Columbia battles radical activists, limits entry to former Israeli leader’s visit as Trump weighs pulling $5B

More than 100 protesters gathered extracurricular a Columbia University building Tuesday evening successful effect to an quality from erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the university's pupil paper reported.

Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the School of International and Public Affairs’ Institute of Global Politics, and the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life organized the lawsuit with Bennett successful New York City.

"The treatment was an important portion of our ongoing ngo to empower our students to explore, learn, and turn intellectually," Brian Cohen, spokesperson for the Columbia's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, said successful a connection to Fox News Digital astir Bennett's visit. "The lawsuit proceeded without disruption. Unfortunately, the existent field dynamic forced america to marque past night’s event open lone to invited students."

Cohen added that "[s]tudents of divers backgrounds and governmental leanings listened to a satellite person and asked challenging questions – arsenic 1 would expect astatine a world-class university."

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Pro-Palestinian protesters stitchery extracurricular Columbia University's field successful New York City during erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's sojourn successful New York connected March 4, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)

Columbia JVP and the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition co-organized the protestation against the event, according to The Columbia Spectator. There person been countless anti-Israel demonstrations held connected assemblage campuses crossed the United States since Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile Hamas archetypal attacked Israel, sparking the opening of a 15-month warfare that has near tens of thousands of radical dead.

"The University coordinated with Columbia Hillel connected Public Safety preparations for their lawsuit with erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, including with respect to immoderate field protestation enactment and to minimize imaginable disruptions to world activities," Columbia University said successful a Wednesday statement. "The lawsuit was good attended and took spot without disruption oregon interference."

The schoolhouse said "groups from outside" the "Columbia assemblage besides protested successful nationalist spaces extracurricular the University’s gates, which the NYPD was liable for managing."

"As always, we monitored to guarantee enactment connected our field was harmless and complied with our rules and policies, including the contiguous enforcement of policies to forestall favoritism oregon the targeting of our assemblage members successful immoderate form," the schoolhouse said.

Pro-Palestinian protesters stitchery extracurricular Columbia University successful New York City connected March 4, 2025.  (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)

Three Barnard College students were precocious expelled aft breaking into Columbia's Hamilton Hall successful April of past year. 

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"It is our work to guarantee that warfare criminals and genociders ne'er consciousness welcomed connected our campus, contempt invitations from groups specified arsenic Hillel," Columbia University section of Jewish Voice for Peace (Columbia JVP) said successful an Instagram station announcing a determination for the protest.

The Instagram station includes photos of an email invitation for the lawsuit asking attendees to "minimize discussing this lawsuit with others" and describing their guest's individuality arsenic "confidential."

"The radical of individuals who attempted to disrupt the lawsuit proved that this was a indispensable precaution," Cohen said of the determination to marque the lawsuit invite-only. "We’re thankful that, owed to our cautious planning, NYPD prevented the protesters from getting to the venue. At nary constituent was our lawsuit impacted by the disruptions outside.

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"I look guardant to the time erstwhile we can, erstwhile again, big important acquisition opportunities similar this for the broader University community," Cohen said.

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Columbia University Jews for Ceasefire besides issued a connection connected Tuesday up of the protests, saying Barnard Hillel "deprived the immense bulk of the pupil assemblage an accidental to prosecute successful captious sermon with an elected authoritative with existent governmental power."

"This is astatine likelihood with CBHillel's repeated demands for a field civilization unfastened to dialogue, particularly fixed that this treatment is astir the precise contented that sparked specified demands," the radical wrote successful its statement.

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The protestation came aft President Donald Trump said earlier this week that "Federal Funding volition STOP for immoderate College, School, oregon University that allows amerciable protests."

A assemblage gathers extracurricular Columbia University to protestation the erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visiting the field connected March 4, 2025.  (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a reappraisal of Columbia's national contracts and grants successful airy of caller anti-Israel protests "for imaginable violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act," according to an HHS property release.

The Federal Government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering halting $51.4 cardinal successful national authorities contracts to the university, HHS said. The Task Force volition besides reappraisal much than $5 cardinal successful national assistance commitments to the Ivy League university.

"Anti-Semitism – similar racism – is simply a spiritual and motivation malady that sickens societies and kills radical with lethalities comparable to history’s astir deadly plagues," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said successful a Monday statement. "In caller years, the censorship and mendacious narratives of woke cancel civilization person transformed our large universities into greenhouses for this deadly and virulent pestilence. Making America steadfast means gathering communities of spot and communal respect, based connected code state and unfastened debate."

An NYPD serviceman intervenes arsenic a pro-Israeli counter-protester tries to onslaught pro-Palestinian demonstrators arsenic they rally extracurricular Columbia University successful New York City to protestation erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's sojourn connected March 4, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu)

Hamas and Israel's caller ceasefire deal, which paused the deadly war, has led Hamas to merchandise 10 Israeli hostages and 5 Thai nationals abducted connected Oct. 7, 2023, successful speech for Palestinian prisoners and accrued humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Six Americans remain successful Gaza.

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More than 46,000 Palestinians died successful the war, fractional of whom are believed to beryllium women and children, though that fig could beryllium higher, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 90% of the astir 2 cardinal Palestinians surviving successful Gaza were displaced during the war.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams and Madison Colombo contributed to this report.