Several dozen anti-war student protesters gathered outside Columbia University and Barnard College in New York on Thursday to protest against the expulsion of two students who interrupted a class on Israel last month.
Wearing keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestinians, students chanted a series of anti-war slogans amid a heavy New York police department (NYPD) presence outside the sister schools, where only students and faculty with ID cards are allowed in.
“Free, free Palestine!” they yelled as some held up handwritten signs that read: “No more Zionist occupation” and “Reinstate our students now!” Others yelled: “Don’t cross the picket line! We must honor Palestine! Students, students, you will rise! Gaza is by your side!”
Thursday’s protest came after a sit-in by anti-war students at a Barnard College building on Wednesday evening to protest against the two students’ expulsion.
Tensions across Columbia and Barnard have been simmering – and periodically erupting – since last spring’s anti-war campus protests when students demanded American universities divest from Israel.