A Columbia student who posted a livestream declaring that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” was ultimately banned from the university campus, four months after making the incendiary remarks.
Protester Khymani James, who served as a spokesperson for the pro-Palestinian camp as a member of Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest movement, was banned Friday from setting foot on university grounds and is now subject to disciplinary measures.
James, who uses “he/she/they” pronouns, said in the video that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and that people should be grateful that James didn’t kill them.
They already faced a disciplinary hearing with Columbia bosses earlier this year, during which they were asked to clarify what they meant – but no action was taken.
No disciplinary action was taken following the comments, although James said they wanted to be deported so they could travel to South America.
Khymani James, who uses he/she pronouns, repeatedly said during a livestream in January that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and that the world would be a better place if they weren’t there.
James, a senior at the university, returned to comments made in the January online video after they suddenly received renewed attention.
“What I said was false,” James said in a statement. “Every member of our community deserves to feel completely safe. »
James had been one of the leaders of Solidarity camp in Gaza who exceeded the New York City school campus, but protest organizers say the comments did not reflect their values.
The university did not say whether James was suspended or permanently expelled.
“Calls for violence and statements targeting individuals based on their religious, ethnic or national identity are unacceptable and violate university policy,” a school spokesperson said.
Khymani James, a senior at Columbia University, is now barred from setting foot on the New York campus.
Khymani James made the comments four months ago and was the subject of a disciplinary hearing, but the university initially took no action.
In a recording of the four-month-old stream posted to warns the Zionists: “I do not fight to hurt”. or for there to be a winner or a loser, I fight to kill,” they wrote.
A Columbia employee asked, “Do you see why this is problematic in any way? »
James replied, “No.”
James continues to defend the position that all Zionists “don’t deserve to live,” even laughing at one point in the video.
“They’re all the same people,” they said. “Their existence and the projects they have built, that is, Israel, are contrary to peace. All this is contrary to peace. And so, yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling for the deaths of these people.
Sharing his logic with university employees, James said: “I think taking someone’s life in certain scenarios is necessary and better for the world as a whole. Personally, I have never killed anyone.
“Thank God no one put me in this position. »
James then compares Zionists to Hitler and Nazi soldiers, as well as to Haitian slave owners, whose slaves had to kill them “to gain their independence.”
“These were masters who were white supremacists. What is a Zionist? A white supremacist. So let’s be very clear, I’m not saying I’m going to go out and start killing Zionists.
“What I’m saying is that if an individual who identifies as a Zionist threatens my physical safety in person, that is, puts a hand on me, I’m going to defend myself and in that case, he I may be reaching a point where I don’t know when to stop, they added.
“Zionists do not deserve to live comfortably, and even less do Zionists deserve to live.
“In the same way, we very easily accept that Nazis don’t deserve to live, that fascists don’t deserve to live, and that racists don’t deserve to live. Zionists, they should not live in this world,” they said, after calling the meeting “institutional violence” and a “joke.”
“I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling on these people to die,” they said just before the stream ended.
James (right) with progressive MP Ayanna Pressley. They’ve already said they hope to be in Congress one day.
James is seen in an earlier photo from 2020. The university has not said whether James was permanently suspended or expelled.
A pro-Palestinian demonstration camp can be seen at Columbia University on Friday
The pro-Palestinian demonstration camp is on view Friday at Columbia University.
“I think students who make comments like that have no place on campus,” Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the center for Jewish life on campus, told the New York Times.
“This is one of the most egregious examples of anti-Semitism and, quite simply, rhetoric inconsistent with the values we hold at Columbia,” added Noa Fay, 23, a first-year student.
“Above all, I was very surprised to see that it was so open.”
Columbia students who inspired pro-Palestinian protests across the country said Friday that they are at an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met. are satisfied.
This announcement, after two days of extensive negotiations, comes as the president of Columbia faces harsh criticism from professors.
Faculty and staff at several other universities across the country also condemned the use of police against protesters, leading to violent clashes, injuries and hundreds of arrests.
The tensions add to pressure on school officials from California to Massachusetts who are scrambling to resolve protests ahead of May graduation ceremonies.
As the death toll in the Gaza war rises and the humanitarian crisis deepens, protesters at universities across the country are demanding that schools end financial ties with Israel and divest from companies that, according to them, promote conflict.
Some Jewish students say the protests turned anti-Semitic and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
Student negotiators representing the Columbia camp said that after meetings Thursday and Friday, the university had not responded to their main demand for divestment, although progress had been made toward more financial disclosure. transparent.
“We will not rest until Columbia divests,” said Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a fourth-year Jewish doctoral student.
Colombian officials had said earlier that the talks showed progress.
“We have our demands; they have their own,” said university spokesman Ben Chang, adding that if negotiations fail, Columbia will have to consider other options.
An encampment protesting the genocide in Gaza begins its second day, on the grounds of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, April 23.
NYPD officials watch as people demonstrate in support of Israel in front of the Columbia University campus, amid the student protest encampment in support of the Palestinians
Meanwhile, Columbia President Minouche Shafik faced a significant — but largely symbolic — rebuke from faculty on Friday, but retained the support of administrators, who have the power to hire or fire President.
A report from the University Senate Executive Committee, which represents faculty, found that Shafik and his administration made “numerous actions and decisions that harmed Columbia University.”
These included calling the police and authorizing the arrest of students without consulting professors, failing to defend the institution against external pressure, misrepresenting and suspending student protest groups, and hire private investigators.
“The professors have completely lost confidence in President Shafik’s ability to lead this organization,” said Ege Yumusak, a philosophy professor who is part of a team of professors protecting the camp.
Following the report, the Senate passed a resolution to create a task force to monitor how the administration would make corrective changes in the future.
In response, Chang said in the evening that “we are committed to continued dialogue and appreciate the Senate’s constructive engagement in finding a way forward.”
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