COLUMBIA CANCELS COMMENCEMENT | ZIONIST AGGRESSION INTENSIFIES IN RAFAH | CUAD PICKETS THE TRUSTEES
Relative of fascist Zionist leader struck and hospitalized CUAD member picketing CU trustee in the Upper East Side
COLUMBIA CANCELS COMMENCEMENT: NO CAPS ONLY COPS ON MAIN CAMPUS
On April 29, President Shafik assured the Columbia community they would “indeed hold a Commencement.” One week later, in a cowardly move from the administration, Columbia students were left to learn from the monopoly media that the prodigious, university-wide ceremony scheduled for May 15 had been canceled. In an announcement posted on their website, the administration sheepishly cited students’ preference for "smaller-scale, school-based celebrations" as the reason for canceling the main event. But we know the truth: the administration cowers at the thought of what thousands of united students, alumni, and faculty would do when gathered together. They fear our collective power and our steadfast support of Palestinian liberation. University spokesman Ben Chang even admitted that "holding a large commencement ceremony on our campus presented security concerns that unfortunately proved insurmountable."
The administration's decision to cancel the Commencement--and throw away all the money they've already spent on preparations--is a colossal embarrassment for them and a huge victory for us. We have been threatened, suspended, and subjected to police brutality, yet our resolve only strengthens. We remain fiercely committed to our demands of divestment, disclosure, and amnesty. They cannot hold their grand ceremony — not in the shadow of our escalations, not at the site where hundreds of our comrades were brutalized and arrested.
The University claims that Hind’s Hall is “still an active crime scene,” making it impossible to host 15,000 graduates and their families. We know that the entire campus is a crime scene, where the police brutalized students, used flashbang grenades and even fired a gunshot. But even beyond being a "crime scence"--Columbia itself is the crystalization of crime, its very land in Morningside Heights "donated" by JP Morgan centuries ago, growing into the behemoth of capital that it is today, a financier of genocide and trainer of tomorrow's war leaders. It is against this backdrop that Shafik stares glumly at a broken window.
A photograph taken after the second sweep shows that while the tents were removed their marks remain. The decision to push all commencement ceremonies off campus proves that while we were forced off campus through lock-downs and brutal arrests, our mark remains indelible. The specter of our movement haunts Shafik, the Trustees, and all of their lackeys who aim to suppress us to further their genocidal profiteering.
CUAD WILL NOT CAPITULATE
On May 1, when writing on the negotiations with CUAD organizers, Shafik claimed, “The University offered to consider new proposals on divestment and shareholder activism, to review access to our dual degree programs and global centers, to reaffirm our commitment to free speech, and to launch educational and health programs in Gaza and the West Bank. Some other universities have achieved agreement on similar proposals. Our efforts to find a solution went into Tuesday evening, but regrettably, we were unable to come to resolution.”
Consider, review, reaffirm — the trifecta of administrative inaction. Such bureaucratic posturing is insidiously devised to placate us into believing progress is happening. Administration insults us by thinking we will fall for these platitudes. These are not solutions; they’re sedatives meant to soothe us into compliance while the university continues business as usual, unabated. They think these crumbs will divert our focus, dissolve our momentum, and dupe us into a false sense of victory. But we are not fooled by the smokescreen of vague, empty promises.
Our demands are diametrically opposed to the desires of Shafik, her Trustees, and all their lackeys who prefer to profit from genocide and keep university affairs running as usual. That's what makes this a protracted struggle. This fight will not be won by appealing to the morals of those who thought investing in apartheid and ethnic cleansing was fine to begin with. We will win divestment when it becomes economically disadvantageous for the university to continue its investments in Israel. And with the money lost to their commencement preparations, we are one step closer.
Capitulating to their patronizing proposals would only be a loss for our movement and a victory for them — proof that their tactics of delay and distraction can quell dissent. We cannot and will not allow this to happen.
Since October we have demonstrated our capability to disrupt university functioning countless times. Within the last few weeks alone we’ve seen the university rock back on its heels. In order to protect their profits, the university ruined their own admitted students weekend, forced the semester to finish remotely, and now canceled the main commencement ceremony. Shafik and the Trustees put the blame on us but who is the one doing these things? The responsibiltiy for their actions lays solely at their feet and shows the extent to which they are willing to harm their students in order to profit off genocide.
We will win divestment — the university can decide how much it will cost them, and the responsibility for that is on them.
The student movement has a unique ephemerality. As students graduate, the administration prays their militant fervor will graduate with them. But each year brings a new wave of students ready to continue the struggle.
