Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus protests and occupations during the Gaza war

For broader coverage of this topic, see 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.

Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus protests and occupations during the Gaza war
Part of the pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, the Gaza war protests in the United States, and student activism at Columbia University
A scene of the second campus encampment, several days after the NYPD arrested students and removed the first encampment
Date	April 17 – June 2, 2024 (2024-04-17 – 2024-06-02) (1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days)
Location	Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States 40°48′27″N 73°57′43″W
Caused by	Gaza war Opposition to Columbia University's investments in Israel
Goals	Columbia University's divestment from Israel
Methods	Protests Occupation Civil disobedience Picketing
Resulted in	Columbia University maintains financial ties with Israeli companies Some student protesters suspended Multiple protesters injured and/or arrested Resignation of Minouche Shafik
Parties
Pro-Palestinian groups: Gaza Solidarity Encampment: Columbia University Apartheid Divest Students for Justice in Palestine Jewish Voice for Peace Supporting groups: Within Our Lifetime Neturei Karta ANSWER Coalition Palestinian Youth Movement People's Forum PAL-Awda Uptown for Palestine Local and school authorities: New York City Police Department Strategic Response Group Columbia University administration Pro-Israel counterprotesters: StandWithUs Students Supporting Israel New York Hostage and Missing Families Forum Smaller groups of counterprotesters
Lead figures
No centralized leadership Mahmoud Khalil Mohsen Mahdawi Eric Adams Edward Caban Minouche Shafik
Casualties
Injuries	37 protesters injured 9 protesters hospitalized
Arrested	232 protesters arrested

A series of protests, encampments, and occupations by pro-Palestine students occurred at Columbia University in New York City during the Gaza war, in the context of the broader Gaza war protests in the United States. The first encampment began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established approximately 50 tents on the East Butler Lawn of the university's Morningside campus, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and demanding that the university divest from Israel. The encampments at Columbia led to the proliferation of Palestine solidarity encampments at over 180 universities around the world.

The first encampment was dismantled when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to enter the campus on April 18 and conduct mass arrests. Students from the large crowd that had gathered around the lawn immediately occupied the adjacent lawn, establishing a new encampment the next day. The administration then entered into negotiations with protesters, which failed on April 29 and resulted in the suspension of student protesters. The next day, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, calling it Hind's Hall in honor of Hind Rajab. After less than 24 hours, the NYPD were summoned a second time. Hundreds of NYPD officers broke into and cleared the hall, arrested more than 100 protesters, and fully dismantled the camp. The arrests marked the first time Columbia allowed police to suppress campus protests since the 1968 demonstrations against the Vietnam War. On May 31, a third campus encampment was briefly established in response to an alumni reunion.

As a result of the protests, Columbia University switched to hybrid learning (incorporating more online learning) for the rest of the semester. The protests encouraged other actions at multiple universities. Several antisemitic incidents took place near the protests. Organizers have said they were the work of outside agitators and non-students. Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have said that incidents of antisemitism by protesters are not representative of the protest movement. On May 6, the school administration canceled the university-wide graduation ceremony scheduled for May 15. Shafik announced her resignation from the presidency on August 14. In 2025, the Trump administration threatened to cut Columbia's federal funding and instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and deport international students who participated in the protests.

Background

Gaza war demonstrations at Columbia University

Further information: Gaza war protests in the United States and Student activism at Columbia University

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students have staged demonstrations at Columbia University during the Gaza war. Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia have said that their movement is anti-Zionist, and protests at Columbia have been organized by anti-Zionist groups.

The encampment

Stanford University students established the first pro-Palestine university encampment on October 20, 2023. It lasted more than 100 days. The first encampment at Columbia University was established on East Butler Lawn at 4 am on April 17, 2024.

At the entrance to the encampment on Columbia's east lawn was posted "Gaza Solidarity Encampment Community Guidelines". Some of these guidelines were to not take pictures of people without their permission, not to use drugs or alcohol in the encampment, and not to engage with counter-protesters. Speaking to the press was allowed only between 2 and 4 pm. Other signs on the perimeter said "Demilitarize education" and "Globalize the Intifada". Students created their own chants and passed out flyers that read "Do you feel safe sending your child to a school which gives up its students to the police?" There was a buffet-style meal service with abundant food.

Student protesters called on Columbia to financially divest from any company with business ties to the Israeli government, including Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Participants

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University in April 2024

The campus occupation was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student-led coalition of over 120 groups; Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP); and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). These groups have participated in New York City's pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the October 2023 start of the Gaza war.

Local group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) organized protests around the campus perimeter in support of the encampment, clashing with the NYPD. Other groups protesting outside campus included Neturei Karta, a Jewish anti-Zionist sect, Uptown for Palestine, and a coalition composed of Palestinian Youth Movement, The People's Forum, ANSWER Coalition, and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-Awda.

Groups of pro-Israel counterprotesters were also present outside the university and were generally much smaller, with the exception of an April 26 march outside campus organized by StandWithUs and right-wing Christian Zionists that drew hundreds of people.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD)

The formation of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of 80+ student groups, was announced on November 14, 2023, four days after the university banned chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). The statement announcing CUAD's formation listed six demands in addition to economic divestment and academic boycott: call on government officials to call for an immediate ceasefire; divest from companies benefiting from Israeli apartheid; cancel the opening of the Tel Aviv Global Center; cease the dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University; protect academic freedom and stop vilifying pro-Palestinian activism; and reinstate SJP and JVP. Among the over 120 student groups that eventually joined CUAD were the Anthropology Graduate Student Association, Caribbean Students Association, and the campus chapters of Amnesty International, Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Young Democratic Socialists of America.

