Columbia University is yet another American institution of higher ed that has allowed anti-semitism to flourish on its campus.
The suit alleges that Columbia has not substantially intervened to combat the Jewish hate that has exploded on campus since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.
Now, Columbia is investigating a student event held on Sunday, titled “Resistance 101,” where speakers expressed support for Hamas terrorists and encouraged students to back “armed resistance” against Israel.
The event was led by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine and the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace, which were suspended from campus for violating university protest policies.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports:
During the event, speakers repeatedly backed Palestinian “resistance,” which in their view included open support for Hamas. One of the speakers, Khaled Barakat, a Palestinian writer and activist, referred to his “friends and brothers in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP,” according to a video of the entire event posted on X, formerly Twitter, by user Stu Smith.
“When they see students organizing outside Palestine, they really feel that they are being backed as a resistance,” said Barakat, who is based in Canada. “Your work is so important to the resistance in Gaza.”
Other speakers at the event also backed Palestinian terror groups. Some participants attended the event in person while others spoke via videoconference. It wasn’t clear from the video how many students attended. A representative of National Students for Justice in Palestine was also at the event.
Here is my recording of the “Resistance 101” event hosted by Columbia University Apartheid Divest which features speakers from Within Our Lifetime, Masar Badil, and Samidoun.
In a world where radicalism thrives on college campuses, I believe in radical transparency. pic.twitter.com/jRuSaY1VOq
— Stu (@thestustustudio) March 25, 2024
Charlotte Kates, Barakat’s wife, said, “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas.”
During the event, which was attended both in-person and virtually, @SamidounPP coordinator Charlotte Kates boasted, “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas.”
(h/t @thestustustudio for recording and publishing the video) pic.twitter.com/R156X8LrJG— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 28, 2024
Further, Kates encouraged attendees to show support for “Palestinian armed resistance” at demonstrations and backed the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on civilians.
1. Watch this footage from “Resistance 101” at @Columbia.
2. Read the thread I wrote about this event.
3. Tell everyone you know. pic.twitter.com/wgRjxHCQes
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) March 25, 2024
“The action that the Palestinian resistance undertook on the 7th of October was an earth shattering undertaking. They actually took the necessary action and they took an action that they understood is necessary,” Kates said while calling Hamas terror tunnels and weapons production a “tremendous achievement.”
Barakat praised the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s terrorism during the 1960s and 1970s, specifically praising the terror group for hijacking airplanes, which “introduced the Palestinian questions to the world.”
Although the event was originally scheduled to take place at Columbia’s Barnard College, the event was moved to Columbia’s “Q House,” an “LGBTQ+ special interest community at Columbia University,” according to an internal email obtained by the Free Beacon. “This location change is due to Columbia University continuing to repress Palestinian students and the allies of the Palestinian struggle for liberation on campus,” read the email, which was addressed to “comrades.”
A Columbia spokeswoman said the university is “aware of an unsanctioned, unapproved event that took place last night” at a “residence.” Kates and Barakat addressed attendees via Zoom, while Kiswani attended in person.
“Columbia canceled the event, denying requests to use university space, as did Barnard,” the spokeswoman told the Free Beacon. “Despite this, the event organizers held the event in a residence with an online option.”
“We are investigating this matter and will not tolerate violations of university policy,” the spokeswoman said.
