Columbia Jewish Students Warned By Rabbi Over Their Safety

An Orthodox rabbi associated with Columbia University sent out a message to over 290 Jewish students Sunday morning warning that they should go home “as soon as possible” amid a rise of “extreme antisemitism and anarchy.”

The message, which was sent out on WhatsApp by Rabbi Elie Buechler, comes a few days after pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with police officers after holding a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Columbia’s south lawn. Several American colleges have been thrust into the spotlight amid Israel’s war with Hamas, including some university presidents being called to testify before Congress over how they are handling instances of discrimination and antisemitism sentiment.

Buechler, who is associated with Columbia’s Union Jewish Learning Initiative, wrote in his message that the protests “in and around campus is terrible and tragic,” adding that recent events “have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD [New York Police Department] cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy.”

According to a report by the New York Post, Jewish students who gathered on Columbia’s campus Saturday night to protest antisemitism were threatened with “hate speech” and “calls to violence.”

Videos also circulated on social media of the protest, including one clip shared to X, formerly Twitter, by activist Aviva Klompas, which showed a man holding a sign that read “Al-Qasam’s Next Targets” with an arrow pointing to students waving Israeli and American flags.

“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved,” Buechler wrote in his message. “It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus.”

Nearly 100 Columbia students were arrested on Thursday after the university’s president, Nemat Shafik, called in law enforcement to shut down the student-led encampment sit-in. Protests did not slow down over the weekend, however, and a university spokeswoman told The New York Times that the community expects “activity to continue.”

Columbia University has seen protests since the war broke out in Gaza on October 7, after the militant group Hamas led an attack on Israel, which Israeli officials said killed 1,200 people and led to hundreds more taken hostages.

Meanwhile, Gaza Health Ministry officials say that over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since conflict began, as reported by the Associated Press. Student groups behind the pro-Palestinian protests have demanded that Columbia halts it “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded to reports of Jewish students facing harassment while exercising their “right to protest” Saturday, writing on X, “The First Amendment protects the right to protest but students also have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence.”

“At Columbia or on any campus, threatening Jewish students with violence or glorifying the terror of October 7 is antisemitism,” the governor said in a post Sunday afternoon.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates also shared a statement with Fox News‘ correspondent Lucas Tomlinson, saying, “While every American has the right to peaceful protect, 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.”

The Columbia/Barnard Hillel said in a statement that its Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life “will remain open” and that called on the university and city officials to “do more to protect students.” The group added in a post to X, however, that it does “not believe that Jewish students should leave @Columbia.”

A spokesperson for Columbia told Newsweek in a statement on Sunday that the university is “acting” on students’ concerns.

“As President Shafik has said repeatedly, the safety of our community is our number one priority,” Columbia University’s statement to Newsweek read. “Columbia students have the right to protest, but they are not allowed to disrupt campus life or harass and intimidate fellow students and members of our community. We are acting on concerns we are hearing from our Jewish students and are providing additional support and resources to ensure that our community remains safe.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week during a meeting with the Secure Community Network–a nationwide nonprofit Jewish safety organization–that the bureau “remain particularly concerned that lone actors could target large gatherings, high profile events, or symbolic or religious locations for violence” amid the start of Passover on Monday.

Federal law enforcement has repeatedly warned of increased threats against Jewish and Muslim Americans since the Israel-Hamas war began. Wray said during the meeting with security leaders last week that the FBI has opened “over three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations than in the four months before October 7.”