Mother Jones; Stephanie Keith/Getty
On Friday evening, dozens of student activists at Columbia University started another tent encampment on the campus, in an effort to disrupt the university’s upcoming alumni weekend.
As Israel’s ground invasion of Rafah continues, the protesters say a new tent village—like the one that garnered national headlines before police brutally cleared it away—is necessary to call attention to the role of the United States in Israel’s war on Gaza and what the students see as the university’s complicity in Israeli abuses. Last week, Israel’s airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians reportedly near camps designated as safe evacuation zones.
“This encampment is in response to the death and destruction that we are seeing in Gaza, specifically in Rafah,” Layla, a protester and Columbia student who did not give their last name for fear of retribution, said. “We feel this is completely unacceptable—and we are calling out Columbia for its complicity in genocide.”
New encampment happening now at Columbia University: pic.twitter.com/Mz4zWyK0vw
— Najib | نجيب (@Jib821) May 31, 2024
In April, protesters at Columbia created a Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Columbia’s lawn outside the library, pitching tents and raising Palestinian flags. The protest coincided with the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, testifying before Congress about antisemitism. The New York Police Department cleared the encampment. National headlines and days of tense standoffs followed. In an escalation, protesters took over Hamilton Hall—the site of past campus occupations—leading to a clash and arrests as police cleared the building.
A drone was just flying low over the encampment. About half the tents of this encampment were cleared. Member of Public Safety could be seen shouting at protestors about their encampment. Here’s a shot of empty tents getting cleared out. pic.twitter.com/N5X5IVg8CH
— Najib | نجيب (@Jib821) June 1, 2024
Students have continued to call for Columbia to divest its endowment from financial investments related to Israel. Protesters at the encampment said they hoped a new protest during this weekend would push alumni to not donate to the university until it divests.
