Mayhem at Columbia: Pro-Hamas Students Storm Classroom, Target Jewish Students With Anti-Semitic Flyers on First Day of Spring Semester
Anti-Israel student activists unleashed mayhem at Columbia University on Tuesday afternoon, which marked the beginning of the spring semester. Several keffiyeh-clad student activists stormed an Israeli history class and passed out anti-Semitic flyers glorifying Hamas, depicting the Star of David being crushed, and promising violence. Others vandalized the campus and called on their followers to shut down the university.
Four student activists, donning keffiyehs, marched into the class, "History of Modern Israel," filming themselves as they recited a script, passed out propaganda, and harassed students, most of whom are Jewish, according to a student in the class.
"THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW," read one flyer, which used an upside-down triangle symbol that Hamas uses to denote Israeli targets to spell "TOMORROW." The flyer depicts a truck full of Hamas terrorists brandishing heavy artillery, including two RPGs and machine guns.
Another flyer, with the caption "CRUSH ZIONISM," depicted the Star of David underneath a boot. A third depicted an Israeli flag in flames with the threat to "BURN ZIONISM TO THE GROUND."
Video of the incident shows Avi Shilon, a visiting professor from Israel affiliated with Columbia’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, asking the protesters to leave: "We want to study," he said. Enrolled students can also be seen handing back the flyers, asking them to "get out." One told the intruders, "This is a civil rights violation. We’re trying to learn."
One anti-Israel protester read from a script: "We are going to give you an inside scoop into Columbia University’s normalization of genocide."
It’s day 1 of Prof. @shilonavi History of Modern Israel @Columbia and masked protestors just barged in to intimidate and disrupt. So much for 'academic freedom."
Welcome to Columbia, 2025! pic.twitter.com/S6GbzKFqut
— Elisha (Lishi) Baker (@LishiBaker) January 21, 2025
The history class explores the complexity of Israeli politics from its 1948 establishment to the present day. The course description focuses on the various demographics that "create the fabric of Israeli politics and society," including the "Palestinian citizens of Israel."
Lishi Baker, a Middle Eastern history major who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon, said the ordeal left him "extremely disturbed." He pledged to continue taking the course, saying, "Protesters can't stop us from an entire semester of learning."
"Not only am I paying a lot of money to be here, but I actually want to engage in the class, and it’s really frustrating when there’s students at this school who don’t care about learning, don’t care about class, and are intentionally disruptive and intimidating inside of a classroom," he added.
Shilon also spoke to the Free Beacon. He said he "felt the need to protect [his] students" but did not want to "ignite the protesters too much." Just before the activists entered his class, he explained to his students that they were going to "learn the two narratives: one of the Palestinians and one of the Israelis."
"It did not discourage me; on the contrary, it just makes me feel that it is so important to teach and to study Israel from a real historian who this is his field of expertise," Shilon said.
In a statement to the Free Beacon, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, said the university would "move quickly to investigate and address this act."
"Today a History of Modern Israel class was disrupted by protesters who handed out fliers. We strongly condemn this disruption, as well as the fliers that included violent imagery that is unacceptable on our campus and in our community. No group of students has a right to disrupt another group of students in a Columbia classroom. Disrupting academic activities constitutes a violation of the Rules of University conduct, and the nature of the disruption may constitute violations of other University policies," Armstrong wrote.
"We will move quickly to investigate and address this act. We want to be absolutely clear that any act of antisemitism, or other form of discrimination, harassment, or intimidation against members of our community is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
A different Columbia course on Zionism avoided disruption today—one taught by Joseph Massad. The tenured lecturer praised Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, calling it "incredible" and "awesome" just one day after the assault and separately accused Jews of engaging in a "Hitlerian project." Columbia defended its decision to allow Massad to teach a spring course by touting the fact that his class "is one of three courses Columbia students can elect to take ... on the subject of Zionism and the history of Israel."
Outside of the classroom, dozens of agitators with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter protested both on and off campus in support of "the liberation of Palestine beyond a ceasefire." Protesters chanted, "Resistance is glorious. We will be victorious" while marching outside the university, blocking street traffic.
Overnight, meanwhile, students vandalized several parts of campus with red spray paint. In one location, the vandalism reads, "Gaza Rises Columbia Falls." Another poster shows what appears to be a child throwing a Molotov cocktail with the caption, "Liberation will come from a black and brown thing. Know your brothers. Show your solidarity."
"WE FIGHT UNTIL WE WIN. UNTIL PALESTINE IS FREE. CLASS IS BACK IN SESSION. GOOD LUCK COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. ," CUAD posted to Instagram on Tuesday.
Students planned Tuesday’s disruptions in collaboration with National Students for Justice in Palestine, Within Our Lifetime, and the New York City chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
"Columbia’s threats are pebbles against the tide of liberation," CUAD advertised Sunday on social media. "Their statues will remain painted red, and their lights will go dark. As long as Columbia is responsible for genocide, there will be no school as usual."
"We will not rest," the group added. "Ceasefire is only the beginning."
The groups also encouraged students to "defend against Columbia’s surveillance" by wearing masks and keffiyehs.
When the protest ended, student activists headed to an off-campus CUAD teach-in to learn "how universities are involved in war." Police, however, rerouted the students, preventing them from attending the event.
Anti-Israel activists at Columbia similarly disrupted campus operations on the first day of the fall semester. At that time, in September, dozens of students blocked the entrance to the school, praised Hamas, vandalized a statue, and clashed with police.
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