'Israel is the new Nazi Germany': pro-Hamas activists protest, block traffic near Columbia
On Feb. 2, thousands of demonstrators held a protest near Columbia University in New York City to vocally reject the recent suspension of a pro-Palestine group at the school.
Protesters allegedly chanted, 'Settlers, Settlers Go Back Home – Palestine is Ours Alone,' 'Globalize the Intifada,' and 'Columbia you can't hide, you support genocide.'
On Feb. 2, thousands of demonstrators held a protest near Columbia University in New York City to vocally reject the recent suspension of several pro-Palestine groups at the school.
The rally was organized by Within Our Lifetime, an NYC-based group that was once a local branch of Students for Justice in Palestine. It describes itself on its website as “a Palestinian-led community organization that has been building the movement for Palestine in NYC since 2015.”
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During the protest, which occurred outside the campus perimeter, the campus itself was reportedly closed to the public. Demonstrators chanted, “Globalize the Intifada,” “Columbia you will see, Palestine will be free,” and “Columbia you can’t hide, you support genocide,” according to The Times of Israel.
Demonstrators at the protest also were said to have chanted, “Settlers, Settlers Go Back Home – Palestine is Ours Alone.” They held signs reading “Israel is the new Nazi Germany” and “Israel steals Palestinian organs.”
The protestors who were gathered outside of Columbia’s main gates sometimes also went into the street and blocked traffic.
The New York Police Department made an announcement in an attempt to clear the road, saying, “You are ordered to leave the roadway and utilize the available sidewalk. If you do so voluntarily, no charges will be placed against you.” In response, the protestors chanted: “NYPD, KKK, IOF, they’re all the same,” according to the Columbia Daily Spectator.
Ultimately, the NYPD charged 12 people with disorderly conduct, as reported by the Columbia Daily Spectator.
In November, Campus Reform reported that Columbia suspended its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace for holding an “unauthorized event” that included “threatening rhetoric and intimidation.”
At the beginning of the spring 2024 semester, Columbia upheld the suspension of the two anti-Israel groups because they had not demonstrated a “commitment to compliance with University policies.”
According to The Times of Israel, the student group Jewish Voice for Peace, despite being suspended, also advertised the protest on Feb. 2.
On Jan. 29, Within Our Lifetime also took to Instagram to promote the Feb. 2 event as a way to protest an earlier incident in which pro-Israel activists allegedly sprayed Palestine supporters with a “foul-smelling substance that required students to seek medical treatment.”
Listed on the Within Our Lifetime website is an official position on anti-Zionism: “We are anti-zionists. Zionism is a settler-colonial white supremacist ideology built on the genocide and dispossession of the Palestinian people. We therefore reject all collaboration and dialogue with zionist organizations through a strict policy of anti-normalization. The liberation of Palestine requires the abolition of zionism.”
Campus Reform has contacted Columbia University and Within Our Lifetime for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
