Inside Columbia's very Gen Z 'solidarity camp'

• Protesters inside Columbia campus pitched 100 tents to form their ‘solidarity for Gaza’ encampment
• While tensions flared on surrounding streets, the ‘camp’ was more kum-by-yah, oblivious to turmoil outside
• The kids say they won’t leave until Columbia halts ‘investments’ to Israeli-linked organizations 

Columbia students living at the growing pro-Palestine protest encampment in the university’s iconic Upper West Side campus spent Monday doing performative arts and reading poetry while sharing organic snacks.

DailyMail.com gained access to the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’, which occupies the South Lawn, where around 100 tents have been pitched by students who are calling for the university to cease any Israel-linked investments.

The protesters have pledged to remain ‘until the demands are met’ even after more than 100 students, including the daughter of Squad member Ilhan Omar, were arrested on Columbia’s grounds last week after the university asked the NYPD to crack down on ‘trespassers’.

Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, claimed she was suspended by Barnard College, an institution within Columbia, and barred from campus after her arrest. She was previously based at the encampment but did not appear to be present during Monday’s demonstrations.

Dairy free and vegan snacks were on offer next to take-out from Le Pain Quotidien, a fancy bakery

While tensions flared outside Columbia’s Upper West Side campus on Monday, the students stoking the outrage were carefree

The students read poetry, exchanged snacks and generally ignored the political firestorm happening outside

The schedule for the day, complete with ‘sunrise and earth day’ performances and a ‘fatima’ poetry reading

The encampment was not removed during the police swoop. Instead, it was still buzzing on Monday while a separate pro-Palestine protest group faced off with a pro-Israel counter demonstration directly outside the campus on Broadway.

While the protest outside was led with loud cries of slogans including ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, the mood inside was calmer, with groups enjoying the sunshine and laying in the tents they had pitched on the lawns.

Inside the encampment, where volunteers handed out face masks on entry, students have created signs and placards calling for Columbia to divest from Israel, with slogans including ‘Resist colonial power by any means necessary’.

A large whiteboard with the ‘program’ for Monday noted that it was ‘Earth Day’ and included an art class at 11am and a poetry reading scheduled for 5pm.

A warning – with some girly doodling – one of the many tents

Students wearing keffiyeh scarves sit next to Palestinian flags. On Monday, they made signs, snacked on fruit and read poetry

One of the many khaki tents on campus was offering first aid to any wounded protesters

Students also set up a large makeshift canteen and buffet with snacks including bagels, organic nuts and grains, and fruit. Some tucked into donuts from Dunkin’.

Catherine Elias, a graduate student and designated spokesman for the protesters, said they would stay ‘until the demands are met’.

‘It’s up to the university how long we stay,’ she said. ‘We will be here until we’re forcibly removed or the university meets our demands.

‘Columbia has learned the hard way that when you try to silence us, when you try to repress us, the movement only grows.’

But not every member of the encampment was willing to talk. When DailyMail.com asked one person if they would discuss their reasons for joining the protest, the young woman replied that she would not talk to ‘right wing press’.

‘You are not welcome here,’ said the woman, who was wearing a face mask.

While the students are determined to keep cops out, they have set up emergency ‘press for security’ boxes

The mood was far less peaceful outside, where Jewish protesters were told to stay back for their own safety

While the NYPD was given the go-ahead to arrest over the weekend, Mayor Eric Adams says they don’t have permission to go onto campus to clear the encampment and allow classes to resume

Jewish Professor Shai Davidai was blocked from entering campus today. Cops said they couldn’t ensure his safety

Among the crowds of pro-Palestine activists, many recognizable by their black and white keffiyeh scarves, two young Jewish students who were also inside the encampment expressed frustration that the lawn had been taken over.

Chaya Droznik, 22, a computer science student, and her friend, Jessica Schwalb, 21, who studies human rights, said they entered the enclosure to highlight the problems they say the protests have created on campus.

‘People are afraid to come here,’ said Schwalb.

‘I deserve equal access to this lawn but they try to prevent us from entering or try to evict us.’

Droznik, who wore a Star of David pendant on a chain around her neck, said Jewish students were made to feel ‘unsafe’ by the demonstrations.

‘There are people who have gone home, who have left because they don’t feel safe,’ she said.

A Jewish professor who wanted to enter the site today was told by police he could not go in because they couldn’t guarantee his safety.

On Monday afternoon, a large group of pro-Palestine faculty members staged a walkout and delivered speeches outside the university library, which overlooks the South Lawn encampment.

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