- An anti-Israel student group at Columbia University was told they could not host their pro-Hamas information session in an on-campus classroom
- On Monday, the dean of the school of social work said the event dealing with the “significance” of the October 7 “counteroffensive” was not making any progress.
Columbia University has banned a woke student group's plans for an on-campus event to justify the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.
“Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine,” the group organizing the event, had billed the meeting at Manhattan University as a time to discuss the “significance of the October 7 Palestinian counteroffensive.”
The group's so-called “teach-in and discussion” was scheduled to take place next Wednesday afternoon in a room at the Columbia School of Social Work.
But on Monday, school officials said the group “did not seek approval for the flyers and text” and announced the event would not take place at the school of social work.
A social media post promoting the event said the group would discuss the “significance” of the “counter-offensive” and the “centrality of revolutionary violence in anti-imperialism.”
'In advocating Palestinian liberation, Palestinians have engaged in nonviolent resistance tactics for years. These peaceful actions have been met by the Israeli government with tear gas and armed resistance,” the group continued.
Last week, the group organized a similar “teach in,” where students were taught about the October 7 Hamas massacre as a means of “resistance.”
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'October 7 was not a 'counter-offensive'. There was a ceasefire that Hamas broke on October 7, when it launched thousands of rockets, invaded Israel and committed hundreds of war crimes. The term 'counter-offensive' refers to Israel's response, not Hamas's attack.”
Melissa Begg, dean of social work at the school, said Monday Fox News tthat the December 6 event would not go forward and clarified that it was “not a CSSW-sponsored event.”
“The students organizing the event did not request approval for the flyers and text as required by CSSW processes. CSSW supports freedom of expression, but will not tolerate language that promotes violence in any way, which is contrary to our values. This event will not take place at CSSW,” she added.
Although the event will not take place on official school grounds, it will likely take place elsewhere.
Columbia University in New York City has been a hotbed for anti-Semitic activity in the wake of the October 7 massacre in Israel.
In November, the Ivy League government banned the student groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.
Both far-left groups had orchestrated unsanctioned anti-Israel demonstrations, calling for an immediate ceasefire, in addition to “threatening” and “intimidate” Jewish students on campus.
In the wake of that administration decision, more than two dozen progressive elected officials, including New York congressional representatives Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velázquez, reportedly sent a letter to Columbia calling for the groups' reinstatement .
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather for a protest at Columbia University on October 12, days after Hamas' attack on Israel
Days after Hamas's attacks, Columbia's Students for Justice in Palestine said Hamas' actions were a “counteroffensive against their settler-colonial oppressor.”
On October 7, at least 1,200 Israelis were barbarically massacred in a surprise attack orchestrated by the radical Palestinian terror group.
About 240 hostages were also abducted to Gaza, of whom about 140 still remain.
Israel promptly announced its entry into a full-scale war and began a ground offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which Hamas officials say has killed more than 15,000 people since Monday.
A weeklong ceasefire ended last week when Hamas broke the terms of the deal and opted not to exchange further hostages.