllets by the Ohio National Guard. There is no parallel, Judd, to Vietnam here. Vietnam was an American tragedy that took a decade of brilliant student and faculty and general population protest, including the storming and take-over of the Columbia University administration building, to educate the public about the tyranny being perpetrated by the United States government in southeast Asia for the sole purpose of hubris and greed. To the extent that today's students and faculty support a terrorist organization like Hamas (which is a wholly Palestinian entity directed by Iran and others), they are blinding themselves to the theocratic, totalitarian nature of the forces arrayed against Israel and against which Israel must defend itself. The present situation is merely the extension of repeated efforts to exterminate Jews everywhere that has been under way for centuries.
If there are "documented cases of hate rhetoric used against Jewish students during these protests" you should provide the documentation. The reports I've seen from eye witnesses all say the opposite. Many, many Jewish students are involved in the protests
Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA) told Shakik that, in the Bible, God is "real clear" that "if you bless Israel, I will bless you" and "if you curse Israel, I will curse you." Allen asked Shakik if she wanted "Columbia University to be cursed by God?"
Get this piece of trash out of government. Who gives a flying crap what "the bible says". Get religious zealots out of government.
Absolutely!!! Frankly, I wish every person in government was an ATHEIST!!!
A comment from John Marshall: On the broader point of the situation at Columbia. It's important to know who's doing what. Students vs hangers-on, activists from off campus etc. But let's not kid ourselves. Think abt this situation from the perspective of a minority group you actually care about.
Students can't and shouldn't be expected to know that the person who just told them to go back to Poland or that the next Oct 7th will get them wasn't a student. And does it matter that much whether it's just inside or outside the gate? Columbia merges into the rest of the neighborhood. And really who cares if it's a student? We're talking about a climate of harassment where there are clearly a substantial number of people making wildly antisemitic and menacing comments, especially to students who are identifiably Jewish or ones who express opinions which don't cut it with the protestors. (Which seems, in many case, like basically anything short of Jewish Israelis evacuating to their non-existent "other countries".)
I completely buy that there are many pro-Palestinian protestors who aren't saying any of these things and are engaged in legitimate protest. Probably most. But that's not really a rebuttal. How many Charlottesville tiki torch dudes wilding around campus is too many. Just a few are too many, I'd say. If just a few of your fellow protestors are running after black folks and calling them the n-word. Too many. And something like that is clearly happening. Just with different costumes and arriving at the same place on a different ideological path.
I think this is a valid point from the perspective of students who are being targeted. On the other hand, I don't think its fair to conflate student protestors with people in New York City that they don't know and don't control.
I agree. But it’s difficult to select a reasonable median, as Jewish students are being instructed to work from home for safety concerns, and protestors should be allowed to protest. But, nowadays, many protests - like BLM for example, attract extremists with their own goals.
But we cannot make our college campuses a place where protests cannot happen. How do we keep them peaceful? Certainly not by cracking heads!
Agree. First Amendment clearly states the right to protest, despite people like DeSantis who are trying to make it illegal. But how to have peaceful protests without outside agitators is a tough question.
Utterly naive, Judd! Columbia students should have been out in force to protest the October 7 massacre, just as they should be taking over their university to protest MAGA and the fascist takeover of America. No amount of 'outside infiltrators', assuming there were any, could succeed if the students weren't mislead, ignorant, or stupid in the first place. In any event, there is no parallel to the Vietnam war and the protests to stop it.
The argument posited here has merit but is poorly received in light of recent increased attacks verbal and physical on Jewish students on the Columbia campus. Jewish students have now been told to leave the campus for their own safety. These protests are no longer peaceful and must be condemned. What is being shouted by protestors is not pro-Palestinian but shear hate speech. This sort of hate speech would not be tolerated against any other group.
A rabbi did say that Jewish students should leave. But Columbia / Barnard Hillel, the largest Jewish organization at the university, has issued a statement saying it does not believe Jewish students should leave campus: https://columbiabarnardhillel.org/campus-update-april-21-2024/
I’m not down with this take. Sorry but I saw videos of the protestors calling for death to Israel. Just because there wasn’t physical violence doesn’t mean that their message wasn’t crystal clear, and Jewish students who are completely innocent feel scared for their lives.
You saw videos of the protesters on Columbia's campus saying that?
