Columbia anti-Israel group refuses alleged negotiations outreach
'CUAD REFUSES TO ENGAGE WITH COLUMBIA’S REQUEST TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL DEMONSTRATED GOOD FAITH,’ the group wrote.
Since there is no longer an anti-Israel encampment at Columbia, it is unclear what the group meant, or whether Columbia had even reached out to the anti-Israel activists.
A Columbia University anti-Israel group claimed it will refuse to negotiate with the school, alleging that Columbia has asked “to resume negotiations.” It is unclear what the group means by the announcement, given that there is currently no active anti-Israel encampment at the school over which to negotiate.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) posted on Instagram on July 10, writing: “CUAD REFUSES TO ENGAGE WITH COLUMBIA’S REQUEST TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL DEMONSTRATED GOOD FAITH‼”
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“The university must meet our anti-repression demands if they want us to meet them at the table. THE STUDENT INTIFADA WILL NOT BE SILENCED,” the group added.
It is unclear if Columbia actually reached out to the students to negotiate, or what the university would have sought to negotiate about.
CUAD specifically took aim at Columbia’s disciplinary measures taken against disruptive anti-Israel students, and blamed the Ivy League institution for trying to “quell the student intifada through unsubstantial negotiations.”
The group insisted that it will not “engage with the administration while our comrades are subject to loss of employment and disciplinary action, such as expulsion and revoked graduation.”
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CUAD laid out several prerequisites for negotiations with Columbia, demanding that the school drop “suspensions and expulsions for all students,” confer “degrees and the transcript release holds for all graduating students impacted by the disciplinary process,” and “[reinstate] & [compensate] . . . unjustly dismissed staff for their involvement in pro-Palestine activism on campus.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
