Anti-Israel activists staged demonstrations at Columbia University and New York University on Wednesday, as Israel commemorated three years since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Approximately 100 demonstrators assembled at Columbia University, according to reports, chanting slogans including “Globalize the intifada," “No peace on stolen land," and “Every fascist state will fall." Protesters were also heard shouting “Palestine is Arab" in Arabic.
A separate demonstration took place at Washington Square Park, where more than 100 participants joined a protest organized by New York University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
The gathering was part of the organization's ongoing “Rage Week" campaign against the Israel-Gaza war.
According to the New York Post, protesters wearing keffiyehs carried banners demanding that NYU “divest" and close its campus in Tel Aviv.
Participants chanted “Long live the intifada" and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," a slogan widely interpreted as calling for the elimination of Israel.
“Glory to the martyrs and victory to the resistance. Intifada intifada!" one SJP member shouted, urging those present to “keep the intifada alive."
The demonstrations took place against the backdrop of ongoing controversy surrounding antisemitism at major American universities since Hamas's October 7 attack.
Columbia University has been at the center of that controversy, becoming a prominent example of the surge in campus antisemitism reported across the United States.
In May 2025, masked anti-Israel demonstrators occupied the university's Butler Library. Columbia subsequently suspended and imposed other disciplinary sanctions on dozens of individuals involved in the incident.
The university also faced significant pressure from the Trump administration, which accused Columbia of failing to adequately address antisemitism on campus.
As part of a wider campaign targeting universities and their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, the administration froze $400 million in research funding to Columbia. The university and the administration later reached a legal settlement.
NYU has similarly seen widespread antisemitic activity following the October 7 massacre.
In July 2024, the university reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Jewish students who accused NYU of failing to protect them from antisemitism on campus.