Amid an ongoing pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University in New York City, some celebrities have taken to social media to support protest on college campuses as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Early Wednesday morning, students began gathering and pitching tents for what they called the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" in an effort to demand that the Columbia administration to divest from companies affiliated with Israel.
College students have been at the forefront of pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protests since the Israel-Hamas war began. On October 7, the Hamas militant group led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest airstrikes against Gaza. As of Monday, at least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, per the Israeli government. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, per the Gaza Health Ministry, according to AP.
Protests have since erupted across the nation as tensions escalate, with many calling for a lasting ceasefire amid the rising death toll, particularly among civilians.
On Monday, the protest continued despite university officials authorizing the New York City Police Department to sweep the encampment on Thursday, saying that the students had violated school policies. Officers in riot gear arrested more than 100 students and the university said those students have been suspended.
Meanwhile, many celebrities have expressed either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian sentiments on social media. Celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo and John Cusack are among those who have spoken out in support of Palestinians. Since the protest at Columbia began, these celebrities have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to show their support.
Sarandon, who has not shared a post of her own on the protest, has retweeted several posts that show support. The actress retweeted Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's post on the protest that takes aim at the disciplinary action students are facing: "What is going on here @BarnardCollege @Columbia? How does a student with no disciplinary record suddenly get to a suspension less than 24 hours after a nonviolent protest? What merits asymmetric crackdowns on Palestinian human rights protests?"
This is not the first Sarandon has shown her support. She attended a pro-Palestinian event in November, sharing a photo captioned: "You don't have to be Palestinian to care about what's happening in Gaza. I stand with Palestine. No one is free until everyone is free."
Ruffalo, who has continued to post his support for a ceasefire, shared a local news story on X but warned against violence against the Jewish community.
"Protest the War but do not advocate for violence against our Jewish brothers and sisters," he wrote. "There is no place for that in a peace movement nor in a movement for freedom. It mirrors the horrors that we are witnessing every day in Gaza now."
Ruffalo's comments come after reports of harassment of Jewish students began surfacing on social media on Saturday night. The reports prompted a rabbi at Columbia to send a message to Jewish students, urging them to leave campus for their own safety. Rabbi Elie Buechler said it was clear that Columbia and New York police "cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy."
A Columbia spokesperson previously told Newsweek that the university is "acting on concerns we are hearing from our Jewish students and are providing additional support and resources to ensure that our community remains safe."
Newsweek has reached out to Columbia University via email for comment.
Cusack, who has also taken to X to show his support for the protest, took aim at the mainstream media for "implying the college protests are anti-Semitic."
"It's hateful, dangerous cynical and disgusting for mainstream press to keep implying the college protests are anti Semitic - naming Israeli Zionists as morally practicably responsible ( with US ) - for the genocide is factual. If these anti Semitic incidents are actually happening - it's of course important. But the press on this issue - cannot be trusted now - and that makes the world more dangerous - protects no one," the actor wrote.
According to the Columbia student coalition's statement on Sunday, they are "frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us."
Student protesters "have been misidentified by a politically motivated mob, doxxed in the press, arrested by the NYPD, and locked out of their homes by the university," it said. "We have knowingly put ourselves in danger because we can no longer be complicit in Columbia funneling our tuition dollars and grant funding into companies that profit from death."
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
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