Yes I'm sad to say. On Threads. https://www.threads.net/@groguspeaknyc2/post/C6BceTFuZX9
https://www.threads.net/@barbarajsobel/post/C6ClkdKuH4i
Yes, I agree the messages in those videos are reprehensible. (Although I don't believe either includes, "death to Israel." There is a lot of shouting so I could have missed it.) I would just note that this incident did not occur at the protest site that was subject to mass arrests.
There was another video I saw yesterday that I couldn't find today where the death to Israel chants could be heard. I just think it should be noted that many Jewish students are scared and it should be acknowledged. I have no skin in this game btw. I'm just objectively seeing raging anti-semitism and I'm very worried about it. Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful and extremely well researched journalism.
Thanks Katie. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Sorry but that is irrelevant.
From Oct 7 forward, students and faculty on campuses throughout the country were dancing in the streets celebrating the success of the Hamas invasion and massacre inside Israel. Did you not notice it, Judd?
Thank you for excellent journalism. It is insane the number of people reporting there was violence-when it’s clear there was not!
Look up Yoseph Haddad. He was violently attacked on the campus last week and is pressing charges. You do not have facts. The protests are not non violent. Their words are not non violent.
Or Shai Davidai who is a professor at Columbia and reporting multiple times of day about the ways in which students are made to feel unsafe on campus.
Link?
https://x.com/shaidavidai/status/1782432139474043117?s=46&t=yoLZvymb5AL8WMp3YstlLA
Interesting, a self proclaimed zionist.
The videos of the (to my understanding) off campus discourse is quite disheartening. From what I've seen however there's been no video evidence of such a thing on campus (yet).
That's like saying "chill, there's no evidence that Hitler will invade England."
There was no such evidence of that happening on campus yet no?
Unlike say, the IDF invading Gaza and slaughtering innocents.
https://www.thefp.com/p/at-columbia-i-am-told-go-back-to?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Jonathan Lederer was assaulted, yelled at, and physically struck. His possessions were snatched out of his hands and the "peaceful protestors" attempted to set them on fire.
I agree this conduct is abhorrent and unacceptable. I also know that it has been condemned by the organizers of the protests. Hopefully we can condemn violence and also preserve the right to peacefully protest.
It is not enough for the organizers to condemn this conduct. They must prevent it and stop it from recurring. I do not know if this is the case at Columbia, but at other venues (such as city council meetings and protests on city grounds), there have been chants such as “death to America and Israel” and screams that declare that the October 7 massacre and rapes were lies. Truly despicable.
Thank you, Adele.
Judd - your responses to these comments seems like you are splitting hairs in regards to students right to peaceful protest. The intent of the protests we are seeing around the country and on Columbia’s campus specifically have a very non-peaceful feel to them. Praying for peace or even chanting for a ceasefire is peaceful protest. Chanting for death to Israel, encircling Jewish students and supporting Hamas, a terrorist group, whose sole mission is death to Israel and Jews, is NOT peaceful. If a Jewish student or professor does not feel safe, the protest is NOT peaceful. If a dog is barring its teeth and growling at you, would you feel safe? I, for one, would not.
This is yet another piece by Judd Legum about (or emanating out of) the Israel/Hamas war that is wildly off the mark. One need only go to Instagram for two seconds to see the multiple layers of harassment of Jewish students on Columbia and other campuses. From wishful thinking about martydom to Al Qassam Brigades, these protests have absolutely nothing to do with freeing Palestine (nor hostages for that matter, some of whom are American), and everything to do with the specific targeting of one minority group, of which there are only 15mm (remaining) in the entire world. We are saddened to see that Judd -- who has shown a demonstrable talent for deep dive research into nuanced situations -- is putting out this sophomoric drivel.
Appreciate the feedback. I would just ask you to consider that the nature of the protests may not be able to be ascertained by browsing video snippets on Instagram. I certainly do not dispute that antisemitism exists inside and outside the gates of Columbia. But the situation is more complex. There are many Jewish students who are also participating in the protests. There was a Shabbat service on the south lawn.
