‘ ] W] hen there is no remorse, no reflection, and no willingness to change, we must act,’ president says
According to Columbia University Apartheid Divest, two activists who disrupted a History of Modern Israel course on Sunday were expelled from Barnard College after blocking the entrance to the event.
The organization stated in a blog on X that this is the first time a Columbia online has been officially expelled for the Jewish genocide of Palestine. It also represents a significant escalation in the crackdown against students who support the demise of the Israeli military.
The newly established Barnard Office for Student Intervention and Success, a new administrative system established only last fall with one employee and nearly total freedom of speech, was responsible for the evictions, according to the party.
Also, the student activists were expelled” under stress from billionaires, donors, and state officials” who “heavily influence Barnard’s intensity and brutality”, the party stated.
The CUAD demanded that its supporters “demand Barnard to change the pogroms in an upcoming WEEK OF ACTION.”
Under the pressure of businessman donors, Barnard College EXPLICES two learners for pro-Palestinian engagement.
Following @ColumbiaBDS for more information about a WEEK of action calling on Barnard to reverse the expulsions! photograph. twitter.com/sngbcSpYc8
— CU Apartheid Divest ( CUAD ) (@ColumbiaBDS ) February 23, 2025
In a post on X, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine wrote,” The Barnard College leadership are and have historically been hostile opponents of Palestinian independence, stomping on opposition in an attempt to wipe their complicity,” to which the pupils wrote.
“BARNARD, BARNARD, YOUCAN’T HIDE. YOU SUPPORT GENOCIDE”, the group wrote.
The school, according to Barnard President Laura Rosenbury,” will always take decisive action to protect our community as a place where learning thrives, people feel safe, and higher education is celebrated.”
” This means upholding the highest standards and acting when those standards are threatened”, she stated.
” When rules are broken, when there is no remorse, no reflection, and no willingness to change, we must act”, she stated. ” Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience”.
Brian Cohen, the executive director of a support center for Jewish students at Columbia, affirmed Barnard’s decision in a post on X Sunday.
These former students stifled a class, distributed antisemitic flyers, and threatened students who only wanted to learn. These individuals don’t belong on campus – and now they won’t be”, he stated.
The anti-Israel protesters reportedly entered the Israeli history class at Columbia University last month to distribute pro-Hamas flyers that showed an Israeli flag on fire and the Star of David being destroyed.
Other flyers read,” The enemy will not see tomorrow”,” Burn Zionism to the ground”, and” Crush Zionism”.
The professor instructing the course “offered the protesters seats in the classroom but that they declined and continued to disrupt the class,” according to the Columbia Spectator.
Rosenbury wrote in an email to students and staff condemning the protest two days later.
” When uninvited visitors enter classrooms with the intention of interfering with learning—let alone when they target specific courses, communities, or individuals—they betray the very principles of intellectual exchange that underpin our community”, Rosenbury stated.
MORE: Concordia spent nearly$ 300, 000 to repair damage done by anti-Israel protesters
IMAGE: LishiBaker/Twitter
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