IN THE NEWS: Report reveals identities, contact info of Columbia University's pro-Hamas leaders

On Oct. 9, Columbia University student groups released a statement blaming Israel and the U.S. for the recent Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel and asserting that Israel 'does not have the right' to defend itself.

On Oct. 9, a coalition of Columbia University student groups released a statement blaming Israel and the U.S. for the recent Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel and asserting that Israel “does not have the right” to defend itself.

“We also affirm that there can be no future of safety and freedom for all Israelis and Palestinians without holding the Israeli occupation accountable for its actions and putting an end to the untenable status quo of Israel’s apartheid and colonial system,” the statement read.

“We cannot view the recent actions of Palestinian fighters in isolation. Gaza is an open-air prison that lacks the essential necessities such as food, clean water, medicine, and electricity.”



“The weight of responsibility for the war and casualties undeniably lies with the Israeli extremist government and other Western governments, including the U.S. government, which fund and staunchly support Israeli aggression, apartheid and settler-colonization.”

“Israel does not have the right to defend its occupation, its apartheid state, or its siege of Gaza.”

Tuesday, Townhall released a report detailing the names of student organizations and leaders involved in the statement. The details of that report are as follows:

Student Organizations Involved

The Palestinian Student Union at Columbia University (DAR Columbia)

SIPA’s Palestine Working Group (PWG)

Columbia Law Students for Palestine (CLSP)

The National Lawyers Guild at Columbia Law School

Columbia Law’s Restorative Justice Collective

Turath: the Arab Students Association at Columbia University

Empowering Women of Color at Columbia Law School

Muslim Student Association at Columbia University

Middle Eastern Law Students Association at Columbia Law School (MELSA)

Conflict Resolution Collective (CRC)

Student Leaders Identified

Akmaral Bekbossynova (President of CRC)

Bekbossynova is an International Affairs grad student focusing on Economic and Political Development. Last summer, she interned in Turin, Italy, at the United Nations System Staff College.


Arman Antonyan (Co-President of MELSA)

Antonyan is also a law student at Columbia.


Jasmine Sarryeh-Jemeršić (Co-President of PWG)

Sarryeh-Jemeršić is pursuing her graduate studies at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She’s currently a Senior Client Services Consultant at Fragomen, a New York-based immigration firm.


Editor’s note: When originally published, this article included the name of an individual who had been identified by Townhall as a co-president of one of the involved student groups. The name has been removed after the individual provided evidence to Campus Reform of having resigned from the group in September.