On November 10, 2023, Columbia senior administrator Gerald Rosberg announced the suspension of SJP and JVP, citing a violation of university rules after an "unauthorized event": a student walkout and die-in on November 9. The suspension came after senior administrators had quietly revised policies cited in the suspension on October 24, adding a new section to the University Event Policy webpage that asserted the administration's right to "regulate the time, place and manner of certain forms of public expression" without input from the University Senate. The suspension furthered conflicts between faculty and administration; the university claimed that a person at the event shouted antisemitic epithets. According to The New York Times, a "student on the outskirts of a Nov. 9 protest had shouted antisemitic curses", but "he was not affiliated with any of the student groups, and was shouted down by the pro-Palestinian protesters."

CUAD demanded that Columbia stop investing its $14.8 billion endowment in companies supporting Israel's government, dismantle a university outpost in Tel Aviv, and end collaboration with Israeli universities. On October 9, 2024, Sharon Otterman of The New York Times reported that CUAD became more "hard-line in its rhetoric" over time, saying on October 8 that it supported "liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance", that it would no longer "pander to liberal media to make the movement for liberation palatable", and that it withdrew an apology it had made for Khymani James, who said "Zionists don't deserve to live."

Timeline

October 9, 2023: Statement of Solidarity

On October 9, 2023, the Columbia chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) published an open letter expressing "full solidarity with Palestinian resistance against over 75 years of Israeli settler-colonialism and apartheid" and calling for a protest at 4:30 p.m. on October 12.

October 10, 2023: Students Supporting Israel vigil

A vigil for Israel held by SSI at Columbia University October 10, 2023

Students Supporting Israel (SSI) held a rally and vigil on campus with around 100 people.

October 12, 2023: First protest

In anticipation of the planned protest, Columbia University's administration announced late on October 11 that, starting the next day at 6 a.m., it would restrict access to its Morningside campus to Columbia University ID holders only. The afternoon of October 12, hundreds of Columbia affiliates gathered for the SJP-JVP protest; several supporters of Israel gathered to counter-protest.

October 24, 2023: University administration quietly changes University Event Policy

After the October 12 SJP-JVP protest, senior administrators quietly revised policies cited in the suspension on October 24, adding a new section to the University Event Policy webpage that declared the administration's right to "regulate the time, place and manner of certain forms of public expression" without input from the University Senate.

November 1, 2023: Walkout of class taught by Hillary Clinton; Task-Force on Antisemitism announced

There was a student walkout of a class taught by Hillary Clinton on November 1 after she made remarks opposing a ceasefire.

Also on November 1, Columbia President Minouche Shafik, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury, and Teacher's College President Thomas Bailey announced the establishment of a Task Force on Antisemitism. The establishment of the task force was criticized by some, such as James Schamus, who said it did not define antisemitism, and by some who questioned why no similar task force was established to address other forms of discrimination.

The administration also announced a Doxxing Resource Group in response to doxing trucks hired by Accuracy in Media to display their messages around campus.

November 9, 2023: Walkout and art installation at Low Plaza

On November 9, SJP and JVP hosted a walkout, protest, art installation, and die-in at the steps of Low Memorial Library. At the protest, student organizer Mohsen Mahdawi told his story of growing up in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, of witnessing his 12-year-old best friend killed in front of him by an Israeli soldier and of being shot in the leg himself at 15 years old, also by an Israeli soldier.

There were pro-Israel counter-protesters, whom Mahdawi addressed: "Even though you're on the other side, we beg you, we cry, we ask you to see the humanity in us, to join us in our fight for freedom, for justice, for humanity."

An unidentified outside agitator interrupted the protest, approaching it from the outside screaming anti-Jewish and anti-Black slurs and profanities. According to The New York Times, a "student on the outskirts of a Nov. 9 protest had shouted antisemitic curses", but "he was not affiliated with any of the student groups, and was shouted down by the pro-Palestinian protesters", including Mahdawi.

November 10, 2023: University administration suspends Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace

On November 10, Columbia senior administrator Gerald Rosberg announced the suspension of SJP and JVP, citing a violation of university rules after the November 9 protest, which he described as an "unauthorized event" that included "threatening rhetoric and intimidation". The suspension came after senior administrators quietly revised policies cited in the suspension on October 24, adding a new section to the University Event Policy webpage that declared the administration's right to "regulate the time, place and manner of certain forms of public expression" without input from the University Senate. The claim that the "threatening rhetoric and intimidation" came from SJP and JVP was debunked by journalists and retracted by Rosberg privately in a University Senate Plenary on November 17, 2023, but Columbia did not reverse the suspension of SJP and JVP and never issued a public statement to correct and clarify the matter. The suspension furthered conflicts between faculty and administration.

In April 2025, Marco Rubio cited the phrase "threatening rhetoric and intimidation" verbatim, apparently drawing from the statement Columbia did not retract, in a memo delivered in support of his case against Mohsen Mahdawi.

November 14, 2023: establishment of Columbia University Apartheid Divest

At a protest in response to the suspension of SJP and JVP, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) was announced as a coalition of over 80 student groups (later, over 120 student groups). The statement announcing CUAD's formation listed six demands in addition to economic divestment and academic boycott: (1) call on government officials to call for an immediate ceasefire; (2) divest from companies benefiting from Israeli apartheid; (3) cancel the opening of the Tel Aviv Global Center; (4) cease the dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University; (5) protect academic freedom and stop vilifying pro-Palestinian activism; and (6) reinstate SJP and JVP.