We are not fighting for momentary acknowledgment or superficial dialoguing. We demand unequivocal, binding divestment from the genocidal state of Israel. This struggle is part of a larger global movement, and students worldwide are united in this fight. We will not rest, we will not relent, and we will not stop until our demands are met.
To those in power, hear this: your strategies of placation and delay will not deter us. Your hopes that our resolve will fade with time are in vain. Prepare to divest, or prepare for a long, unrelenting struggle.
IN RAFAH
On Tuesday, May 7, Israeli Occupation Forces invaded Gaza at the Rafah border crossing one day after Hamas agreed to ceasefire terms.
Hamas accepted a three-stage ceasefire proposal on Monday, May 6, detailing terms that include the release and exchange of captives and prisoners, IOF withdrawal from Palestinian territory, freedom of movement for displaced Palestinian civilians, and guaranteed humanitarian aid. Overnight, the IOF advanced into Gaza and bombarded Rafah. On Tuesday, May 7, the IOF invaded Rafah with tank shelling, air strikes, drones, rockets, and artillery shelling, taking over the Rafah crossing at Gaza's border with Egypt.
Israel says that Rafah is Hamas' last stronghold. To the 1.4 million Palestinians—more than half of Gaza's population—residing in the southern city of Rafah, the invasion on Tuesday, May 7 is a catastrophic, humanitarian emergency. The Rafah crossing is crucial for aid reception. An attack on Rafah could collapse current aid operations supporting the 1.4 million Palestinians, pushing the population further into starvation and death by depleting already scarce supplies, and effectively cutting off a point of exit for an already vulnerable population. The previous closure of the Karem Abu Salem crossing makes this situation even more dire for Palestinians.
The bombardment of Rafah comes after the IOF received intelligence that the border region was being used for "terrorist purposes". This act by the IOF has killed at least 23 Palestinians and wounded others. Israel ordered the evacuation of parts of the Rafah crossing only one day before the bombardment, violating international law, and forcing the displacement of Palestinian civilians. Israel has stated the invasion in Rafah will continue until Hamas fighters are destroyed and has "promised" to deepen operations in the "south, center, and north" if captives are not handed over. The exchanging of captives was directly outlined in the three-stage ceasefire terms, which Netanyahu, with rhetorical hypocrisy, said "falls far short" of Israel's demands. The IOF is willing to intensify their violent actions and human rights violations.
Netanyahu's office stated on Monday, May 6 that the ceasefire proposal did not meet demands and delegation would occur in Cairo to talk about "renegotiations". Hamas has urged for interventions towards a ceasefire agreement, holding the international community accountable for the war's continuation which has continued through the funding of it by countries, companies, organizations, and universities.
There are calls to stop the Rafah invasion from the Palestinian Authority, WHO, UN, Germany, UK, Brazil, and from Nine US Senators citing Leahy Law, which prohibits assistance to militaries who commit abuses. The United States continues to provide weapons to the IOF.
Hamas has stated that Palestinians have been subjected to a "war of extermination, systemic starvation"—a genocidal occupation. The Rafah invasion is an ongoing situation. Senior officials from Israel have said that a full-scale military operation against Rafah will commence soon.
CUAD PICKETS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES
In the last two weeks, the Trustees of Columbia University and Barnard College have unilaterally called off negotiations, summoned a thousand riot police to invade our campus, and ordered the arrest of hundreds of peacefully protesting students while expelling all reporters, medics, and legal observers to hide the violence. More NYPD remain on campus than students. To stifle any possible protest, they have even canceled Commencement.
These trustees would rather see the student body traumatized by batons, flashbang grenades, and live ammunition than permit any criticism of the university’s investments in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Remember: As you read this, Rafah is being invaded, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine grows ever greater.
On Tuesday, May 7, CUAD members took action against the trustees in a simultaneous, multi-site picket outside the homes of David Greenwald, Francine LeFrak, and Abigail Black Elbaum, and outside the office of Jeh Johnson. These demonstrations broke the bubbles of comfort and luxury in which these shameful trustees live and forced them to confront the anger and suffering their decisions have caused. We have also launched a petition targeting the entire boards of both institutions.
MORE INFORMATION:
David Greenwald is co-chair of Columbia University’s Board of Trustees and a partner at Fried Frank LLP. On November 1, 2023, Fried Frank signed a letter calling on law school deans to condemn campus protests against Israel’s policies of apartheid and genocide and to revoke the admission of pro-Palestine students. Fried Frank also frequently serves as counsel to BlackRock, the world’s most notorious war financier. Greenwald consistently donates to pro-Israel political candidates.
