OOPS: Disruptive Pro-Palestine Protest In Columbia Does NOT Go According To Plan
It was meant to disrupt the lives of OTHER people, not the lives of the anonymous protesters
The bully tactics that worked so effectively in the Biden years are not producing the same results in 2025. Times have changed, and the protesters got caught flat-footed.
More than half of Biden’s FBI was mobilized to investigate everyone within 1000 yards of the Capitol on January 6th, but during their campaign to the White House, his Veep was actively fundraising to raise bail for ‘protesters’ who rioted and burned their way through the 2020 ‘summer of love’. When the ‘River-To-The-Sea’ people started marching after the 10/7 massacre in Israel, students rallied to the cause, in the streets and on campus at schools around the country. It escalated quickly, some bringing tents to ‘occupy’ that looked suspiciously like they had been purchased in bulk by some organizer with deep pockets, and then moved on to extended standoffs where they took control of buildings at different schools.
Fast forward to 2025. Agitators are dusting off the same tactic, wearing masks and taking over public buildings, including schools. Only this time, Merrick Garland is no longer the AG, and schools are still stinging from having grants withheld for looking the other way the LAST time this happened.
Here’s how that story unfolded, as shared on social media.
Early on, they broke into the library. Public safety officers attempted to prevent them, without success.
Hearing reports of plans to increase public safety presence in Milstein Library @BarnardCollege. I sincerely hope that protestors don’t try to disrupt everyone’s studying during Reading Week.
We all remember what happened last time. pic.twitter.com/32Abbk3Wri
— Shoshana Aufzien🎗️ (@shoshanaaufzien) May 7, 2025
They took over the library as students are preparing for finals.
More student protesters fighting with Public Safety officers as they take over library pic.twitter.com/vZbJHJ7N95
— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) May 7, 2025
Was it explicitly racist and genocidal? Well, yeah. It was:
BREAKING: Public Safety officers are standing by. Protesters are chanting “min el-maiyeh lel mayieh, Falastin arabieh” (“from the river to the sea, Palestine will be Arab”). They’re draping banners from the bookshelves, distributing stickers and pamphlets glorifying Oct 7, and… pic.twitter.com/MPeQ6O0gRA
— Shoshana Aufzien🎗️ (@shoshanaaufzien) May 7, 2025
Trashing the place:
Watch this entitled brat vandalize the @Columbia library – without a single thought or care for the wage-earning custodians who will inevitably be called in to clean up this appalling damage. pic.twitter.com/wJgGTfbWpY
— Columbia Jewish Alumni Assoc. (@CU_JewishAlumni) May 7, 2025
Anti-Israel extremists stormed Columbia’s main library during finals, disrupting studies and intimidating students—especially Jews—with signs glorifying terrorists.@Columbia did the right thing to bring in the police to enforce the law and restore a calm learning environment… pic.twitter.com/68Qm319R9Q
— Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee (@AJCCEO) May 8, 2025
Protesters occupying Butler Library continue to chant “globalize the intifada” and “there is only one solution, intifada revolution.” pic.twitter.com/espAxi452D
— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) May 7, 2025
When it was clear the police had been called and arrests would be made, they made for the exits.
Of course, when public safety required them to identify themselves, that was a problem that led to instances of physical violence.
NYPD shows up…
NYPD entering Columbia’s Butler Library:pic.twitter.com/J8RgKVI7lb
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) May 7, 2025
Providing a nice bus ride downtown…
NYPD bus full of arrestees departs 114th St. We’re grateful that @Columbia called the NYPD and resolved this relatively quickly before it got any more dangerous. pic.twitter.com/39lR6a6Vpj
— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) May 8, 2025
Acting President Shipman has already made a public statement:
Yesterday's building takeover put students, Public Safety, and the entire Columbia community at harm, and was completely unacceptable. Watch @Columbia Acting President Claire Shipman's excellent statement on yesterday's events in Butler Library here. pic.twitter.com/PPj1fOjZBo
— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) May 8, 2025
Students caught up in an issue they had no part of thought it was handled well:
And Marco Rubio had something to say about the matter:
And for anyone who thinks Rubio may be over-reacting here, let me remind you what the stated objectives of some of these agitators REALLY are:
Temple University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) President Rishi Arun during a Panel Honoring Cop-Killer Mumia Abu-Jamal: It Is Our Job to Destroy the U.S.; Samidoun Official Mohammed Khatib: Liberating Palestine Will Help Dismantle America pic.twitter.com/i3DszQMEzm
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 6, 2025