November 30, 2023: "Joy is canceled" protest during the Tree Lighting ceremony

The recently formed CUAD held a protest during the annual Tree Lighting ceremony on College Walk. The protesters chanted phrases such as "There’s no room for celebration, end Israeli occupation" between songs, but—at the request of the Columbia College Student Council (CCSC), which had been in communication with CUAD—it did not otherwise interrupt the various student performances. A CCSC representative said: "we expressed that we completely understood and supported their right to protest, but wanted to respect the work and time our student performers put into their set."

The "Joy is canceled" protest followed a CUAD protest earlier in the day outside a SIPA event at Low Memorial Library called "The War in Gaza: Constructive Campus Conversations" with Keren Yarhi-Milo and Amaney Jamal.

January 19, 2024: former Israeli soldiers attack demonstrators

On January 19, 2024, students at a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus were sprayed with a chemical that they alleged to be Skunk, a foul-smelling spray usually used as crowd control by the Israel Defense Forces, causing various injuries. At least eight students sought medical attention. In response, demonstrators organized a protest outside the university on February 2 and SJP and JVP published a report stating that the perpetrators were former IDF soldiers and current Columbia students. Two former Israeli soldiers were accused of attacking the pro-Palestinian demonstrators with noxious chemicals in what the interim provost Dennis Mitchell said appeared to be "serious crimes, possibly hate crimes". The New York City Police Department announced that it would investigate the event as a potential hate crime.

The attack's perpetrators were initially placed on interim suspension before later being suspended through May 2025. In April, one of the perpetrators, who had been suspended the previous month, sued the university under the pseudonym John Doe, claiming that he had actually sprayed non-toxic "gag gift" fart sprays he had purchased from Amazon, adding that pro-Palestine students doxxed him in retaliation. The suspended student alleged that Columbia subjected him to "biased misconduct proceedings" and that he had used fart sprays such as "Liquid Ass", not harmful chemicals. After a joint investigation by the NYPD and Columbia, the school concluded that the chemical substance was a "non-toxic, legal, novelty item".

February 2, 2024: Rosenbury's inauguration interrupted by protesters

Ten student protesters were removed from Laura Rosenbury's inauguration as the ninth president of Barnard College, as, one by one, they interrupted her speech and were removed. Rosenbury told the protesters they were free to speak as they were each escorted out. The event was attended by a dozen protesters and a slim crowd after pro-Palestinian student groups called for a boycott of what CUAD called "the inauguration of new Barnard president, defender of Zionism and enemy of academic freedom". As the protesters spoke, audio was cut from the live stream, and later video too.

February 19, 2024: “Interim Policy on Safe Demonstrations”

On February 19, 2024, the Columbia administration revised the policy it had unilaterally implemented in October 2023 before suspending SJP and JVP in November 2023. The revised "Interim Policy on Safe Demonstrations" considered consultation with the University Senate's executive committee.

March 4, 2024: Columbia's Task Force on Antisemitism's first report calls for increased restrictions on protests

Columbia's Task Force on Antisemitism—co-chaired by Esther Fuchs, Nicholas Lemann, and David Schizer—released its first report, in which it did not define antisemitism but called for more restrictions on protests.

March 24, 2024: Resistance 101 panel

On March 24, 2024, students held a "Resistance 101" panel featuring speakers from Within Our Lifetime, Masar Badil, and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Network, as well as Khaled Barakat, allegedly a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, though Barakat denied that. Columbia's newly hired Chief Operating Officer Cas Halloway released a statement declaring that Columbia "immediately notified law enforcement and engaged an outside firm led by experienced former law enforcement investigators to conduct an investigation". For their alleged involvement in the panel, six students were suspended and given notice that they would be evicted from Columbia housing in 24 hours. The law firm Debevoise & Plimpton investigated the event.

April 4, 2024: All out for al-Shifa

On April 4, CUAD and SWC-UAW organized a protest after Israeli military's second siege of Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. In anticipation of the demonstration, Holloway emailed dozens of student leaders of groups signed onto the CUAD coalition to say that the planned protest would violate the "Interim Policy on Safe Demonstrations" as it had not been registered in compliance with the policy.

April 17–21, 2024: first encampment ("Gaza Solidarity Encampment"), eviction, and second encampment

Student Protests at Columbia, April 2024

April 17 (First Encampment)

April 19 (Second Encampment)

April 29 (Hamilton Hall Occupation)

On April 17, beginning around 4 am, about 70 protesters sat in tents bearing the Palestinian flag on the East Butler Lawn. Protesters put up banners reading "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" and "Liberated Zone". A substantial NYPD presence was noted outside the university as soon as the encampment was established. Activity in the encampment included a teach-in and film screening. At about 10 am, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, an event that had been planned weeks before. She had previously been invited to attend the November 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism but had declined, citing a scheduling conflict.

NYPD pictured during their arrest of approximately 100 students who remained inside the original East Lawn encampment. A crowd of protesters and student bystanders surround the lawn.

NYPD cleaning the original encampment on the East Lawn, shortly after the arrests

The next day, the Shafik-authorized New York City Police Department Strategic Response Group entered the encampment to arrest protesters as Columbia University employees cleared the tents. CUAD (Columbia University Apartheid Divest) said the university had dumped students' confiscated belongings in a nearby alley. Three students were suspended, including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar. After the NYPD appeared, a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters congregated to celebrate the university's response, waving American and Israeli flags. A protest on 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue formed, but dispersed to allow buses with detained protesters to exit.

