Students at Columbia University in New York will attend classes virtually today amid ongoing tensions related to student activist demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Columbia President Nemat Minouche Shafik said the university was canceling in-person classes. She also denounced anti-Semitic language and behavior she said occurred on campus.
“These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas,” Shafik said. “We need a reset.”
More than 100 protesters were arrested on Thursday on the campus after Shafik called in New York police to clear the tent encampment set up by the student protestors.
Elie Buechler, an Orthodox rabbi at the university, told students in a mass WhatsApp message that the safety of Jewish students cannot be guaranteed.
Student activists, meanwhile, have said they do not stand for any type of “bigotry” and are demonstrating against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Credit: aljazeera.com
