Columbia Faculty Stage Walkout in Solidarity with Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested

A large group of faculty members at Columbia University in New York staged a mass walkout on Monday afternoon to protest the university's decision to involve the police in arresting students during a pro-Palestinian encampment protest last week. Hundreds of Columbia's teaching staff walked out in solidarity with the arrested students, who were also suspended by the university. The solidarity protest took place as students re-established protest tents on campus on Monday after they were dismantled last week, leading to over 100 arrests.

Amid escalating tensions on many US university campuses, police officers also began arresting pro-Palestinian protesters at Yale University on Monday. According to Yale Daily News, more than 45 protesters, including students, were arrested. At Yale, students have been on a hunger strike, demanding that universities support a ceasefire in Gaza and divest from companies with ties to Israel. Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is Jewish, expressed his concerns on social media, saying, "No student should live in fear on campus. The antisemitism and hate toward Jews, including threats of violence, that we are witnessing is unconscionable." On Monday, Columbia's president, Nemat Minouche Shafik, announced that school leaders would be convening to discuss the "crisis" and implementing virtual classes. Shafik condemned the student protests and claimed that antisemitic language, as well as intimidating and harassing behavior towards Jewish students, had occurred on campus recently. Student demonstrators denied accusations of antisemitism, attributing the tensions to "inflammatory individuals who do not represent us." They described their protests as peaceful and inclusive, stating, "We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solidarity being forged among students – Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black, and pro-Palestinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of our country." According to Axios, a delegation of three US lawmakers is traveling to Columbia's campus on Monday.