Pro-Palestinian student protesters gathered on the opposite West lawn, the evening after the arrests.

Despite the dismantlement of the encampment, protesters soon moved to an adjacent lawn on campus, the West Lawn of the Butler Lawns, where they hoisted their banners and pitched several tents. Public intellectual and independent presidential candidate Cornel West appeared to show solidarity. A group protested outside the university's main entrance on 116th Street. Protesters on 116th Street and Broadway moved toward 120th Street after a man was taken into custody. All of the protesters the NYPD arrested were released by late evening.

Sit-in through the second day after arrests, with the East side of the lawn getting barricaded, to prevent reestablishment of the original encampment.

On April 19, protesters remained camped out on campus; SJP chapters at the University of North Carolina, Boston University, and Ohio State University, as well as the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee at Harvard University, announced rallies in solidarity with the Columbia protesters. Norman Finkelstein, an anti-Zionist political scientist and activist, appeared and gave a speech to protesters. A Muslim jummah prayer service and a Jewish Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service were held at the encampment in the afternoon and evening, respectively. On April 18, the university informed the student protesters who had been arrested that they were indefinitely suspended.

Six students who were wearing keffiyehs to the School of General Studies Gala in support of the 108 students arrested in connection with the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" said they were harassed and physically assaulted at the event.

During the weekend of April 20–21, public safety officers from the administration told WKCR-FM, which had been broadcasting information about the protest, to vacate its office due to an unspecified danger. Staff refused, saying they had a responsibility to broadcast information 24/7. WKCR later said it was a misunderstanding. Protesters also targeted some Jewish students with "antisemitic vitriol", leaving some Jewish students "fearful for their safety on the campus and its vicinity".

New tents added after the reinstatement of the encampment

On April 21, Elie Buechler, a rabbi associated with Columbia University's Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, recommended that Jewish students "return home as soon as possible and remain home", arguing that the ongoing campus occupation had "made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety". Footage of protests over the weekend showed some protesters using antisemitic language against Jewish students, and many Jewish students said they felt unsafe.

April 22–28, 2024: walkout, negotiations suspended, and counter-protests

The second encampment, which was larger than the initial one, held over 60 tents, with barricades isolating the encampment from pedestrians walking through the university's lawn.

Hundreds of Columbia faculty members walked out of classes to protest the university's response to the protest. Because of the protest, the university canceled classes on April 22, and then said it would switch to blended learning for the remainder of the semester. The Columbia Elections Board announced that a referendum on divestment from Israel, originally proposed by CUAD on March 3, 2024, had passed by a large margin, showing that Columbia's student body mostly supported the initiative. In the evening, the students celebrated a Seder on the first evening of Passover.

Signs at the second encampment, including one stating: "Welcome to the People's University for Palestine"

On April 23, A student organizer said that protesters were in negotiations with the university through a legal negotiator but declined to share details. Ben Chang, Columbia's spokesperson, said that organizers had met with university officials in the early morning to discuss the situation. Shafik issued a midnight deadline for protesters to either agree to vacate campus or face the university's consideration of "alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus". Jewish pro-Palestinian students held Passover Seder within the encampment.

Shortly after midnight on April 24, SJP reported that protesters had suspended negotiations because the university had threatened to call in the New York Army National Guard to clear them out, saying they would not return to the negotiating table until Columbia rescinded its threat. But the university said that "important progress" had been made in negotiations and that Shafik's original deadline would be extended by 48 hours, that the students had agreed to reduce the number of tents, and that they would ensure that protesters not affiliated with Columbia would leave campus. Protesters were seen taking down and moving some tents. Meanwhile, the NYPD dispersed about 100 protesters outside campus.

In the afternoon of April 24, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson gave a speech in front of Low Library condemning the protesters and calling for Shafik to resign. Some in attendance loudly booed him. During his speech, Johnson said that during the October 7 attack, "infants were cooked in ovens", an unsubstantiated claim. Later, he called on President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to quell the protests; White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied that such deployment is up to the governor of New York, not the president. The next day, Palestine Legal filed a Title VI suit with regard to suspended students. The Columbia Board of Trustees issued statements in affirmation of Shafik. The Columbia student senate held an emergency meeting with Shafik to consider censuring her.

On April 26, a United for Israel counter-march, organized by StandWithUs and some right-wing organizations, was held around Columbia and stopped at the gates. Some marchers harassed pro-Palestinian counter-protesters and targeted some counter-protesters inside the gates. U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman visited the encampment. Columbia library workers issued a statement condemning Shafik for deploying police and private security against the protesters. More than 1,000 pro-Israel protesters organized by the "New York Hostage and Missing Families Forum" rallied at 116th and Broadway. The University Senate announced plans to call for a censure vote against Shafik but decided instead to vote on a resolution expressing displeasure with her out of fear of ousting the president in a time of crisis.

Khymani James, a Columbia student who participated in the protest movement, was barred from campus after a video from January surfaced in which they said, "Zionists don’t deserve to live". Some protest groups condemned the comment, although one protest group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, retracted its condemnation in October 2024 and apologized to James, calling for violence against supporters of Israeli policy. The New York Times said the student's comments raised the question, "How much of the movement in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza is tainted by antisemitism?" On April 27, the student suspended for their "Zionists don't deserve to live" comment apologized. The NYPD said that outside agitators were trying to hijack the protests, and that they were ready to raid the campus if needed. The next day, the administration called for the protesters to leave, and said that bringing back the NYPD would be counterproductive.

