Columbia University silent on return of student who made comments about 'murdering Zionists'
Columbia University has not confirmed whether Khymani James, a student who made controversial threats at a pro-Palestine demonstration, will return for the fall 2024 semester.
Columbia University has not clarified whether or not Khymani James, the controversial anti-Israel demonstrator who made threats against Jewish individuals, will return as a full-time student during the fall 2024 semester.
James was initially suspended in April after making controversial statements during the spring semester, which included comments about “murdering Zionists.”
“We initiated disciplinary proceedings which encompass this and additional potential violations of university policies,” a Columbia spokesman said at the time, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
But The Washington Free Beacon reported that James is still listed in Columbia’s student directory. Columbia has declined to say whether James will return this fall, with a university spokeswoman telling the Free Beacon that the university does not “comment on individual cases due to privacy concerns.”
Campus Reform reported in April that James reportedly told university administrators during a conduct hearing that they should “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”
“I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling for those people to die,” said James. “And with that being said, Khymani is signed out.”
James also defended his belief that all Zionists deserve to die, as the Daily Wire reported.
“I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling for those people to die,” said James. “And with that being said, Khymani is signed out.”
“I think that taking someone’s life in certain case scenarios is necessary and better for the overall world. I personally have never killed anyone,” James said when asked about the seriousness of killing someone. “Thank the Lord that no one has put me in that position.”
A Columbia spokesperson declined to comment at the time when asked by Campus Reform if James had been expelled.
The student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) released a statement downplaying the significance of controversial comments James had made.
”Khymani’s words in January do not reflect his views, our values, nor the encampment’s community agreements,” the group said. “We are students with a right to learn and grow. In the same way, some of us were once Zionists and are now anti-Zionists, we believe unlearning is always possible and that no human being is static.”
Campus Reform recently reported that anti-Israel protesters at Columbia have threatened to continue the demonstrations that rocked the university during the spring semester.
“What we will see [is] the students will continue their activism, will continue doing what they’ve done in conventional and unconventional ways,” said Mahmoud Khalil, a member of CUAD. “So not only protests, not only encampments, kind of any — any available means necessary to push Columbia to divest from [sic] Israel.”
“But for us, encampment is now our new base, as in the past, it used to be protests,” Khalil added. “Students would do protests every day, but now, kind of, encampments is [sic] the new base for us.”
Campus Reform has contacted Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
