Anti-Israel activists disrupted a speech given by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at Princeton University, shouting expletives at him and pulling a fire alarm to prevent his address, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Bennett's speech was sponsored by the Princeton Center for Jewish Life and was given on Monday. As he attempted to speak, about a dozen protesters began shouting, "We charge you with genocide! You’re a f-ng war criminal!" They also held up posters containing blood-red handprints.
The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) organization's New Jersey chapter posted footage of the protest on its Instagram account. The group posted a second video of the fire alarm being pulled with the caption, "GENOCIDE ALARM ACTIVATED."
After being escorted out of the venue, the disruptors joined a slightly larger protest outside the building where antisemitic chants were made, including calls for Jews to "go back to Europe" and calling Jews "inbred swine." In addition, protestors made inverted triangles with their hands at Jewish students, invoking the inverted red triangle that has become a symbol of the Hamas terrorist organization
Multiple protestors wore masks to conceal their identities.
Bennett's speech did not take place. Another video from the incident shows attendees singing a well-known Hebrew song based on a saying of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the lyrics of which mean, 'The entire world is a very narrow bridge, but the most important thing is to have no fear.' Attendees also sang the song 'Dayenu' from the Passover Seder, which will be held on Saturday night and Sunday night.
The Princeton administration stated that the incident would be investigated. Several Jewish students wrote to university president Christopher Eisgruber demanding that the school apologize to Bennett, discipline the students involved in the disruption and antisemitic protest, ban the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, and ban the wearing of masks
Last week, Eisgruber confirmed that Princeton had seen its federal funding cut after the Trump administration halted dozens of research grants at the university. This followed a report in the Daily Caller that the administration is pausing $210 million in funding to Princeton University.
“Princeton has perpetuated racist and antisemitic policies,” said an administration official quoted in the report.