April 29–May 2, 2024: "Hind's Hall" occupation of Hamilton Hall, subsequent raid, and arrests

Negotiations between protesters and the university came to a "dead end" on April 29. The administration threatened to suspend students still in the encampment by 2 pm. It also offered a partial amnesty deal. CUAD voted to stay in the encampment after the deadline, and SJP told members not to sign any administration deals. Faculty linked arms around the encampment before the deadline. Despite the threats, students stayed in the encampment and surrounding areas. Suspensions began later that day. Meanwhile, a Jewish student sued the university for failing to provide a safe environment, police set up barricades outside the university, and alumni wrote Shafik a letter asking her to clear the encampment.

In the early morning of April 30, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, breaking windows, and barricaded themselves inside. Protesters unfurled a banner purporting to rename the building "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. As a result, the campus was locked down and higher police presence was noted near campus; the NYPD and the university said they would not send police in. The administration threatened to expel students who participated in the hall takeover. Activist Lisa Fithian was spotted aiding protesters breaking into Hamilton Hall.

Late in the evening, a heavy riot police presence was seen outside the campus. The administration told students to shelter in place due to "heightened activity". The NYPD prepared to raid the campus after a letter from Shafik gave it permission. Protesters appeared undeterred, continuing chants. At around 9 pm, the NYPD entered campus with administration approval. The administration blamed protesters for escalating by taking Hamilton Hall. According to Shafik's letter to the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters requesting police intervention, someone hid in the building until it closed, then let others in. Columbia believed that while students were among those who entered, their leaders were unaffiliated with the university. Police used flash-bang grenades to breach the building and arrested more than 100 protesters. Officers were seen entering the building with weapons drawn, and a shot was fired inside the building. The district attorney's office said no one was injured and their Police Accountability Unit was reviewing the incident. By the end of the night, Hamilton Hall and the entire campus were cleared, including the encampment.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, 109 people were arrested at Columbia. In the letter to the deputy commissioner, Shafik requested an NYPD presence through at least May 17, two days after the scheduled commencement. On May 2, the NYPD announced that during arrests at Columbia, out of 112 people arrested, 32 were not affiliated with the school. Mayor Eric Adams said there was evidence that two outside agitators and "professionals", Lisa Fithian and the wife of Sami Al-Arian, had given students tactical knowledge and training to escalate the protests.

The actions taken against the demonstrators by the NYPD in riot armor while clearing Hamilton Hall inspired Macklemore's song "Hinds Hall", whose lyrics call the police "actors in badges". In June, the charges against most of the participants in the occupation of Hamilton Hall were dropped. Before and after the encampment, Jewish students sued the university, alleging civil rights and university policy violations due to harassment and abuse of Jewish students. One lawsuit was settled. Pro-Palestinian students also sued the university, claiming civil rights and university policy violations in connection with the university's actions against the protesters.

May 6–16, 2024: Graduation ceremony canceled and continued protests

Despite claims that the police sweep was done to ensure a main graduation commencement, especially as the class of 2024 had its high school commencement canceled due to COVID, the university decided on May 6 to cancel the main commencement, though the various colleges and schools of the university planned to hold separate commencements.

Small pro-Palestinian protests were held outside the homes of some Columbia University trustees on May 7. During one such protest, a pro-Israel man argued with some of the protesters before driving into the protest. The driver and a struck protester were both arrested and treated at the hospital for minor injuries.

On May 16, faculty, students and religious leaders held a "People's Graduation" ceremony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for students who were punished for participating in the encampment. Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah and Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary spoke at the event.

May 31–June 2, 2024: "Revolt for Rafah" alumni weekend encampment

On May 31, students regrouped and launched a third encampment. About 100 students participated in the protest, which was said to be a response to the Rafah offensive and a Washington Post article revealing that elites pressured Adams into sending the NYPD in during the second raid. Students said the encampment was only the first of a continued protest presence on the campus, remaining for alumni reunion weekend. By 7 pm, about two dozen students with ten tents had occupied part of the South Lawn during the university's alumni reunion. According to Columbia SJP, the protesters identify as "an autonomous group of Palestinian students". The encampment was dismantled on June 2, once the alumni weekend ended. The NYPD briefly entered the campus to document vandalism that took place.

August 8, 2024: Cas Holloway's apartment vandalized

Columbia Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway's apartment building was vandalized with red paint and crickets at 3 a.m. Several flyers, including a Wanted Poster with Holloway's picture on it, were posted nearby.

August 14, 2024: resignation of Minouche Shafik; Katrina Armstrong named interim president

Minouche Shafik suddenly resigned amid the turmoil on campus after 13 months and 13 days in office—the shortest tenure of any Columbia University president since 1801. Katrina Armstrong, who had been CEO of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, was appointed interim president, effective immediately.

August 25, 2024: Meta permanently deletes Columbia SJP's Instagram account

Meta permanently deleted Columbia SJP's Instagram account on August 25 when it had about 120,000 followers.

