Democrats’ Failed Bid to Close Anti-Israel Camp in Columbia

House Democrats are apparently smelling blood in the water … but it’s their own blood.

A letter dated April 29 and signed by 21 — almost exactly 10 percent — of the Democrats in the House urged the Trustees of Columbia University to act to disband the encampment of anti-Israel protesters that has now been in place on the schools campus for nearly two weeks.

The letter accused the university of allowing conditions to deteriorate to the point of violating the rights of some Columbia students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

“Earlier this week, the Columbia administration tacitly acknowledged that the encampment had created an impermissibly hostile and unsafe environment for Jewish students by resorting to hybrid learning, appearing to violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” the letter stated.

“In other words, instead of solving the root cause of discrimination and harassment that students faced on campus, the administration decided to segregate some students from campus altogether,  which naturally created an unsafe environment on campus for all students,” it added.

The Democrats listed a number of instances of anti-Semitism for which it said the encampments served as a “breeding ground,” including comparisons of Zionists to Nazis.

The noted that Columbia’s administration had attempted to negotiate with the protesters but said it had now become “abundantly clear” that those negotiations were going nowhere.

“The time for negotiation is over; the time for action is now,” the letter concluded. “It is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to act. If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University’s legal obligations under Title VI.”

Axios reported that Republicans had already been calling for the resignation of school officials, but that this was the first significant action in that direction taken by congressional Democrats.

The outlet also pointed out that of the letter’s 21 signatories, 10 were Jewish and most were “moderate and swing-district members,” implying that the politicians felt it necessary to escalate their rhetoric in an election year.

“Columbia officials are currently attempting to negotiate a resolution with the encampment organizers — talks the university said were ‘ongoing as of Saturday,” Axios reported. “But activists involved in the encampment reportedly said Friday that little progress had been made, and the university has punted on deadlines for a deal to come together.”

Interested readers can review the letter in its entirety below.

House Democrats Letter to Columbia by The Western Journal on Scribd

As recently as Wednesday, left-leaning Politico was reporting that the Biden administration was not concerned about political fallout from the protests at Columbia.

“It’s not going to be for the vast majority of young voters the thing that’s going to determine whether they vote or how they vote,” a Biden campaign worker focused on youth engagement told Politico.

On April 21, Biden issued a statement condemning anti-Semitism on college campuses, but the following day added, “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

“The apparent equivocation fueled furious GOP accusations of a ‘both sides’ response and sent fingers scratching heads elsewhere in Washington,” Politico reported. “But back at the White House, the reaction has been downright serene.”