Anti-Israel vandalism guide found at Columbia encourages activists to use sledgehammers to 'cause quite a bit of damage'
Anti-Israel student activists have distributed a vandalism guide at Columbia University.
Jewish students at the university have since reportedly identified the manual on the website of the anti-Israel group, Unity of Fields.
Anti-Israel student activists have distributed a vandalism guide at Columbia University in New York.
A report from The New York Post on March 18 details the “underground manual” that was found on the Ivy League campus. Jewish students at the university have since reportedly identified the manual on the website of the anti-Israel group, Unity of Fields.
“Some of us monitor Unity of Fields, and a few weeks ago, someone came across this so-called ‘manual’ and forwarded it to me, and I started sending it out to everyone I knew because I wanted everyone to be aware of just how calculated and strategic and radical these people are,” one Jewish student recently informed The New York Post.
The online version of the manual includes 7 “steps,” including creating a “cell,” which is defined as ”an autonomous group taking actions without detection as part of Palestine Action Underground.”
”To build your cell, it is crucial that you only invite TRUSTED people to take part in it,” step 1 reads. ”You don’t need loads of people either. Keeping the cell small, makes it more secure.”
Step 2 encourages activists to pick a “target,” preferably a figure ”who enable[s] and profit[s] from the Israeli weapons industry.”
”When preparing for action, knowing your target and doing an effective reconnaisance [sic] (recce) is VITAL,” step 3 on “prepare for action” states. ”Recces provide key information to make your action as smooth and damaging as possible.”
The vandalism guide goes on to encourage reads to “plan your action” through different “tactics,” such as using fire extinguishers to spread red paint, and using spray paint for messages like “Free Palestine.”
Other recommended tactics include more aggressive means like “smashing windows and exterior equipment” with sledgehammers and making sure to “block their pipes” and “break in.”
”Smashing stuff can also be very quick to do,” the guide states. ”With an efficient sledgehammer in your hand, you can cause quite a bit of damage! Smashing windows often only takes one or two swings. But air conditioning units, cameras and other external equipment can sabotage the profits of your target even further.”
The document also notes that if one is “feeling up for it,” then ”breaking into your target and damaging the contents inside is obviously a very effective tactic.”
Additional recommendations include “how to get to the site and leave undetected,” wearing face coverings and baggy clothes and utilizing a “burner smart phone.”
Step 6, which entails what to do after “[y]ou’ve just sabotaged a complicit company,” recommends that activists “destroy all evidence.”
According to its X account, Unity of Fields is an “[a]nti-imperialist propaganda front for the international popular cradle of resistance.” The group was previously known as Palestine Action U.S.
The current U.K.-based Palestine Action identifies as a “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime” through “disruptive tactics.”
[RELATED: Columbia University faces federal probe over swastika graffiti complaint]
The report of the vandalism’s guide spread on the Columbia campus comes after the Office of Public Affairs issued a statement on Jan. 29, noting that the School of International and Public Affairs was “vandalized with graffiti that included disturbing, personal attacks.”
”Acts of vandalism of University buildings and property and attempts to harass and intimidate members of our community are unacceptable and abhorrent and will not be tolerated at Columbia,” the statement reads. “Our buildings and our classrooms are spaces for teaching and learning and we cannot permit them to be disrupted and defaced.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.