August 30, 2024: Task Force on Antisemitism releases second report and considers anti-Zionism antisemitism

In late August, Columbia's Task Force on Antisemitism released a second report. News of the report was first published on June 16 in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in an interview with the task force's co-chairs, before any official communication from the university. In the report, the Task Force characterized anti-Zionism as antisemitism and said the university had failed to protect Jews in the university from violence and hate and that antisemitism carried out by both faculty and students had "affected the entire university community". In September, Columbia faculty published an open letter criticizing the task force's findings. At least 24 Jewish faculty members, 16 non-Jewish faculty members, some Jewish students, and others criticized the report for misrepresentations, omission of key context, and equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

September 2024

On the first day of the Fall semester, a protest organized by CUAD took place outside the school entrance on 116th Street and Broadway. On campus, someone dumped a can of red paint on the Alma Mater statue.

In fall 2024, activist groups including CUAD had begun to use rhetoric in support of Hamas and the October 7 attacks. The New York Times reported that some students who were sympathetic to Palestinians had less desire to protest as a result of harsher rules and punishment from the administration.

February 26, 2025: Barnard sit-in

In response to the expulsion of two students who protested an Israel class on campus, pro-Palestine students staged an on-campus sit-in near the office of Leslie Grinage, the dean of the Columbia-affiliated Barnard College. The demonstration came in the aftermath of more than 100,000 letters sent to the Barnard administration calling for a reversal of the expulsions. The protesters dedicated the gathering to Hind Rajab. On February 27, protesters began to picket outside Barnard's main gate, calling for the explusions' reversal. Shai Davidai started a counterprotest. The protesters disbanded but the NYPD arrested someone nearby shortly after.

March 4, 2025: protest of Hillel event with Naftali Bennett

Over 100 protesters gathered to protest a closed-door event with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The invitation email to the event, sponsored by Columbia Barnard Hillel and hosted by the SIPA Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo, said "The information in this email and the details of the event, including the identity of our guest, are confidential" and "the invitation is non-transferable, so please minimize discussing this event with others". A post promoting the protest said, "It is our duty to ensure that war criminals and genociders never feel welcomed on our campus, despite invitations from groups such as Hillel."

March 5, 2025: "Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Liberated Zone" occupation of Milstein Center

On March 5, Columbia University Apartheid Divest launched a sit-in protesting for, in addition to its main demands, the reversal of the expulsion of three students, two for disrupting the course "History of Modern Israel" at Columbia and one for involvement in the "Hind's Hall" occupation of Hamilton Hall in 2024.

March 7, 2025: Trump administration cuts $400 million in funding to Columbia

Days after the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced it was considering stop-work orders on $51.4 million in federal contracts with the university, the Trump administration announced a $400 million cut. Trump had publicly criticized Columbia 25 years earlier when it refused to purchase a property in Midtown from him for $400 million.

March 8, 2025: detention of Mahmoud Khalil by ICE and threats by the Trump administration

Main article: Detention of Mahmoud Khalil

Repression of pro-Palestinian protesters intensified in 2025 during the second presidency of Donald Trump, when the Trump administration announced the revocation of $400 million in federal funding for the school despite renewed efforts by Columbia to crack down on student protests through a new disciplinary committee. These efforts included the expulsion of students previously involved with pro-Palestine protests, and the temporary suspension and/or revocation of degrees for students who had already graduated. On 9 March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained SIPA alumnus Mahmoud Khalil, a leading pro-Palestinian negotiator and lawful permanent resident, following an online campaign by pro-Israel groups to have him deported. A second Palestinian student at Columbia was arrested for deportation soon after. The Trump administration threatened Columbia with financial penalties unless it agreed to a number of demands, including banning masks on campus, restricting student protest, allowing an outside authority to take control of its Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies, and the adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. On March 20, the university announced several policy measures intended to address the demands.

March 11, 2025: "Jews Say ICE Off Campus" protest

Dozens of Jewish students wearing "Jews say ICE off campus" protested in front of Alma Mater in protest of the detention of Mahmoud Khalil and the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on campus.

March 14, 2025: Trump administration issues preconditions for funding negotiations

On March 14, Columbia received a letter from the Trump administration listing a number of demands to be met as "a precondition for formal negotiations" for federal funding, after the administration cut $400 million in federal grants and funding. The demands included expulsion or multi-year suspensions as punishment for pro-Palestinian demonstrators; a mask ban; the abolishment of the University Judicial Board in order to "centralize all disciplinary processes" under the university president; placing the Middle East, South Asia, and African Studies (MESAAS) department under academic receivership; adopting a controversial definition of antisemitism; and giving campus police "full law enforcement authority", including to make arrests. Professor Katherine Franke and others called it a "ransom note". Columbia agreed to these demands.

March 28, 2025: Co-chair of the board of trustees Claire Shipman made university president

The board of trustees co-chair David Greenwald announced that interim president Katrina Armstrong was stepping down and that the other co-chair, Claire Shipman, would serve as acting president of the university. David Greenwald is now the sole chair of the board of trustees.

March 31, 2025: Meta bans CUAD Instagram account

On March 31, Students for a Democratic Society announced in an Instagram post that Meta banned the CUAD Instagram account as well as its backup accounts. Meta also previously permanently deleted the account of Columbia's SJP when it had 120,000 followers.

April 2, 2025: Jewish students chain themselves to campus gates

Jewish students chained themselves to the gates outside of St. Paul's Chapel on the east side of campus in protest of the ICE jailing of Mahmoud Khalil. At around 2 p.m., Public Safety officers cut the locks and forced protesters outside the gates, after which the protesters sat down in front of the gates, locked arms, and dispersed around 4 p.m. At about 4:20, several students chained themselves to the gates outside Earl Hall, on the campus's west side. One said the protest was to "demand that the University release the information of who gave over Mahmoud Khalil's name, how that happened, so that we can demand accountability from our University and protect our students from the federal government".

