War in the Middle East
Demos at New York University: Rabbi warns Jewish students
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators chant slogans during a demonstration in New York (symbolic image). photo
© Yuki Iwamura/FR171758 AP/AP
Students at the renowned Columbia University have been demonstrating for Palestine and against Israel for days. Now a rabbi is sounding the alarm: Jews are no longer safe on campus.
After pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus of At Columbia University in New York, a rabbi has warned his Jewish students. As several US media outlets unanimously reported on Sunday afternoon (local time), Rabbi Elie Buechler wrote: “It pains me deeply to have to tell you that I strongly recommend that you return home as quickly as possible and stay there until the “The situation on campus and in the surrounding area has dramatically improved.”
On Sunday night there were violent anti-Semitic statements during the demonstration, as numerous videos on the X platform (formerly Twitter) show. In one, participants can be heard shouting: “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground.” In another recording, the Jewish students are asked to go back to Poland. From the rabbi’s perspective, the events made it clear that neither the university nor the police could guarantee the safety of Jewish students.
The police had already cleared a pro-Palestinian tent camp on campus on Thursday and arrested around 100 participants. Despite repeated requests, they refused to dismantle the camp, a police spokesman said at a press conference. The daughter of prominent Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was reportedly among those arrested.
Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik herself asked the police for help. “I have taken this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” she wrote in a statement. “The people who set up the camp violated a long list of rules and policies.” According to reports, the situation has worsened since then.
US President Joe Biden also commented on the events, but did not mention Columbia University by name. “Even in the past few days we have experienced harassment and calls for violence against Jews,” it said in a statement. “This blatant anti-Semitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on campus or anywhere in our country.” We have to raise our voices against anti-Semitism, said Biden. “Silence is complicity.”