Why Is Columbia University at the Epicenter of Pro-Palestinian Protests?
- Uri Pilichowski
- Mar 23
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 31
Ever since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre on Israeli communities along the Israel-Gaza border protests have been held objecting to Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas in the Gaza strip. From calls for a “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea!” to more ominous chants of “Globalize the Intifada,” the pro-Israel community has felt itself under attack by these protests. While the demonstrations have been held in cities worldwide, more campus protests have been held in the United States than in any other country.
The campus protests became a central focus when three private university presidents, Harvard's Claudine Gay, Penn's Liz Magill, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT appeared before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and testified about antisemitism on their campuses. The president faced intense backlash after being accused of evading questions during the hearing.
Why it matters
More anti-Israel protests have been held in the United States than in any other country, and more protests have been held on college campuses than anywhere else in the United States.
Columbia University has become the college campus with the most hostile atmosphere toward Jewish and pro-Israel students.
Columbia didn’t have to become the center of anti-Israel protests, but a combination of factors has contributed to it becoming the perfect location for the most aggressive demonstrations.
Columbia University at the center of the storm
Of the more than 10 university campuses that have held anti-Israel protests, the campus with the most hostile atmosphere toward Jewish and pro-Israel students has been Columbia University. Columbia University has been a popular campus for protesting since the anti-war protests over the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Today’s acrimonious atmosphere is aided by the second-largest Jewish population in the world and a fifth of America’s Muslim population living in Columbia’s New York City.
The recent arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student who gained prominence amid that campus’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations, has brought the anti-Israel demonstrations back into the focus of the world. Opinions have been divided, even among the Jewish and pro-Israel community, on whether Khalil’s arrest was proper and helpful in quieting tensions in the New York and Columbia communities.
In a letter to Columbia University, the Trump administration demanded "academic receivership" of Columbia University's Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies "for a minimum of five years." The Trump administration also withdrew $400 million in federal grants from Columbia University this month. Over the next week, the Trump administration arrested two members of the Columbia community involved in the anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus.
Could Columbia have prevented becoming the center of anti-Israel protests?
It is no coincidence that Columbia University has become the most frequent location of anti-Israel protests and the most hostile demonstrations. A combination of elements has compounded to make Columbia University the place of these protests. Columbia’s long history of protests against anti-establishment government positions, from the Vietnam War to America’s support of Israel has attracted anti-establishment students. The university’s sizeable Muslim student body has created a community of students who sympathize with members of their extended faith community. The recent shakeups in Columbia’s administration have left inexperienced leaders to contend with campus unrest. Policies they’ve adopted, including inviting law enforcement onto campus, have infuriated the student body and raised the level of rancor on campus. Columbia didn’t have to become the center of anti-Israel protests, but these factors have contributed to it becoming the perfect location for the most aggressive demonstrations.
Uri Pilichowski is an author, speaker, and senior educator at institutions around the world.