Appreciate the note. Perhaps you're right re: videos. But your piece does not properly service the complexity. And just because there are a few Jewish students braving those conditions doesn't mean that the area isn't fraught. See, e.g., video of students singing "HaTikvah," or "the hope" in Hebrew, while a student holds a sign in front of them saying "Al Qassam's Next Targets." Do you think that woman knows whether the students singing are Jewish or Israeli? But "anti-Zionist" and not "anti-Semitic," right? 🙄
The sign is clearly anti-semitic and reprehensible. I'm not sure its fair to use it to characterize all the protesters though. I'm not sure who the person holding the sign is and it did not occur at the protest site on the south lawn.
Again, that is irrelevant.
Sorry, but the Jewish students who are participating in the protests are those who believe Israel should not exist and are defending Hamas. Just because they hold a Shabbat service does not mean anything.
Judd - you seriously missed the mark here. Students who are clearly identified as Jews are being threatened and harassed at both Columbia and Yale. They are NOT being protected by their universities. Do a deeper dive. This article shows a callous disregard for the historical trauma the tiny Jewish population has endured over millennia let alone within the century as well as the current day
Thank you for your comment. I certainly am aware at the injustices that Jewish people have endured and would not want to minimize that in any way. I don't think anyone should be threatened and harassed. The purpose of this piece was to provide some historical context and to delineate the distinction between what is occuring at the protest site and what is occuring outside of Columbia.
Presenting just one side of this very complex issue only further isolates the targeted students
I appreciate the honest feedback. I think some people are objecting to the description of the protest on the south lawn as peaceful. But I will just note that was the description by the police chief, not my own opinion. I wrote that "antisemitism exists on and off the Columbia campus."
One can peacefully call for the destruction of Israel. That doen't qualify as a noble attitude.
Oh, so if the Brown Shirts are active in Munich, they're probably not active in Berlin? Is that the context you mean?
Shelby, ignoring what Israel has engaged in and constantly invoking the past trauma of Jews should mean more sympathy with these students. No one wants to see innocent people targeted because of what the deranged leaders do. That is a very unfortunate result of Netanyahu’s actions. And he should be held accountable.
Netanyahu should certainly be held accountable. However, callling for the destruction of Israel and supporting Hamas is calling for the death to Jews everywhere.
Calling for a ceasefire in a protest has a very different intent and therefore changes the “feel” of the protest
Plenty have warned of Netanyahu’s extremism and desire to annihilate
I appreciate your perspective and bringing to light the historical context about Columbia University’s response to protestors but I feel like there is an important context missing from your investigation, which is the experience of Jewish students on campus. Would you please do a follow up report that looks into the credible reports of anti-Jewish rhetoric and harassment of Columbia students by these protestors? I want to understand the full situation and feel like this was not explored at all, but rather dismissed. Violence and intimidation do not need to be physical to be real or to have serious impacts that cross a line. Help us understand the full reality of what is going on.
Also, I am grateful for this community and the courtesy with which most of the commentors (and you) have responded to criticism and different viewpoints. It is heartening that we can disagree and ask each other to think more deeply without the rancor and disrespect that I sometimes see.
From the moment Oct. 7 attack happened to this moment in time consequences associated with the Hamas attack and the Israeli response in Gaza have been horrifying. No Jewish student at Columbia or anywhere nor a child in Gaza should fear for their lives because of who they are.
The guilty parties are those who use this situation to benefit lust for power, wealth and advance agendas.
How do you report on hatred so great that it has existed for millenia? I will repeat my tired old stance of experience. All of our Jewish relatives that remained in the Austria-Poland region perished in the Holocaust in a systematic, horrific annihilation of 6 million of them by Nazi Germany.
Dead children, along with thousands of civilians dead facing famine besides war, and rubble where their homes stood. Gaza being systematically destroyed by Netanyahu and IDF. Not one country in the middle east has truly stood up for Palestine.
Congress just gave 27 billion in aid to Israel on Friday. I scratch my head.
What is the answer?
Who benefits from hate and destruction so great.
As for RELIGION?!? If your religion requires you to ignore rights of other persons, to kill others, or to force others to live by YOUR beliefs?! That religion is BS.
Not sure where this came from. I agree, not only religion , but politics, governments or your tribe.
We are at the anniversary of Rwandan genocide and not to mention what has happened over recorfed time to indigenous peoples by their conquerors.
Who benefits?? Companies Profiting 2023-2024 Attacks on Gaza | American Friends Service Committee https://afsc.org/companies-2023-attack-gaza
Thank you for this list!
Hopefully Judd and his team will investigate this.
