Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to drown out a pro-Israel march on Thursday near the New York City Ivy League campus of Columbia University.
Student protesters have been holding a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia for over a week, inspiring a wave of other similar rallies at college campuses across the country and repeated accusations of antisemitism.
The pro-Israel demonstration, dubbed "United For Israel March," was organized by the newly formed Columbia Jewish Alumni Association and conservative activists, including evangelical Christian singer Sean Feucht and talk radio host Eric Metaxas.
Videos shared to social media on Thursday show pro-Palestinian demonstrators walking alongside the pro-Israel march while holding signs with slogans like "Christian Zionism = Antisemitism" and "Solidarity is Our Weapon" as the groups shouted opposing messages.
At least one pro-Palestinian protester banged on a pot while being shouted out by those gathered for Israel.
The Context
Columbia students protesting Israel's assault on Gaza following the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas established a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on April 17. Police raided the encampment and made mass arrests the following day, while the university suspended some of the protesters.
Reports of antisemitic incidents at the protest sparked outrage from some lawmakers and Jewish groups who say the demonstration is brewing antisemitism, although student protesters have blamed outside groups.
Regardless, the demonstration—which is calling for the university to divest from companies that allegedly "profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine"—has continued to expand, inspiring similar protests nationwide.
The pro-Israel march on Thursday comes amid similar pushback from conservative lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who suggested during a visit to Columbia on Wednesday that it would be "appropriate" to use the National Guard against protesters.
What We Know
The "United For Israel" march began around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. While it was a notably larger demonstration than the small counterprotests at Columbia over the past week, the pro-Israel crowd was still dwarfed in comparison to the week's pro-Palestinian crowds.
But the group of pro-Palestinian protesters who confronted or attempted to drown out the march appeared to be much smaller than the group participating in the march itself on Thursday.
A large number of New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers were present, playing recorded messages warning of arrests for anyone who obstructed the road or sidewalk.
An NYPD spokesperson told Newsweek over the phone that no arrests had been made as of 8 p.m.
Direct confrontations between the two groups were limited, although particularly tense clashes included a pro-Palestinian protester shouting "God bless Hamas" at the pro-Israel crowd.
A pro-Israel march participant appeared to shout "you want to get raped, you want to get murdered" at Jewish pro-Palestinian protesters.
Views
The evangelical Christian organizers of the march discussed their motivations for supporting Israel during a livestream earlier this week.
"These are the end days," Feucht said while smiling during the livestream. "We're one day closer to the return of Jesus, and as that ramps up we're gonna see a rise of evil, we're gonna see a rise of glory, we're gonna see a rise of hatred for the Jewish people."
Co-organizer Russell Johnson, a pastor who also participated in the livestream, made similar remarks, saying that "Israel will serve as a redemptive sign" as "we move closer to the return of the Lord."
What's Next
The pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia and other college campuses appear unlikely to disappear soon. Counterprotests and political debates about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict are also likely to remain in the foreseeable future.
President Joe Biden faced backlash earlier this week after saying that he condemns both "the antisemitic protests" and "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians." Biden signed into law a $95.3 billion bill that includes $15 billion in military aid for Israel on Wednesday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
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