Two students at Barnard College in New York City have been expelled due to their alleged involvement in disrupting the inaugural session of the History of Modern Israel course last month.
The expulsion of these students was brought to light by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group, which urges Columbia University to sever any ties with Israel. Barnard and Columbia are closely connected institutions.
In a statement posted on X, the group criticized the Barnard administration for historically displaying animosity towards individuals supporting Palestine and for meting out severe disciplinary measures to protestors in an effort to quash dissent and obscure their complicity.
A student protester waves a large Palestinian flag at their encampment on the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in New York. Protesters of the war in Gaza who are encamped at Columbia University have defied a deadline to disband with chants, clapping and drumming. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
On Sunday, the CUAD posted a video taken by protesters during the class disruption on Instagram. The caption of the post described the History of Modern Israel class as “training future foot soldiers and managers of genocide.”
“We disrupted a zionist class, and you should too,” the post states.
The Columbia student was suspended days after the incident by Columbia University, according to the school.
Brian Cohen, the director of The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life praised Rosenbury’s actions.
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
“These former students disrupted a class, handed out antisemitic flyers, and harassed students who only wanted to learn. These individuals don’t belong on campus – and now they won’t be,” he wrote Sunday on X.
