Columbia students celebrate as school officials promise no lockdown or evictions over anti-Israeli protests
Anti-Israel protesters are singing and celebrating as Columbia University squashed rumors of looming campus lockdowns and mass evictions over the ongoing “tent city” demonstration.
The school administration, which has been slammed for repeatedly bowing to protesters, said that negotiations with the students are moving forward despite the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine group claiming that the university was threatening to lay down the hammer.
“We want to be clear: There is no truth to claims of an impending lockdown or evictions on campus,” the administration said in a statement Saturday night.
Thee SJP accused the university of changing its tune under pressure after having planned the lockdown and evictions. The group claimed Columbia scheduled a briefing that was meant to allegedly announce the warning on Saturday night.
“We will not be deterred by an administration that continues to threaten students & engage in bad faith,” the SJP said.
Following the administration’s latest promise not to crack down on the demonstrations, protesters could be seen celebrating and carrying on with songs and chants at the encampment in the Manhattan campus on Sunday.
“Say it clear, say it loud, Palestine will make us proud,” the students rejoiced.
The protesters appeared to be in it for the long-haul after already more than a week of demonstrations, with students seen handing out bags of chips, fresh pasta, fried chicken, and even offering vegan and Kosher options.
One Jewish student at the protest, who identified himself as Jared, 26, said he stands alongside the demonstrators because he believes “Jewish safety requires Palestinian liberation.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University:
NYPD ‘mobilizing’ for action at Columbia, but admin has not asked for cops yet
Columbia anti-Israel protesters are defying order to disperse by 2 p.m.: Here’s what happens next
House Democrats demand Columbia University trustees disband ‘tent camp’ or resign
“We don’t feel safer if there is a government full of violent people that claim to do things on our behalf that commit atrocities,” Jared said of the war in Gaza.
Jared, who said he had to explain to his grandparents that he didn’t not support Hamas nor did they fund the protest. He also noted there are many Jewish students who were suspended for taking part in the protest.
Although the protesters received backlash last week following antisemitic chants heard resonating in the camp, Jared suggested the university was also guilty of antisemitism.
“For a university that is suppressing and trying to silence dissent, claiming to do it out of the interest of Jewish students, they’re certainly suspending a lot of Jewish students for participating,” Jared added.
The length of the protest is also seeing students share the showers and laundry facilities at their dorms with suspended students who lost access to the buildings.
“Everyone is pretty gross,” one student told The Post of the protesters’ hygiene.
Some of the protesters also appeared to tout the fact that they were arrested during the initial police raid on the campus that unsuccessfully sought to clear out the tents.
“Bold – Beautiful – Arrested,” one sign over a tent read.
The students appeared more organized than in the first days of the chaotic protest, with security made up of students and some faculty stationed around the gate to keep out non-demonstrators, as well as “Zionists.”
Reporters and photographers were also being kept away from the protesters because they might not feel “comfortable.”
The students have repeatedly stated that they will not leave the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” until the university meets their demands to divest from Israel and grant amnesty to the students who have been arrested, suspended or put on probation over the protests.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik has been repeatedly slammed for failing to quell the protest, with Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan becoming the latest figure to demand action from the college.
“When thousands of Columbia faculty, staff and students call for the elimination of the State of Israel and the abolition of Zionism, you must take a stand,” Dayan wrote in a letter published on X.
Dayan likened the protesters to the Ku Klux Klan and urged Shafik to put an end to the demonstration, saying the ongoing protest serves no purpose at the Ivy League college.
“A great moral conflict was delivered to your doorstep,” Dayan added. “Rise to the occasion. Lead with moral principles, not only administrative regulations. Speak up.”
