As police officers guarded the wrought iron gates protecting Columbia University’s main campus on Tuesday evening, checking for student identification cards, a group gathered around a stone dais at the center of the quad.
Roughly 400 students held Palestinian flags and handmade signs.
Protesters took turns speaking into a microphone, criticizing the Israel-Hamas war, but also their own school over its decision to suspend two pro-Palestinian student groups through the end of the semester.
“We’ve said it before, that our voices are louder and more powerful than the money that you receive, Columbia,” said Mohsen Mahdawi, a student and Palestinian refugee.
Following their suspension, the groups released a joint statement on Instagram, accusing the university of “selective censorship” of pro-Palestinian groups and calling the move “an attack on free speech to distract from and enable Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.”
Persons:
“ We’ve, ”, Mohsen Mahdawi
Organizations:
Columbia, Justice, Jewish, Peace
Locations:
Columbia, Israel, New York City, Palestine