Radical Columbia anti-Israel group calls on school to kick out Jewish student organization
The activists wrote: ‘sever all ties with genocidal propagandists–sever ties with Hillel. Academic boycott now.’
‘It is a shame that instead of attending the event, list[ening] to what I had to say, asking questions and having a dialogue the students chose to walk outside in the rain and chant false and stupid accusations against me,’ Ravid said.
A radical anti-Israel activist organization at Columbia University recently staged a protest at the school and called on the Ivy League university to end its connection to a Jewish student group on campus.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and its followers objected to the appearance of an Israeli CNN journalist, Barak Ravid, who spoke about Israel’s war against Hamas at the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, at which the school’s chapter of Hillel is located, the Columbia Spectator reported Friday.
Hillel is a large Jewish student group that is present on many college and university campuses.
[RELATED: Hillel increasingly coming under attack from anti-Israel activists]
CUAD advertised the demonstration on Instagram, calling on followers to “boycott classes” and to protest the Thursday event, which they termed a “genocidal event” with a “henchman of genocide” (Ravid).
The group demanded that Columbia “sever all ties with genocidal propagandists–sever ties with Hillel. Academic boycott now.”
As part of its campaign to delegitimize the Jewish State, CUAD repeatedly put “Israel” in scare quotes and referred to it as the “Zionist entity,” a term usually favored by anti-Israel activists.
The radical group also urged Columbia to “sever all academic ties with the Zionist entity,” including “all study abroad programs, fellowships and research collaborations with ‘israeli’ [sic] universities.”
At the protest, the demonstrators acted disruptively, picketing outside the event venue and yelling anti-Israel slogans, according to the Spectator.
Ravid told the Spectator: “It is a shame that instead of attending the event, list[ening] to what I had to say, asking questions and having a dialogue the students chose to walk outside in the rain and chant false and stupid accusations against me.”
Columbia released a statement of solidarity with the Kraft Center on Thursday, writing: “The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, the home of Columbia and Barnard’s vibrant Hillel, is a vital part of our campus, providing a welcoming space for our students to explore and celebrate Jewish culture and identity. We appreciate the many contributions the Kraft Center and Hillel make to supporting our Jewish community and building our University community. Any efforts to intimidate the Kraft Center, Hillel and our Jewish community and all forms of antisemitism are unacceptable and inimical to what we stand for as a University.”
Hillel has become an increasingly common target for opponents of Israel.
In November, anti-Israel activists at Simmons University defaced a Hillel sukkah with the words “Gaza Liberation Sukkah.” The Hillel chapter on campus said in response: “Vandalism and antisemitic messaging are deplorable and cannot be allowed on a campus dedicated to learning, leadership and inclusion.”
Activists from the City University of New York in September demonstrated at Baruch College, chanting several slogans, among which was “Baruch Hillel, go to hell.” Similar to CUAD, these activists called on the school to “cut ties with Hillel and boycott the Zionist entity.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Columbia University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
