Two Jewish Columbia University graduates sneaked into the campus’ pro-Palestinian encampment with Israeli flags and accused the activists of “supporting radical Islamic terrorism.”
Isidore Karten and his friend Tomer Brenner, who gained access to the camp on Tuesday afternoon, also carried a poster with photos of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. They were confronted by protesters and asked to leave but refused and spent several hours inside. the encampment organizes its own counter-demonstration.
Both told DailyMail.com that the encampment should be immediately removed by university leaders and accused pro-Palestinian activists of making Jewish students feel unsafe.
The encampment has been set up on Columbia’s Upper West Side campus on South Lawn for about a week. The students involved in the action refused to leave until the university committed to ending all Israel-related investments.
NYPD officers stormed the scene a few days ago and arrested more than 100 students involved in the protests, but the encampment of nearly 100 tents remained firmly in place.
Two Jewish Columbia University graduates sneaked into pro-Palestinian campus encampment with Israeli flags and accused activists of ‘supporting radical Islamic terrorism’
Isidore Karten and his friend Tomer Brenner, who entered the camp on Tuesday afternoon, also carried a poster with photos of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
They were confronted by protesters and asked to leave, but they refused and spent several hours in the encampment organizing their own counter-protest.
Some Jewish students joined the camp to support
The students, many wearing keffiyehs and masks, chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – which Jewish groups consider anti-Semitic – and called for an intifada, meaning uprising.
Karten, who studied architecture and will graduate in 2023, said: “What they are really doing is supporting Hamas. They support radical Islamic terrorism.
Brenner, 29, from Tel Aviv, who graduated in 2020, added: “We see the flags and symbols that aim to provoke maximum violence against Israelis.
“They chant the Intifada.
“We don’t understand why the administration isn’t removing them from here.”
He said other students chanted “Burn Tel Aviv.”
The two men said they infiltrated the encampment, which has a closed perimeter and entry points monitored by militants. They claimed that pro-Palestinian students surrounded them and told them to leave – but both refused and gave their interview from inside the perimeter.
“We were surrounded, everyone was blocking us because they didn’t want anyone, God forbid, to see an Israeli or American flag, or posters of hostages (kidnapped by Hamas on October 7),” Brenner said.
The encampment has been set up on Columbia’s Upper West Side campus on South Lawn for about a week.
Students involved in action refused to leave until university commits to ending all Israel-related investment
“They claim it’s a safe space, but it’s only safe for them.”
Karten claimed to have seen a Jewish person wearing religious symbols telling him to “go back to Poland.”
“It’s not just about Israel, it’s also about the Jews,” he said of the camp.
“I’m totally against what they’re doing here, I don’t think they should be here.”
He said the protests and encampment were “encroaching” on the education of others and added: “I saw people here supporting the Intifada, they were shouting about the Intifada.”
He said the encampment and campus are “not a safe place.”
“What they are doing is horrible,” he said of the camp. “They shouldn’t be able to be here. They put people in danger.
When asked if he felt unsafe, Karten replied, “I can defend myself.”
He added: “Why are there people supporting terrorism here and no one does anything?
“I’m embarrassed to say I graduated from Columbia.
“They should be arrested. People push us, people block us and stand around us telling me I should leave.
Some Jewish students joined the camp in a show of support.
Colombian students also “kidnapped” posters of victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Students waved flags in front of Columbia University
Jared Kannel, a Jewish student inside the perimeter who said he supported the cause, intervened while Brenner and Karten were speaking and said, “I don’t want him to speak for all Jews.”
Kannel said he fully supports the protest group’s demands that Colombia disengage from Israel.
But Kannel also criticized the university administration, indicating how leaders on both sides have been criticized for their handling of the protests.
“It was one of the most important experiences of my life,” Kannel said.
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