Abigail Black Elbaum is Vice Chair of the Columbia University Board of Trustees and co-founder and principal of Ogden CAP Properties, a real estate firm driving gentrification in New York. Elbaum also sits on the board of the New York City Police Foundation, a pioneer in channeling corporate money to the NYPD – on top of their public appropriations. Elbaum has donated extensively to the American Jewish Committee, an organization “opening new doors for Israel” that has called Students for Justice in Palestine a “Hamas-supporting Anti-Israel Group.”
Francine LeFrak, trustee of Barnard College and one of its most powerful donors, has repeatedly engaged in Islamophobic hate speech on social media – recently liking posts equating Islam to terrorism, and continuously denouncing “anti-Israel protests” on her LinkedIn. Barnard College, where LeFrak is a Trustee, has been especially cruel in its arbitrary exercise of academic discipline and is now infamous for its summary evictions of undergraduate students and for denying access to food and medical care as punishment for pro-Palestine activism.
Jeh Johnson is a trustee of Columbia University, partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, and the former Secretary of Homeland Security. During his time in Homeland Security, he spearheaded efforts to increase border “security” and establish family detention centers. In addition, Johnson currently serves on the board of directors of Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor that supplies the weapons the Israeli Occupation Force uses to brutalize the Palestinian people
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: Zionist Driver Runs Down Peaceful pro-Palestinian Demonstration in Manhattan Street
Protester hospitalized in latest example of anti-Palestinian violence from Israel to US
UPPER EAST SIDE, NEW YORK, MAY 7, 2024—At 9:52 AM this morning, an avowed Zionist intentionally drove into a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters, hospitalizing one.
As Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) protesters picketed outside a Barnard trustee’s residence near the SW corner of 72nd street and Park, we were attacked on the crosswalk by Reuven Kahane, an Upper East Side resident and Zionist who is a relative of the late Israeli fascist leader Meir Kahane. After driving up in his car, asking a protester for a flyer, and grabbing the protester’s arm, Kahane parked in front of the picketers until we started leaving, then circled the block to drive into our peaceful demonstration. One member of CUAD’s de-escalation team was struck and has since been hospitalized. Kahane’s actions follow a round of incendiary claims from public officials urging violence against student protesters, including Councilmember Vickie Paladino’s demand for student protesters to be “slayed,” a call for vigilante injustice that was nearly fulfilled today.
19th precinct NYPD CO Neil W. Zuber immediately arrested and started screaming at one of the picketers who was next to the car. Kahane, on the other hand, received calm and friendly treatment. The person who was hit was arrested and handcuffed to the bed while in the hospital.
Reuven Kahane is a relative of Rabbi Meir Kahane, an infamous Zionist fascist who believed in a Jewish theocratic state where non-Jews have no voting rights. Followers of Kahane have been responsible for numerous violent attacks against Palestinians, including the 1994 murder of 29 Muslim worshippers in the holy city of Hebron. Israel’s current National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has publicly praised Kahane. Reuven Kahane’s actions today model a trend in which Zionists weaponize their discomfort over political slogans as an excuse to assault Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Black, brown, and dissident Jewish protesters in violent retaliation for imagined threats. Reuven Kahane’s actions are emblematic of anti-Palestinian violence encouraged by elected officials like Paladino and Mayor Adams.
This is the second time in a week that Zionists have assaulted members of CUAD and the fourth time this year that CUAD members have been hospitalized, beginning with the IOF veterans’ chemical attack earlier this year that hospitalized 15 pro-Palestinian students. Our members are still recovering from the trauma of NYPD’s siege in Hind Hall, where officers fired a gun, head stomped us, beat us with batons, and detonated a flash grenade in a classroom building in the name of “student safety.” Just as white supremacists ran over a protester in Charlottesville, Zionists on the streets and in police precincts have declared open season on young people fighting for Palestinian Liberation. As every university in Gaza has been destroyed, we continue to hold Columbia accountable for their complicity in genocide.
SHAME ON MINOUCHE SHAFIK, LAURA ROSENBURY, DAVID GREENWALD, FRANCINE LEFRAK, ABIGAIL BLACK ELBAUM, JEH JOHNSON, AND ALL COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES AND LACKEYS
WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL COLUMBIA DIVESTS
LONG LIVE THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL RESISTANCE
LONG LIVE THE STUDENT INTIFADA
FREE PALESTINE FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA WITHIN OUR LIFETIME
GLORY TO ALL THE MARTYRS