Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group, Hamas, the anti-Israel group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) called on supporters to “fight and escalate.”
The American and Qatari governments revealed the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday. As part of the tentative plan, Hamas will release 33 of its hostages captured during the Oct. 7 massacre in exchange for Israel releasing at least 250 terrorists, along with hundreds of other prisoners.
Hamas, however, has been attempting to sabotage the deal, and is “reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.
Following the announcement of the ceasefire plan, CUAD posted on Instagram: “[T]his is not time [sic] for us to rest! This victory is Gaza’s alone, we must fight and escalate!” as shared by Eyal Yakoby on X on Wednesday.
CUAD’s statement was part of an advertisement for a “Gaza Will Rise” rally taking place on Thursday. The caption for the announcement read: “Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow.”
Columbia’s anti-Israel activists have repeatedly found themselves at the center of controversies regarding their anti-Israel rhetoric, glorification of terrorism, and calls for violence.
In December, for example, CUAD called on students to support, among other anti-Israel groups, an organization called Samidoun that has been accused by the U.S. government of serving as a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.”
In November, the group organized a protest to call on Columbia to cut ties with Hillel, a prominent Jewish campus life group.
CUAD also mocked Veterans Day in November, instead celebrating a so-called “Martyrs Day” to protest Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
The group’s activities caused so much outrage that Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called on the FBI to look into the group over its calls for violence. One CUAD member, for example, said: “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”
CUAD is not the only controversial anti-Israel student group on campus.
In December, members of the school’s chapter of Students for Justice (SJP) in Palestine handed out copies of “The Columbia Intifada,” a paper that featured an article titled: “Zionist Peace Means Palestinian Blood.” Columbia wrote in response to the incident: “Using the Columbia name for a publication that glorifies violence and makes individuals in our community feel targeted in any way is a breach of our values.”
The group also seemed to justify terrorism in a May post stating that “the Palestinian resistance is the ONLY force materially fighting back against [Israel]. the UN and ICJ have zero material power to stop [Israel] despite begging them to abide by international law.”
In September, the Columbia SJP was permanently kicked off of Instagram.
The group’s controversial actions led to it getting banned by Columbia, a ruling that the SJP unsuccessfully tried to challenge through a lawsuit.
Campus Reform has contacted X and Y for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
