Jewish Columbia student punched in face by anti-Israel activist

A Jewish Columbia University student was punched in the face by an anti-Israel activist during a protest against Barnard College, according to New York officials and local Jewish groups.

Columbia University Public Safety said that the New York Police Department informed them of a robbery and hate crime on Monday in which an anti-Israel activist stole a student’s Israeli flag. When the student pursued the suspect, the thief punched the victim in the face.

The crime is being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force, and the educational institution said there was no indication the suspect was affiliated with the university.

“We are investigating this incident and working closely with the NYPD, which is investigating the incident as a hate crime, to do all we can to support their efforts to ensure our neighborhood is safe for our students,” Columbia University’s Office of Public Affairs said on Tuesday. “We want to be absolutely clear that any act of violence against a member of our community is unacceptable.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday that she was outraged by the “antisemitic attack” and announced that the New York State Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes would aid in the investigation.

“We will make sure the assailant is held accountable and that all New Yorkers are protected,” Hochul said on social media.

The Democratic member of Congress from New York, Ritchie Torres, on Wednesday described the university as “ground zero” for campus antisemitism in New York.

According to Torres, “The State of New York confers accreditation and generous tax benefits on Columbia University. Yet nothing substantive has been done to hold Columbia accountable for fundamentally failing to protect its Jewish students.”

Davidai criticizes university admin for failing to address pro-terror threats

Shai Davidai, an Israeli assistant professor at Columbia University’s business school and a central figure in speaking out against antisemitism at Columbia, criticized the university administration for failing to heed his warnings about escalating threats since the institution had become the epicenter of post-October 7 campus protests.

“This assault didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from a pro-Hamas protest organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia University,” Davidai said on X/Twitter. “It came from 13 months of hatred, demonization, and indoctrination, especially for observant, and thus more visible, Jews.

“It came from 13 months of the administration looking the other way. Columbia must start enacting rules inside campus and among their terrorist support cell.”

Columbia Faculty and Staff Supporting Israel expressed anger, asserting that there had been double standards in the attention given to the attack in comparison to an incident in which a pro-Israel student sprayed novelty fart spray at a pro-Palestinian rally.

Columbia Americans For a Safe Israel said on social media that the assault occurred during a Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) protest, the same organization that had organized incidents like the April Hamilton Hall occupation. The university said on Monday that the protest that day included many non-student protesters.

CUAD organized the Monday protest against Barnard College because it saw it as the “weak link” of Columbia University.

“On the road to divestment, Barnard will be the first domino to fall – an instrumental piece in toppling the entire university,” CUAD said in a December 7 Instagram post.

“Barnard College relies almost entirely on these imperial feminist trustees (read: murderers) as it drowns in its own poor financial decisions, millions of dollars in debt, and an endowment significantly smaller than Columbia’s. So, we’ll make it impossible for these trustees to continue their genocidal reigns.”

CUAD said Barnard was financially dependent on trustees like Francine LeFrak, Cheryl Milstein, and Diana Vagelos, and “If Barnard will only listen to its trustees, it is our duty to target its trustees.”

This coalition of anti-Israel students was also involved with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine’s new student paper, The Columbia Intifada, which was announced on December 4.

Four days later, Torres said the publication showed how inundated the university was with anti-Israel propaganda. The university said that it was investigating if any policies were broken by using its name in connection to such a publication.

“Using the Columbia name for a publication that glorifies violence and makes individuals in our community feel targeted in any way is a breach of our values,” Columbia’s Office of Public Affairs said on December 6.

“As we have said repeatedly, discrimination and promoting violence or terror is not acceptable and antithetical to what our community stands for.”