A group of anti-Israel protesters wearing keffiyeh took over a building at New York City’s Barnard College and allegedly assaulted an employee Wednesday evening while demonstrating against the dismissal of two students who had previously disrupted a Columbia University lecture with inflammatory materials in January.
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine shared footage on social media platform X, showing the masked participants in Milbank Hall’s corridors, using drums and megaphones for their demonstration.
The organisation, which describes itself with “long live the student intifada” in its profile, published their requirements, including reinstating expelled students, pardoning those disciplined during previous anti-Israel demonstrations, and requesting a public discussion with Dean Leslie Grinage and Barnard President Laura Rosenbury.
Their demands additionally called for “abolition of the corrupt Barnard disciplinary process and complete transparency for current, past, and future disciplinary proceedings.”
The group alleged that Barnard security personnel had mistreated students, whilst a college representative, Robin Levine, confirmed that protesters had physically harmed a staff member who required hospitalisation.
A Columbia University classics professor, Kristina Milnor, attempted negotiations, suggesting a meeting with administrators under specific conditions, but protesters responded negatively.
Demonstrators vandalised Milbank Hall with political messages and departed before 10.40 pm, announcing plans to resume protests at 12.45 pm the following day at the school gates.
The College later revealed that the protestors have dispersed after successfully forcing admin to the negotiating table. “They will meet tomorrow 1pm,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a post on X.
President Rosenbury criticised the protesters’ behaviour in a subsequent statement, emphasising their disregard for community safety.
The protest stemmed from the expulsion of two unidentified students who had disrupted a “History of Modern Israel” class on January 21, distributing anti-Jewish materials.
Columbia University acknowledged the inappropriate nature of academic disruption whilst noting Barnard’s jurisdiction over the protest.
Jewish community leaders, including Mark Treyger and Brian Cohen, expressed strong disapproval of the protesters’ actions and their impact on students’ educational environment.
