‘Squad’ members descend on Columbia encampment, offer 'support' for anti-Israel agitators
New York Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, both members of "The Squad," were seen Friday mingling with anti-Israel agitators at Columbia University, where "support" was offered to those in the encampment established to protest the Israeli military's actions in Gaza.
In one video shared on social media, a smiling Ocasio-Cortez is shown speaking with those inside the encampment and offering her "support" for those who have become engaged in the protest.
Photographs of Bowman also circulated on social media, showing the cheerful New York Democrat listening to those who were taking part in the encampment protest. His appearance at the school came after he reportedly attended a Thursday evening Biden campaign fundraiser in Westchester County, where he was recognized for his attendance by the president.
The visits by Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman to Columbia's campus in New York City came one day after Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar – another prominent member of the "The Squad" – traveled to the school to show her support for the students who are taking part in a group of encampments on the main lawn in protest of Israel's war against Hamas.
ILHAN OMAR, DAUGHTER APPEAR AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ENCAMPMENT AMID NATIONWIDE ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS
Omar was joined in her visit to the school by her daughter, Isra Hirsi, who was suspended last week from Barnard College for her involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations on Columbia's campus.
The appearances by the three progressive "Squad" Democrats come as several colleges and universities around the United States brace for what is yet to come as more and more anti-Israel protests sweep the nation.
Ocasio-Cortez has been an ardent defender of those protesting Israel on college campuses in different corners of the United States. In a Tuesday post on X, Ocasio-Cotez wrote, "Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act. It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms."
Her rhetoric came as chaos on Columbia's campus ignited concerns among the Jewish community as they feared for students' safety. One rabbi even warned Jewish students to leave campus, cautioning that the NYPD "cannot guarantee your safety."
Anti-Israel protesters, meanwhile, have been heard chanting "Al-Qassam, you make us proud, kill another soldier now!" "We say justice, you say how. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground!" and "Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets, too!"
Dozens of anti-Israel activists began demonstrating at Columbia University last week. Fiery protests have continued there and at other schools across the country, with several issuing calls for an intifada and the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Omar, whose views on Israel have been repeatedly criticized by her Republican colleagues in Congress, suggested Wednesday that the Gaza cease-fire encampments at Columbia University are being "co-opted and made to look bad" by public officials and members of the media.
"Throughout history, protests were co-opted and made to look bad so police and public leaders would shut them down. That’s what we are seeing now at Columbia University," Omar wrote on X.
Social media videos from the anti-Israel demonstration that has been staged for days on Columbia’s campus show activists cheering on the deaths of Israeli soldiers and showing support for Hamas. Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on campus and shared stories of being verbally and physically assaulted.
"They were pushing and shoving me. . . . They threw rocks at my face. At that moment, my life was totally threatened. And there was no safety authority on campus," one student told NY1over the weekend.
Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind, Taylor Penley and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.