April 14, 2025: detention of Mohsen Mahdawi

Main article: Detention of Mohsen Mahdawi

Mohsen Mahdawi of the School of General Studies was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a trap set at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Burlington, Vermont, where United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had informed him he had an interview to obtain U.S. citizenship.

According to Drop Site News, the State Department drew on Columbia's mischaracterization of the November 9, 2023, protest, taking language from the university's description of the protest as pretext to deport Mahdawi. In a statement the day after the November 9 protest announcing the suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, Gerald Rosberg, then a senior administrator at Columbia, called it an "unauthorized event" that included "threatening rhetoric and intimidation". The claim that the "threatening rhetoric and intimidation" came from SJP and JVP was debunked by journalists and retracted by Rosberg privately in a University Senate Plenary on November 17, 2023, but Columbia never issued a public statement to correct and clarify the matter. The phrase "threatening rhetoric and intimidation" appeared verbatim in memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which said that Mahdawi "engaged in threatening rhetoric and intimidation of pro-Israeli bystanders" without further detail.

April 21, 2025

About 10 demonstrators chained themselves to Columbia's gates at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue to protest the detention of Mohsen Mahadawi and Mahmoud Khalil.

April 22, 2025

NBC News reported that more than 100 protesters met at a community center off campus to organize the first tent encampments on campus in almost a year, but when the appointed time came, the group did not set up encampments.

Protests at other university campuses

Main article: 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses

These paragraphs are an excerpt from List of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the United States in 2024.[edit]

Demonstrations initially spread in the United States on April 22, when students at several universities on the East Coast—including New York University, Yale University, Emerson College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Tufts University—began occupying campuses, as well as experiencing mass arrests in New York and at Yale. Protests emerged throughout the U.S. in the following days, with protest camps established on over 40 campuses. On April 25, mass arrests occurred at Emerson College, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas at Austin.

A continued crackdown on April 27 led to approximately 275 arrests at Washington, Northeastern, Arizona State, and Indiana University Bloomington. Several professors were among those detained at Emory University, and at Washington University in St. Louis, university employees were arrested. On April 28, counter-protests were held at MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). On April 30, approximately 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York; and pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the UCLA campus occupation, The following day over 200 arrests were made at UCLA.

Hundreds of arrests ensued in May, notably at the Art Institute of Chicago, University of California, San Diego, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and University of California, Irvine. On May 20, the first strike by academic workers took place on campuses in California at UC Santa Cruz, followed by UC Davis and UCLA on May 28.

Criticism and allegations of prejudice

Allegations of antisemitism

Multiple sources have quoted some Jewish students as feeling unsafe or targeted as a result of the protests. Criticism increased when a January 2024 recording of one organizer, Khymani James, saying "Zionists don't deserve to live" was released. One Jewish student who wore a Star of David chain said she was confronted by a masked pro-Palestinian demonstrator on campus, who demanded to know if she was a Zionist. James apologized when the remarks were publicized in April 2024. James said on X: "I affirm the sanctity of all life and the movement for liberation." In April, he was barred from campus and suspended. In October, he retracted his apology. At Columbia, U.S. Representative Kathy Manning described seeing signs calling for the destruction of Israel. Freshman student Nicholas Baum described hearing protesters "calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel." Another protester was recorded holding a sign reading "Al-Qassam's next targets" in front of student counter-protesters holding Israeli flags.

On April 20, protesters both on and off campus were recorded targeting Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol, resulting in condemnation from both the White House and the New York Mayor's office. A chapter of the international Orthodox Jewish movement present at the campus hired guards to escort Jewish students home from Chabad. According to The Times Of Israel, protesters at the encampment were filmed chanting "Zionists not allowed here", while another protester called for "10,000 October 7ths". One Jewish student reported protesters saying "kill all the Jews" and "we want one Arab state", describing the campus as a "hotbed for radical antisemitism". Protesters from outside the campus were filmed yelling "Go back to Poland". CUAD organizers put out a statement distancing themselves from "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us". CUAD's rhetoric has since changed; in October, it distributed literature praising the October 7 attacks and saying, "The Palestinian resistance is moving their struggle to a new phase of escalation and it is our duty to meet them there."

Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters have rejected assertions that the protest is antisemitic and unsafe for Jewish students, and the Columbia Daily Spectator reported that pro-Israeli counter-protesters have called pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters "fake Jews" or "kapos". Many Jewish students, while denouncing antisemitism, felt solidarity with pro-Palestinian protesters. Progressive and student opinion writers have argued that national media may be pushing a skewed narrative by characterizing the protest as antisemitic and hateful. Some protesters have alleged that agitators and non-students were responsible for antisemitic incidents.

Susan Bernofsky, a Columbia professor, said: "I do not feel that this project is antisemitic in any way. I do feel that the students are highly critical of Israeli politics. And I do not feel threatened as a Jewish faculty member in any way by what's happening on this campus – except by the arrest of many of our students." In reference to protesters, John McWhorter, a Columbia professor, said, "I find it very hard to imagine that they are antisemitic", adding that there is "a fine line between questioning Israel's right to exist and questioning Jewish people's right to exist" but that "some of the rhetoric amid the protests crosses it."

Allegations of anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia

Palestine Legal's lawsuit against Columbia University alleges that Columbia held pro-Palestinian students to a different standard "through its policies, statements and other administrative actions". The lawsuit says that Columbia did not respond to the doxxing of pro-Palestinian students in October 2023, that it mishandled an incident where two pro-Israel students sprayed pro-Palestinian students with skunk spray in January 2024, and that it delayed an investigation into the conduct of professor Shai Davidai, who had over 50 harassment complaints against him.

