New Semester, Same Problems– CJAA again calls on the University to protect Jewish students on campus

January 20, 2024–

The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJAA) once again expresses its horror at the violent antisemitism at Columbia University. While the CJAA was hopeful that the Spring Semester would bring peace, that hope was quickly shattered with a week full of disruptive, antisemitic events on campus, culminating with hundreds of protesters calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, demanding the University divest financially from Israel, pledging to withhold all tuition, and hailing the Iran-backed Houthis, designated as a terrorist group by the official Yemeni government.

Last week’s protests make one point abundantly clear: many of these protesters want Jews dead. 

We support the desire to bridge gaps and heal our community. However, today is not a day for dialogue and reflection; today is a day to protect all members of the community, including Jewish students, faculty, and visitors. This isn’t an intellectual or academic exercise. This is about safety and security.

We therefore call on the University to enforce its policies on protests consistently and without compromise, to discipline all students who violate such policies, and to immediately condemn and ban all antisemitic, genocidal words and actions on campus.

We will continue to monitor events that take place on campus and will issue updates accordingly. In the meantime, we have four important questions for the University:

1. Does the University condone antisemitic, genocidal chants on campus? If there were ever any doubt what “from the river to the sea” means, last week’s events put such doubt to rest. The protesters not only chanted, ‘from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ but also ‘min el-maiyeh lel mayieh, Falasteen Arabiya’ (“from the water to the water, Palestine will be Arab”). For these protesters, not only should there be no Israel; there should be no Jews.

2. Does the University condone calls for violence against Jews, Israelis, and Americans? Protesters continue to call for the destruction of Israel with chants of “Intifada revolution!” and hold up posters of “intifada until victory.” “Intifada” refers to Palestinian acts of terrorism and indiscriminate violence against Israel. In a new twist, however, protestors now call for violence against the United States and U.S. interests overseas: “Yemen, Yemen make us proud. Turn another ship around.” Another rhyme, another violent statement. The Iran-backed Houthis (like Hamas and Hezbollah) oppose everything the Western world stands for, including respect for women and minorities. Even the Yemeni government considers the Houthis a terrorist group.

3. Will the University stand up to student groups who continue to violate University policies with impunity? The University allowed Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) to host events on campus despite their “suspension.” These groups were also able to reserve University space via other groups. Despite the University’s knowledge of these infractions, the University did stop and did not punish the SJP, JVP, or the other groups which facilitated the infractions. Now Barnard College even invited Hatem Bazian to its “day of dialogue and reflection” last Friday, and canceled all classes so that everyone could take part in the so-called “landmark event.” The antisemitic professor Bazian is the founder of SJP, and another group, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), he has impersonated Jews in order to defend antisemitism, and he has accused Israel of having a policy of organ harvesting from Palestinians. Another AMP executive called Schindler’s List a pro-Israel “proganda piece.” Even members of the SJP were opposed to some of the speakers who were selected. SJP and JVP continue to espouse violence, vandalize University property, disrupt classes, and harrass Jewish students – all with the apparent condonation of the University

4. Will the University protect the safety and security of Jewish students, faculty, and visitors on campus? These protesters are violent. They shout at the police: “NYPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same.” They post pamphlets and signs all around campus: “Zionist donors and trustees, hands off our universities.” They throw down barricades surrounding Alma Mater. They harass Jewish students walking to classes and entering their residence calls. Jews are afraid to be on campus, plain and simple. Will the University continue to open its gates for anyone to join these protests? Will the University continue to allow protesters to mask their faces so as to escape any consequences whatsoever for violating University policies? Protesters are wearing masks, the University isn’t checking IDs, and we don’t even know what percentage of these protesters are even students. We ask that the University implement an enforcement mechanism to ensure that on campus students are attended only by members of the Columbia University community. For how much longer must Jewish students fear for their safety?