On Wednesday, several dozen pro-Palestinian students occupied the Butler Library of Columbia University, converting the Lawrence A. Wein Reading Room into the epicentre of a budding protest movement. Protesters stood on tables, drummed, and held up signs that read “Strike for Gaza” and “Liberated Zone.” The protest aimed at targeting the university’s financial relationships with Israel and weapons manufacturers.
Most protesters had their faces masked. When more students attempted to gain access to the library, Columbia public safety officials closed the doors, causing pushing and physical clashes. Students were threatened by university officials that they would be disciplined and possibly arrested if they refused to leave.
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Students Renew Divestment Demands
The demonstration was led by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student organisations. They called on the university to divest its investments linked to its $14.8 billion endowment in companies that provide weapons or are backing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.
Protest leaders insisted that their grievances are human rights-related, not hate. They decried the attempt to associate their activism with antisemitism. In fact, numerous Jewish students were participating in the protest, demonstrating solidarity with Palestinian causes and refuting what they described as a political leadership-induced false narrative.
Columbia and the Trump Administration Clash Over Protests
Strains between Columbia and the Trump administration have mounted. In March, the White House withdrew hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding from the university. President Trump has consistently referred to pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations as “anti-American” and “antisemitic.”
He also vowed to deport foreign students involved in these demonstrations, citing they are a danger to U.S. foreign policy. Protesters decried these moves as an assault on student rights and academic freedom.
Mayor Eric Adams reported Columbia called in the NYPD for help, and officers were sent to watch the campus. Protesters showed no signs of relenting, holding their sit-in even amid increasing police deployment.
Activists Demand Release of Mahmoud Khalil
In addition to their divestment demands, students also called for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Columbia graduate student. Police arrested Khalil last spring at a protest and housed him in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana. Protesters termed Khalil a political prisoner and vowed to campaign for his return.
The Columbia protest opens a new page in an ongoing movement that doesn’t appear to be letting up. Demonstrators vow to continue agitating until the university accedes to their demands.
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