Columbia is quick to condemn speech it deems hateful or offensive to non-Palestinians, but when Palestinian students are the targets of anti-Palestinian hate or violence, the university stalls or fails to condemn the actions. When it does make a statement, Columbia fails to note that Palestinian students were the victims, unlike when non-Palestinians are harmed.

Eric Adams cited the presence of Nahla Al-Arian at the Columbia encampment as a justification for the NYPD's raid, calling her an "outside agitator" trying to "radicalize our children" and implying that she posed a threat because of her husband Sami Al-Arian's prosecution on terror charges during the early years of the War on Terror.

On October 16, Columbia barred Davidai from entering campus, citing his harassment and intimidation of school employees.

Responses

Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Columbia alumnus and the House of Representatives' longest-serving Jewish member, wrote that "Columbia has an obligation to protect students and their learning environment". New York City mayor Eric Adams said, "Students have a right to free speech but do not have a right to violate university policies and disrupt learning on campus". President Joe Biden referenced the protests in his statement on Passover, saying "harassment and calls for violence against Jews ... has absolutely no place on college campuses". A separate White House statement condemned "physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community" on Columbia's campus. Former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said: "The police came in and in exactly two hours, everything was over. It was a beautiful thing to watch."

Columbia University alum and former trustee Robert Kraft, who founded Columbia's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, wrote on Instagram: "I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken." The union representing Columbia student workers released a statement calling for "the immediate reinstatement of all student and student workers disciplined for pro-Palestine protests and the end to the repression of protest on Columbia's campus".

Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X: "Calling in police enforcement on non-violent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act. It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." U.N. special rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor called Columbia's threat to suspend students for not ending the encampment "a clear violation of their right to peaceful assembly". In March 2025, during the second Trump administration, Mahmoud Khalil, an organizer of the campus protest, was arrested by ICE. The same month, ICE attempted to arrest another student.

At Columbia

An editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Milène Klein, said that alarmists were portraying the protest as centered on antisemitism. The Columbia Faculty of Arts and Sciences policy and planning committee condemned outside media coverage of the protest as "sensationalistic" and said it was "distressed by reports that conflate on-campus protests with the actions of bad actors from outside of our community", while condemning all forms of discrimination.

Columbia Law School professors condemned the mass arrests as well as the suspensions of students in a letter to the university's leadership, calling the actions taken by Columbia's administration "concerning" and saying they "lack transparency".

In mid-August, Columbia President Minouche Shafik and three deans resigned. Shafik cited "a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community".

Media coverage

The occupation, ensuing crackdowns, and national spread had extensive media coverage. Some reporting by mainstream media outlets was decried as misleading and biased against protesters. In an article for al-Jazeera, University of Michigan student Ahmad Ibsais called media coverage of the protest movement "sensationalist" and said that accusations of antisemitism were false. The New Republic alleged that the protests' true causes were overshadowed by coverage of antisemitism and police crackdowns. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia condemned supposed inaccurate and discriminatory reporting of the protest. Deputy Editor Noah Bernstein of the Columbia Daily Spectator said that outside media coverage was generally slanted against the protesters. Students were reportedly weary of the media, with some refusing to be interviewed. The media was also criticized for its claims of outside agitators at the protests, which has been called misinformation.

Columbia's campus radio station WKCR-FM partially suspended its usual programming to cover the demonstrations. The station was applauded for its coverage of the situation, especially during the second raid. NBC News said WKCR was praised for its live coverage of the event. Business Insider praised the anchors' professionalism during the raid. The Guardian called the radio broadcast "chaotic and thrilling". The Nation said the student journalists were better than most mainstream media outlets. Other student journalists were also praised for their coverage, including at the Spectator.

Investigative reporters for the Washington Post discovered that New York Mayor Eric Adams participated in a group chat with a group of pro-Israel billionaires with close ties to Israeli cabinet officials and ambassadors who discussed hiring private investigators to "handle" the protest and trying to pressure Columbia's president and trustees to cooperate with Adams and the NYPD.

The 2025 documentary The Encampments, directed by Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker and produced by Macklemore and BreakThrough News with Watermelon Pictures, focuses on the encampments at Columbia University.

Restrictions

Early on April 30, Columbia suspended press access to campus, and said only identified students and essential personnel would be allowed in. In preparation to enter the campus, the NYPD closed multiple streets in and around the campus, the administration locked down Hamilton Hall, and all freedom of movement was restricted. In an op-ed for The New York Times, Mara Gay wrote that, because of these restrictions, journalists were unable to fully assess what occurred during the second raid and could not verify allegations of police brutality. Moreover, WKCR and other student journalists were not allowed to leave their building due to threat of arrest. Some outside journalists were pushed off campus or threatened if they approached the scene. Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press called it "one of the most frustrating nights for press access I've experienced as a reporter". In August 2024, a student journalist with the Columbia Daily Spectator said that after she reported on the encampment, Columbia University opened an investigation into her "alleged involvement" with it.

See also

• 2024 University of California, Los Angeles pro-Palestinian campus occupation
• Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
• International reactions to the Gaza war
• Student protest
• Detention of Mahmoud Khalil
• Detention of Mohsen Mahdawi
• The Encampments (documentary film)

External links

• Media related to 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation at Wikimedia Commons