Violent clashes were recorded last night (Thursday) at Columbia University in New York, after about a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters broke into the main library on campus - and barricaded themselves in the building.
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According to reports in New York, the rioters took over the library and vandalized it by spray-painting anti-Israel graffiti.
The university administration demanded that the protesters leave the building, and when they refused, the New York Police Department was called in. The officers who arrived on the scene arrested at least 78 protesters, most of them masked.
After the arrests, hundreds took to the streets chanting against Israel and the university administration.
The protesters reiterated their call for the university to cease cooperation with Israeli entities, grant amnesties to students and faculty members who are undergoing disciplinary proceedings - and remove police and enforcement forces from campus.
Mayor Eric Adams said: "We will protect the freedom of peaceful protest, but we will not allow lawlessness.".
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would reexamine the visas of the Colombian rioters, whom he called "Hamas-supporting brats." He added that the rioters "are no longer welcome in our great nation.".
Tonight's protest comes a day after Columbia University announced that it would lay off 180 employees and academic staff, following the US government's announcement of a halt to $400 million in grants due to manifestations of anti-Semitism on campuses.
In a statement, the leaders of Columbia University stated that the Trump administration's cuts, after the university's leaders did not meet the administration's demands for changes in the fight against anti-Semitism, will lead to the layoffs of at least 180 employees.
USA: Dozens of pro-Palestinian students were arrested after taking over a library at Columbia University in New York, barricading themselves in it, vandalizing equipment and painting anti-Israel slogans on the library walls.@nathanguttman pic.twitter.com/Ne6raSy16u
— Here News (@kann_news) May 8, 2025
Sasha Roitman, CEO of the Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism: "The takeover of the library building at Columbia University by pro-Palestinian rioters, which also included calls to harm and murder Jews, is an outrageous anti-Semitic event, but unfortunately - this is a painful trend that is repeating itself.".
""Since October 7, a wave of anti-Semitism, violence, terrorism, and hate crimes has swept through campuses, universities, and colleges, which have transformed from institutions of learning and imparting knowledge into arenas of battle. Our investigation revealed that in 2024, 1,069 reported anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in institutions of higher education around the world, and academic campuses have become hotbeds of anti-Semitic activity. The United States was particularly affected, with the number of anti-Semitic incidents on campuses in the country in 2024 jumping by more than 1,20% compared to 2023, and by 1,98% compared to 2022.
""US authorities and university administrators must act immediately to prevent the negative drift in educational institutions that is degenerating into hatred of Jews and poses a threat to the lives of Jewish communities in the Diaspora.".
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