Sanctioned anti-Israel groups hold Columbia University event as students suspended

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Author: MICHAEL STARR
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), who were suspended by the New York university in November for "repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events" culminating in a November 9 protest, were among groups calling for supporters to rally on Thursday for an "All out for Al-Shifa solidarity protest."

"The Zionist entity has massacred hundreds at Al-Shifa hospital and left it in complete ruin after a two week siege," said the advertisement featuring the logos of the Student Workers of Columbia and Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

"We are calling on all Columbia student organizations to come out and show solidarity with Gaza in the face of the IOF's [sic] horrific attack on Al-Shifa hospital. Bring banners, cultural clothing, or anything that you feel can explicitly display your organization's solidarity. Columbia students stand with Palestine."

Columbia SJP and JVP said that they would hold the university accountable for involvement in what they called a "genocide" and called upon all student organizations to attend.

Warnings placed before the protests

Columbia's Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway warned the groups against the unauthorized protest at Columbia's Morningside campus.

"This protest is unsanctioned – organizers and participants will be subject to disciplinary action if they proceed," Holloway said in a Thursday statement. "I want to remind our entire community that it is everyone's responsibility to maintain the safety of our campus and respect the rights of all the members of the Columbia community."

SJP Columbia claimed on Thursday that on Wednesday night six students, including a Palestinian and two Jewish students...