[Columbia University has suspended a student pending a full review after a group of protesters disrupted a class on Israeli history by distributing flyers with violent imagery.
According to eyewitness accounts, the demonstrators, whose faces were covered, entered Professor Avi Shilon’s “History of Modern Israel” class and distributed flyers featuring anti-Israel content. The flyers showed a burning Israeli flag underneath the words “Burn Zionism to the Ground” and depicted a large black boot about to stomp on the Jewish Star of David and read “Crush Zionism”.
University officials identified one of the protesters and suspended the student pending a full review. An investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but officials have not released the identity of the student.
“It was shocking for everyone in the class,” said Elisha Baker, a junior studying Middle Eastern history, who attended the class. “I’m still super excited for this class. It’s a shame that this incident is going to put us on edge inside the classroom.”
Campus security responded to the incident, collecting information and photos and videos of what occurred. Interim University President Katrina Armstrong said in a statement that no group of students has the right to disrupt another group of students in a classroom and that the university will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, or intimidation against members of its community.
This is not the first instance of unrest at Columbia University’s campus. There have been multiple high-profile incidents over the past few years in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which has disrupted academic life and caused many Jewish and Muslim students to report being intimidated, harassed or physically assaulted.
As a result, the university’s president resigned earlier this year and several deans resigned or were removed from their posts amid accusations of anti-Semitism. In October, the university banned a student activist who made statements that Jews don’t deserve to live and advocated for armed resistance against Israel. The university decried the student’s call for acts of violence and called for acts of intolerance in any form.
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