The White House condemned “in the strongest terms” the ongoing anti-Israel protests at colleges across the U.S., including at Columbia University in New York City, on Sunday, saying they have no place anywhere in the U.S.
“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus or anywhere in the United States of America,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said. “And echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms.”
Anti-Israel agitators occupied the university’s south lawn for hours on Wednesday while the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, testified before congress about the antisemitism on Columbia’s campus.
An encampment with tents was set up on the main lawn of campus, and the protests continued into the night and for days.
Protests have called for an intifada and the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One Jewish Columbia University student was even told to “kill yourself” and repeatedly kicked in the stomach during the protests.
Tensions continued to build, and on Thursday, the New York City Police Department arrested 108 people who refused to leave the encampment, each of whom was issued a summons for trespassing.
Fox News learned that the university began handing out suspension notices to students who were arrested on Thursday.
