A business professor at Columbia University called out the university president, as well as their counterparts at universities across the nation, over their refusal to condemn “pro-terror” student organizations. In the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks that have left more than 1,400 dead in southern Israel, student organizations have released statements and organized rallies in support of the Palestinian cause, with many whitewashing or justifying the attacks.
“I’m going to stand here because I want everyone to see where I’m standing. I want everyone to see where we are. Okay. So everyone, please take out your phones because I want this message to get to every parent who sent their kids to Columbia University and trusted their kids and their children’s safety with us,” the professor shouted during a pro-Israel demonstration on Columbia’s campus. “I want this message to get to every parent in America who sends their kids to NYU, to Harvard, to Stanford, to Berkeley. And I want you to know one thing, we cannot protect your child. And I’m not saying this as a professor.”
He went in to explain that in addition to being Israeli, he is also a father who has grown increasingly concerned by the rhetoric and instances of anti-Jewish attacks on campus. “I’m speaking to you as a dad, and I want you to know, we cannot protect your children from pro-terror student organizations because the president of Columbia University will not speak out against pro-terror student organizations, because the president of Harvard University, because the president of Stanford, because the president of Berkeley, they will not speak out against pro-terror student organizations.,” the professor, who identified himself as Shai Davidai, continued.
Rallies in support of Palestine have occurred at universities across the nation, including Columbia. Last week, a pro-Israeli student was assaulted by pro-Hamas students just outside the university’s main library.
At Harvard, a student organization released a letter in which they offered support for Palestine and insinuated that Israel was responsible for the attacks. “Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence,” the group said.
Harvard president Claudine Gay has come out in support of the students, stating that “we do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views, but that is a far cry from endorsing them.”