Columbia University faculty members are staging a demonstration in support of student pro-Palestine protestors as a rabbi warns Jewish students to leave campus.
Students at Columbia ramped up pro-Palestinian protests and encampments last week after school officials testified before Congress about potential antisemitism on their campus.
A rabbi affiliated with the school has also told a group of nearly 300 Jewish students to go home — meanwhile, Columbia/Barnard Hillel said they do not believe Jewish students should leave campus. The messages came ahead of Passover, which began Monday.
The New York Police Department arrested some 100 students last week after the university’s president requested they respond. Police Chief John Chell later noted that the students who were arrested “were peaceful,” per the Columbia Spectator. Now, faculty have staged a walkout protesting the arrest of student protesters.
The school moved classes online on Monday.
Meanwhile, at least 45 people have been arrested at Yale University amid similar protests staged by some 200 students. Yale president Peter Salovey previously sent students an email late on Sunday warning the school “will pursue disciplinary actions according to its policies” amid ongoing demonstrations.