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Dozens of pro-Palestinian students occupied the lobby of the Barnard College library Wednesday in protest of the suspension of students who had participated in "anti-Zionist" activities in classrooms, disrupting academic proceedings. The protesters, wearing keffiyehs and masks, carried drums, flags and signs reading "Free Palestine" while calling for a global intifada. They demanded the immediate reversal of all suspensions and disciplinary actions against pro-Palestinian students.
The administration of Barnard College, an affiliate Columbia University undergraduate college, swiftly issued an official statement warning that the protesters would be forcibly removed if they did not vacate the premises immediately. However, when demonstrators received the written notice, they tore it up in response.
Police on Wednesday evening in New York stormed the library and removed protesters, while claiming there was a bomb threat. The officers then formed a police line and forcibly prevented students from reentering the library.
The New York Police Department said in a statement that the "NYPD is responding to a bomb threat at the Milstein Center at Barnard College and is evacuating the building. Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest. Please stay away from the area."
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Pro-Palestinian students take over Barnard College
(Video: Eliana Goldin)
This was the second such takeover in a week. Six days earlier, another group of anti-Israel students occupied Barnard College’s administration building, blocking the dean’s office. In that incident, school officials offered to engage in dialogue if the protesters removed their masks, but they refused.
The students vowed to continue their demonstrations until their demands are met, blocking hallways, banging on drums, and distributing pro-Palestinian pamphlets. Some protesters pushed security personnel attempting to enter the building, and one administrative staff member was hospitalized following the confrontation.
Earlier in the night, more than 200 pro-Palestinian students and activists, including members of the ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta, protested outside Columbia University’s campus building during a speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The event was organized by the Jewish student group Hillel.
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Columbia University has seen repeated pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. In one of the most notable incidents last April, university officials called in the New York Police Department to remove protesters who had occupied Hamilton Hall after refusing to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. Then-president Minouche Shafik faced intense criticism for involving law enforcement, and the university later announced it would no longer allow NYPD officers on campus for protest removals.
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Evacuation notice to Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rioting at Barnard College
(Photo: Eliana Goldin)
In August 2024, Shafik resigned, partly due to backlash over her handling of the demonstrations. Her successor, Katrina Armstrong, later issued a public apology to pro-Palestinian students for their treatment by police and the administration.
The White House is closely monitoring the situation. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced strict measures against universities that permit "illegal demonstrations," including freezing federal funding and expelling students.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that students involved in such protests would face arrest or permanent expulsion, depending on the severity of their offenses. The administration is also considering freezing $51.4 million in federal funding to Columbia University and conducting a comprehensive review of additional federal grants and contracts totaling more than $5 billion.
The initiative marks the first major action by the federal task force on combating antisemitism, which is focused on enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized that institutions receiving federal funding must protect all students from discrimination and that the issues at Columbia raise serious questions about the university’s eligibility for continued public funding.