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Why Jewish Students at Columbia Were Just Urged to Go Home

The anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist climate on and near Columbia University has gotten so out of hand that officials from the university said students on Monday, the first day of Passover, can attend classes virtually, with the possibility of taking exams remotely as well. Video of some of the “protests” shows these crowds cheering on Hamas and calling for violence.   

“Al-Qassam [Brigades], make us proud, take another soldier out,” the pro-terrorist demonstrators chanted Friday night, referring to the military wing of Hamas. “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground. Go Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets too.”

The climate led a rabbi affiliated with the University to strongly urge Jewish students to “return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.” 

He added: “It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus.”  

The demonstrations in and around campus have been met with bipartisan condemnation.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told CNN in a statement on Sunday. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he was “horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus” and noted there’s been an “increased presence of officers” near Columbia “to protect students and all New Yorkers on nearby public streets.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chair of the House Education Committee, warned leaders from the University in a letter on Sunday about the consequences of failing to take action. 

“Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified,” Foxx wrote.