Columbia punished students for protesting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, after calling in NYPD, escalating a growing crackdown on campus dissent.
Columbia University has suspended 65 students for their participation in a pro-Palestinian protest that took over part of the school’s main library on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the report, the students were barred from taking final exams and participating in graduation ceremonies.
The university also reportedly banned 33 non-Columbia affiliates from campus, including students from other institutions and alumni.
According to Reuters news agency, the protest took place on Wednesday in the university’s main library reading room, where protesters stood on tables, beat drums, and held signs in solidarity with Palestinians. The agency described it as the largest demonstration on campus since protests erupted last year over Israel’s war on Gaza.
A witness told Reuters that university security personnel were seen escorting demonstrators out of the building and handing them over to police officers stationed outside.
The German news agency DPA, citing the Associated Press, reported that video footage showed a line of New York City police officers entering the library.
Police Storm Columbia University Library, Arrest Pro-Palestinian Student Protesters
The police presence came hours after demonstrators bypassed university security and entered the building. Other clips showed a second group of protesters attempting to enter the library, clashing with security guards who blocked their access.
Interim Columbia University President Claire Shipman stated that protesters who had barricaded themselves inside the library were asked multiple times to identify themselves and leave, but refused.
She said the university requested NYPD assistance “to help secure the building and ensure the safety of the campus community.”
According to WSJ, she also condemned the demonstration as “utterly unacceptable,” and emphasized that the university would not tolerate disruptions to its academic operations.
In contrast, a student group representing the demonstrators alleged that campus security assaulted protesters.
The group said that activists refused to show ID to what they described as university officials conducting a “military-style arrest.”
Photos from the scene showed students being detained inside Butler Library. The protest, which took place during finals week, disrupted activities on campus.
Columbia University has suspended more than 65 students for their role in a pro-Palestinian demonstration that forced the shutdown of the main campus library.
The students were placed on interim suspension and will be prohibited from taking their final exams or entering campus. pic.twitter.com/egtAe1eor9
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) May 10, 2025
The Biden administration’s Department of Education pressured Columbia to rein in student protests amid concerns about antisemitism on campus. But under the Trump administration, which took office in January, scrutiny of the university has intensified further.
Columbia is currently negotiating with the Trump administration over a potential consent decree—an agreement that would place the school under federal oversight to ensure compliance with government demands.
The crackdown is the latest development in a broader wave of campus protests across the US, where students have rallied against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and criticized university ties to weapons manufacturers and Israeli institutions.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
How many of those Storm Troopers were Jewish? Or, Zionist?
Columb-rael…
and it is definitely a conflict of interest that Canary Mission and Betar are Zionist organizations, doxxing pro-Palestine protesters. If this was pro-Israeli protesters, would they be ejected and harrassed, roughed up by the ” cops “?
It’s quite a coincidence that Betar’s full name is Berit Yosef Trumpeldore…