All the usual suspects and then some. Btw? Some of these are also some of the worst POLLUTERS with Superfund sites that guess who gets to pay to clean up while they bank billions.
Pretty complex situation and always has been.
Indeed it is. When I was 14, I read Ivanhoe. The anti semetic situation was much the same in Europe in the late 12th century. While not a non fiction historic story. But I Ivanhoe who loved Rebecca could never marry her because she was Jewish and there was no place where they could live in peace.
I am reading comments by others pertaining to this article. There is a problem in that there seem to be conflicts about whether this protest of treatment of Palestinians in Gaza has now crossed a line and has now gone over to antisemitism.
For the first time, I am concerned about what Popular Information has published. Popular Information may want to look again at how the protests have evolved and who the players really are. Unfortunately, protests, especially with the amount of conspiracy and lies floating around online can morph into an unintended consequence.
Thank you, Jan. We will continue to look at the protests. I have no doubt that there are antisemites in New York City that are harassing Jewish people. But I think whether the student protests have crossed the line is a separate question.
Thanks, Judd. I’ve done my share of protesting back in the day and more recently, too, especially when Trump was in Office. I remember the 60s and 70s: some was peaceful and some was not. People were passionate and that was great but sometimes it went beyond a justifiable and peaceful protest and turned into hate. We need to keep in mind how MLK and John Lewis handled protest.
Complex situation in Israel triggered by abuses from a Strongman regime (Netanyahu) which allowed the rise of Hamas, a terrorist organization. And even that is a simplistic explanation. It’s curious to me that this was triggered in a key election year in the US. I wonder what will come out in the future on this: to what extent have Iran and Russia been involved? Jewish people also have reason to be concerned what with the Republican Party spouting fascist and neo-Nazi propaganda and pro-Palestinian protest.
China, Russia, Iran, the GOP, as well as the far left, are winning the information war. All authoritarian, anti-democratic, fundamentalists.
I trust you, Judd. No question.
Incidents like this illustrate why the Democrats are losing young people and others who are still young at heart. Obviously the GOP are way worse, but older generations’ continued uncritical support of Israel and conflation of pro-Palestinian protest with anti-semitism exposes party leaders and like-minded elites (like university presidents) as completely out of touch. This could be fateful for Biden, and thus for the whole country, if more people come to believe neither party represents their interests and values.
Yes, uncritical support of Israel ignores decades of cruel and inhuman treatment by the Netanyahu faction (now in power again) leads to dangerous polarization like that we're in the midst of. I'm concerned about Biden losing many votes over the obvious video evidence of hellish destruction of Gaza and murderous elimination of its Palestinian population.
Frankly? ANYONE who votes for TRUMP can expect much worse! Get a clue. Simple advice to those on campus. STAY AWAY FROM PROTESTERS. If you seriously feel threatened, ask campus police for an escort.
Awful lot of heat in this comment section.
I think you did a good job with the writing and reporting though, keep up the good work and stay safe please.
My granddaughter has left Barnard, fearing for her own safety and refusing to walk through a campus where antisemitism has become, for many, an acceptable form of social protest. Spend some time on campus and see for yourself what it’s like for Jewish students. This is no atmosphere for learning; it turned toxic when protests about Israel’s actions in Gaza (which many Jewish students, including my granddaughter, abhor) have morphed into full blown antisemitism. Or maybe, it’s sad to say, the antisemitism was there all along and only needed an excuse to come out into the open.
I’ve heard credible reports of indentifiably Jewish students walking past the Columbia protests being yelled at “you should kill yourself”. That’s conscious hate speech with a smug subtitle of ‘hey, no threat by me, just an opinion’. The fact that there are Jews participating in some of the antiJewish hate is sad, not redeeming. Many people who would not tolerate such threats and hatred against any other minority are enacting them against Jews. It’s horrible. And there is no action by any government that justifies any of it.
I am not aware of such reports but, if it is occuring, that is hate speech and reprehensible.
Can you substantiate what you heard and if not, how does it qualify as “credible”?
I heard it from Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum during her drash (aka sermon) during Friday evening services on April 19. Rabbi Kleinbaum has a lengthy history of passionate and creative support for progressive causes, combined with integrity and being well aware that whatever she says will be questioned.
You can find the entire service on Facebook at https://fb.watch/rCalb4f_WM . The rabbi's drash starts after about an hour and a half.