Lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to send the National Guard to Columbia University as it faces virulent and sometimes violent anti-Israel protests.
A coalition of Democratic and Republican lawmakers visited the university to condemn the anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian protests and demanded the immediate resignation of the institution’s president.
The protests have continued since last Wednesday and have given rise to outbreaks of violence and arrests, including the arrest of the daughter of Ilhan Omar, a progressive member of the “Squad”.
“The burgeoning pogroms in Columbia must stop TODAY, before our Jewish brothers sit down for the Passover Seder tonight,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on X Monday.
“If Eric Adams doesn’t send in the NYPD and Kathy Hochul doesn’t send in the National Guard, Joe Biden has a duty to take charge and disperse these crowds.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also posted Monday: “It’s time for Biden to call the National Guard into our universities to protect American Jews.” »
Additionally, Jewish Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Flor., Dan Golden, D-N.Y., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Kathy Manning, D-N.C., visited the Ivy on Monday League after days of violent violence. anti-Israeli demonstrations.
Columbia University students wave Palestinian flags as protests take over campus
“I should be with my family today for Passover,” Moskowitz wrote on X. “Instead, I am here at (Columbia) University alongside Jewish students who are being harassed on their campus. “
“To the president of Columbia, DO NOT make the same choice as the presidents of UPenn and Harvard,” his message continued. “Protect your students. »
New York Republican Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Mike Lawler also spoke at an event off Columbia’s campus.
Lawler told a crowd near the Columbia University campus Monday that President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik should “resign in disgrace.”
“The quickest way to achieve a ceasefire is to release the hostages. Why aren’t these people asking for this? The Palestinian people should be free – their oppressors are Hamas,” he said at the event.
“People here at Columbia should resign,” Lawler added.
D’Esposito also condemned the university, saying it should not receive federal funding if students are in danger.
“If you can’t control what happens at your university, if the president of that university can’t keep students safe, then she should not be eligible for any federal aid to that university.”
The two Republicans also took note of a letter they co-signed Monday alongside all other GOP members of the New York delegation.
The letter, written by Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., called on Shafik to resign immediately for failing to quell “a large, unauthorized anti-Semitic riot,” according to a copy obtained by DailyMail.com.
The lawmakers’ trip to Columbia came on the same day that Shai Davidai — a Jewish professor from Columbia — was barred from campus because the school could not keep him safe.
“Earlier today, the University (Columbia) refused to let me on campus. For what? Because they cannot protect my safety as a Jewish professor. It’s 1938,” he posted on X.
Last week, New York police cleared an encampment at the college on Thursday and arrested more than 100 protesters.
Tensions had been at a high since protesters pitched their tents on the university’s South Lawn early last Wednesday, with several scuffles breaking out when they were met by pro-Israel counterprotesters.
For the fifth day, pro-Palestinian students occupied a central lawn on the Columbia University campus.
Dozens of New York Police officers entered the so-called “Gaza Solidarity Camp.”
Protests that began on the Columbia University campus have since spread to other schools.
Pro-Israel protesters have held rallies in response to ongoing anti-Israel protests
More than a hundred students have been charged so far, most for trespassing, while some have been charged with resisting arrest and obstructing government administration.
Many protest participants made signs and chants directly ridiculing Israel for its ongoing war with Hamas after the terrorist group launched a surprise massacre against the Jewish country on October 7, 2023.
“Protesters on campus are targeting Jewish students,” Gottheimer said Sunday X.
“On top of that, they echo the rhetoric of Hamas terrorists, who carried out the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
“Columbia must end these hateful protests and protect students,” he continued.
Goldman also condemned the situation as “unacceptable.”
“The situation at Columbia University is unacceptable,” he wrote on X.
“While everyone has the right to protest under the 1st Amendment, students do not have the right to threaten violence and sow fear within the Jewish community on campus.”
He said the university and the NYPD “must ensure a safe environment for all students.”
Moskowitz condemned protests at Columbia, including ‘chants for more war’
Pro-Palestinian protesters resume demonstrations at Columbia University on the fifth day of the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” after Columbia University previously urged law enforcement to arrest more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters
Republican Mike Lawler posted on X: “If our colleges and universities cannot step up to keep their students safe, we will step up. »
He wrote that he was “at Columbia to support Jewish students and condemn anti-Semitic hatred permitted on campus.”
The protests became so virulent that myriad Democratic leaders condemned them.
“Students have the right to free speech, but do not have the right to violate university policies and disrupt learning on campus,” the New York City mayor said Sunday evening , Eric Adams.
“I am horrified and disgusted by the widespread anti-Semitism on and around the Columbia University campus.”
“Hate has no place in our city, and I have asked the New York Police Department to investigate any violations of the law of which they become aware and to arrest anyone found to be breaking the law,” he said. continued Adams.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said he was “disgusted” by the anti-Semitism displayed at Columbia University last week.
The White House has also spoken out against anti-Israel protests.
“While every American has the right to peaceful protection, calls for violence and physical intimidation against Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly anti-Semitic, unacceptable and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus , nor anywhere in the United States of America. America,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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