NEW YORK — Columbia University has again extended its deadline for anti-Israel student protesters to disband their encampment, giving the students until Friday to reach an agreement with the administration.
The extended deadline comes after protesters, who have set up tents and are occupying the Ivy League university’s quad, were originally told by university president Minouche Shafik that they would have to clear out of Columbia University’s quad by midnight on Tuesday. A surge of protesters and police arrived at the campus late at night on Tuesday, with New York Police Department officers appearing to be preparing to enter campus.
But that deadline was pushed back until 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, and has now been extended to Friday.
The student protesters received support from other demonstrators who gathered just in front of Columbia’s campus last night, shouting chants like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “one solution: revolution,” while waving Palestinian flags. Others called for a global intifada and openly displayed Hamas symbols.
WATCH: Surrounded by police in riot gear, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters on Columbia's campus are loudly chanting the genocidal slogan of their movement, and that the "one solution" is "revolution"
Daily Wire field reporter @SpencerLndqst is on the scene in New York City: pic.twitter.com/5RdnX2ZVDJ
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 24, 2024
Protests have spread to other campuses across the United States and within Manhattan, most notably at New York University. The anti-Israel protests reached a boiling point when 228 demonstrators were arrested at Columbia and NYU on Monday.
Columbia announced earlier this week that it would move to hybrid instruction for the remainder of the spring semester, which concludes on April 29th.
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The anti-Israel protests have sparked responses from national politicians, with President Joe Biden opting to condemn both sides — he criticized “anti-Semitic protests” as well as “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has called on Biden to revoke federal funding from Columbia, citing the university’s failure to ensure the safety of Jewish students. She also demanded that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland penalize those who are calling for violence or terrorism, revoking student visas and deporting international students.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is set to appear on Columbia’s campus today to meet with Jewish and hold a press conference addressing “the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses.”