Protests At Columbia University As President Minouche Shafik Testifies In Congress Over Anti-Semitism Row | Video

protests at columbia university as president minouche shafik testifies in congress over ant-semitism row | video

Protests broke out at Columbia University Wednesday as university president Minouche Shafik testified in Congress over allegations of antisemitism at the campus. Shafik’s testimony came against the backdrop of allegations of antisemitic activities across campuses in the US, especially from Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Education panel, who said that “Columbia University stands out as one of the worst offenders.”

According to a report by the Mother Jones magazine, protesters gathered at the university in the pre-dawn and erected tents on the campus lawn. The demonstration started hours before Shafik was set to testify at the Congress. Police also gathered at the campus to contain any violence that could potentially break out.

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The report states that the protest was organised by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest – a group formed in the wake of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent Israeli retaliation, after two other groups named ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ and ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ was suspended by the university earlier this year.

Shafik, who was speaking at the Congress alongside Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, and law professor David Schizer, acknowledged that there was anti-semitism in the campus.

“Trying to reconcile the free speech rights of those who want to protest and the rights of Jewish students to be in an environment free of discrimination and harassment has been the central challenge on our campus and numerous others across the country,” Shafik said, urging stakeholders in the campus to create an environment that is “free of discrimination and harassment.”

Earlier, alleging that the universities in the US are becoming a hotbed of antisemitism Virginia Foxx rued how it is particularly true for elite, expensive universities.

“Since October 7, this Committee and the nation have watched in horror as so many of our college campuses, particularly the most expensive, so-called elite schools, have erupted into hotbeds of antisemitism and hate, Foxx said. “Columbia University is one of the worst of those hotbeds, and we have seen far too little, far too late done to counter that and protect students and staff.”