Columbia students erect 60 tents on main lawn to demand university divest from Israel as president grilled on antisemitism
NY Post
Hundreds of Columbia University students set up nearly 60 tents on the campus’ main lawn to demand the university divest from Israel – just as Columbia President Minouche Shafik testifies Wednesday before Congress about antisemitism at the Ivy League school.
The Gaza Solidarity Encampment first sprung up on the lawn in front of Butler Library before 5 a.m., the Columbia University Spectator reported.
The demonstrations organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group vowed to remain on the grass until university officials agreed to divest from Israeli interests.
Many of the tents in the encampment were adorned with handmade signs, including one that read “Israel bombs, Columbia pays,” in reference to Israel’s months-long bombardment of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attack.
The protest was still going strong hours later, with the NYPD descending on the scene to restrict members of the press to pen on the sidewalk of Broadway and 116th Street without a view of the lawn, independent journalist Katie Smith shared on X.
As of just after 1:30, two NYPD Corrections Department buses were parked in front of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, just two blocks from the campus, Smith added.
