White House denounces “despicable” acts at pro-Palestinian college demonstrations

The White House issued a strong rebuke of the antisemitic threats that have been shouted at pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the country, most notably Columbia University.

Large groups have gathered at Columbia, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some protesters have gone further by calling for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reportedly targeting Jewish students with threats. The White House condemned the “blatantly Antisemitic” rhetoric in a statement issued on Sunday.

“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 in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“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.”

The White House’s statement comes after a rabbi associated with Columbia University’s Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus suggested Jewish students “return home as soon as possible and remain home.” The recommendation likely came in response to a video circulated on social media where, between them, two men shouted, “Never forget the 7th of October. That will happen not one more time, not five more times… but 10,000 more times …The 7th of October is going to be every day for you.”

The New York City Police Department arrested over 100 protesters on Columbia’s campus Thursday on suspicion of trespassing. Among them was Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) daughter, Isra Hirsi, who was subsequently suspended as other arrested students were.

Omar reacted to the news by saying she was “enormously proud” of Hirsi for “pushing her school to stand against genocide.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed he was “horrified and disgusted” by the reported antisemitism on the campus. The city is home to some 1.3 million Jews.

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“Hate has no place in our city, and I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law they receive a report about and will arrest anyone found to be breaking the law,” Adams wrote on social media on Sunday.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell claimed that all the arrested students submitted peacefully and there were no injuries or violence reported by police. Officers arrived at the request of Columbia University, which reported the danger.