Columbia University is once again a hot spot for Gaza protests, only this time, they’re happening on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people died and some 250 were taken hostage.
Jewish students arranged to do an art installation in the heart of the Columbia campus to reflect on the attack, focusing on remembrance of those killed and spreading awareness of their stories. According to interim President Katrina Armstrong, this demonstration was scheduled with the university.
At the same time, the pro-Palestinian coalition Columbia University Apartheid Divest planned a walkout in that same area of campus to protest the war. Over 41,000 people in Gaza have died in the last year, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The coalition has led many of the school’s anti-Israel protests throughout the year, but the university was “not notified” of the protest through its Guidelines to the Rules of University Conduct process.
The Jewish students waved Israeli flags as the pro-Palestinian protest was beginning, calling for the protesters to relocate so they could “mourn in peace.”
Columbia, learning from the prior school year’s protests, was prepared for this. On Sunday, the university closed many of its gates, restricting some access to school grounds and bringing in more public safety officers. Columbia kept many buildings in its Morningside Campus locked overnight and required student IDs to be let onto campus. The university also put up barriers in the center of the campus to keep protests and counter-protests separated.
University leaders were well aware of what was to come, with Armstrong posting a message Sunday night confirming the school was preparing for protests.
“We understand that there has been a call for a walkout as part of a larger protest effort across New York City,” Armstrong wrote in the message. “This walkout was not notified through the process established by the Guidelines to the Rules of University Conduct. We continue to implement public safety measures to plan for every eventuality. We take those concerns with extreme seriousness.”
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Armstrong continued, referencing the Jewish demonstrations that also were set to occur on the anniversary.
“We will take the necessary steps to respond to these developments while working to support the student group special events that are currently scheduled, as well as non-violent demonstrations that have been sent through the notification system established under the Rules of University Conduct,” Armstrong wrote. “I know that this incredible University community can navigate the challenges of the next several days with compassion, understanding and resilience.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
