The police removed anti-Israel demonstrators from Columbia University in New York City’s campus on Thursday, after the students had set up a camp on a lawn.
The President of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, sent a letter to all students saying that “extraordinary measures” were needed “because this is an extraordinary circumstance.”
Shafik stated that he had authorized the New York Police Department, out of a concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus to start clearing the encampment set up by the students early Wednesday morning from the South Lawn at Morningside Campus.
A video from the campus shows officers loading dozens of protesters into police buses.
Since early Wednesday morning, dozens of protesters have camped in tents on the school grounds. They are calling for Columbia University to divest from companies with ties to Israel. Shafik was testifying on Capitol Hill about antisemitism that exists on Columbia’s Campus.
The university only allowed ID holders on campus in anticipation of any unrest related to Shafikâs testimony.
Shafik stated in his message that the people who set up the camp “violated an extensive list of rules and policy.”
Shafik said that, according to the university, multiple notices were sent to the students involved. The students rejected the university’s efforts to rectify the situation.
Shafik stated, “This is an extremely challenging time and I regret taking these steps.” “I urge us to all show compassion, and to remember the values that bring us together as Columbia’s community: empathy and respect.”
