Two people were arrested at an anti-Israel demonstration held on the campus of Columbia University on the first day of classes Tuesday, the New York Post reported.
Dozens of masked anti-Israel protesters gathered at the entrance to Columbia and at Barnard College. The demonstrators chanted "Free Palestine," “resist until victory,” carried signs demanding that Columbia "divest from death," and “over 100,000 dead, Columbia your hands are red.” They formed a picket line, and beat drums as students returned to school and freshmen arrived for the first time.
A video posted by anti-Israel protesters shows the campus Alma Mater statues being defaced with red paint.
One protester was arrested at Columbia while another was arrested at Barnard.
One protester carried a sign that read, "Long live Hind's Hall," a reference to the occupation of Columbia's Hamilton Hall by anti-Israel protesters in April. The protesters held a janitor against his will and renamed the hall in honor of a young girl who was allegedly killed in the war in Gaza.
The protest comes days after the Hamas terrorist organization executed six Israeli hostages in Rafah.
The Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine chapter wrote on X: "We refuse to live in a world where the mass murder of Palestinians is normal, acceptable, and profitable. Columbia University is complicit in genocide."
"Their investments in weapons manufacturers & defense contractors, companies such as Lockheed Martin, are fueling the genocide," SJP added. "As we begin our new semester, students in Gaza have no universities to return to. Instead of listening to the student body, Columbia University is doubling down. We will not stop and we will not rest until Columbia divests from apartheid and genocide. This is just the beginning."
Former Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation last month, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.
An illegal tent encampment was set up on campus by anti-Israel protesters on April 17, setting off a trend that engulfed campuses across the nation.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
Before that, the Chabad rabbi of Columbia University and a group of Jewish students were forced to leave the university campus for their own safety during a pro-Hamas demonstration.
Also in August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes.”