After weeks of pro-Hamas demonstrations at Columbia University, including calls for violence against Jews and the unlawful detainment of two university employees, university president Minouche Shafik took action by requesting assistance from the New York Police Department to restore order.
In response, over 200 police officers descended on the campus Tuesday night, dispersing two encampments and removing protestors from an occupied building. Additional officers lined the streets to prevent further disruptions.
The NYPD, deploying SWAT teams, riot units, and counterterrorism forces, arrested at least 50 protestors, with charges pending. Those involved in the encampments face university suspension and, according to the NYPD, burglary charges for those occupying Hamilton Hall.
Concerns were also raised regarding the presence of the wife of Sami al-Arian, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a designated terrorist organization.
What was even more interesting is the fact that he even openly brags about it on social media:
Why is the wife of a terrorist allowed to stay in the U.S.?
Unless she divorces him and is stripped of all assets connected to him, I don’t see how it’s allowable.
It’s basically inviting his terror to continue here.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested that “external actors” played a role in escalating the protests. This marks the second time the NYPD has intervened in the demonstrations, with a previous operation resulting in over 100 student arrests but failing to quell the unrest.
Jewish students and faculty reported increasing harassment from pro-Hamas protestors, leading to restricted access to parts of the campus.
During the police operation, protestors hurled insults, including chants equating the NYPD with the KKK and Israeli forces. Most protestors wore keffiyehs and masks.
While some protestors criticized the police response as “overkill,” Shafik requested continued police presence through graduation ceremonies to prevent encampment reestablishment.
During the operation, police utilized drones to surveil occupied buildings, emphasizing the precautionary measures taken due to the escalating violence of the protests. Two security guards were trapped inside Hamilton Hall, but were safely released.
Despite negotiations, the protest leaders’ demands, including “humanitarian aid” for occupiers, were met with ridicule. Johanna King-Slutsky, identified as an instructor and doctoral candidate, drew criticism for demanding campus meal provisions for protestors, equating it to “basic humanitarian aid.”
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion
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