'This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible, dangerous': Biden blasts intensified anti-Israel protests at Columbia University

US President Joe Biden has blasted intensified anti-Israel protests over the past week at Columbia University as “blatant antisemitism”, as Jewish groups on campus reacted to a message sent by the university’s Orthodox rabbi to Jewish students urging them to stay away from campus until it is deemed safe again.

According to a Times of Israel report, in the Passover statement, Biden said, “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country.”

Demonstrators have been clashing frequently at Columbia University since the outbreak of war in Gaza following Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel. Tensions escalated in the recent week when the university sought assistance from the NYPD to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment.

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“The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism – in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity,” he added in the statement.

According to the Times of Israel report, over 100 people, including the daughter of US Representative Ilhan Omar, were arrested last Wednesday during the removal of protesting Columbia students. Since then, demonstrators have nightly marched through campus, clamoring with pots and pans, and chanting slogans advocating for an intifada against Israel.

Previous intifadas have seen numerous Israelis killed in terror attacks. Some protesters have voiced support for Hamas and endorsed further attacks akin to Hamas’s actions on 7 October.

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This unrest has prompted the university’s Orthodox rabbi to advise Jewish students to steer clear of campus until safety is assured.

In a letter first reported by CNN, Rabbi Elie Beuchler said the near-daily anti-Israel protests were “terrible and tragic,” adding that as much as it “deeply pains” him, he recommends that Jewish students stay home “until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved,” added the report.

“It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus. No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school,” he was quoted as saying.

Following Beuchler’s letter, Columbia University agreed to allow students to attend classes remotely, according to messages sent in pro-Israel student groups.

The messages also said Jewish students who needed somewhere to stay on Sunday night would be offered accommodation at faculty homes.

Columbia’s Hillel issued its own statement breaking with the Orthodox rabbi, saying it did not believe Jewish students should leave the campus and that it would remain open to serve the community.

At the same time, Hillel made clear that it expects the university and New York City to do more to protect Jewish students.

“We call on the university administration to act immediately in restoring calm to campus. The city must ensure that students can walk up and down Broadway and Amsterdam without fear of harassment,” the report quoted Columbia Hillel as saying.

Similarly, the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association expressed “urgency and profound concern regarding the safety of Jewish students,” in a letter to Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik.

“Jewish students are openly threatened and harassed and the administration’s response thus far has been grossly inadequate,” the alumni association wrote, calling on the president to address threats to Jewish students on campus.

“Now, more than ever, is the time to demonstrate true leadership: enforce the university rules with regard to protests and harassment and restore order and safety on campus. If you cannot stop the masked mobs, please have the NYPD do it,” the letter continued.

Earlier Sunday, the White House on Sunday condemned the pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked Columbia University.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protect, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Times of Israel.

“Echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms,” he said.

Universities abroad, especially in the US, have been the scenes of large anti-Israel protests since October 7, which saw thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

With inputs from agencies