Protests held outside Columbia University on first day of classes

NEW YORK — Protests were held outside Columbia University on Tuesday, the first day of classes.
CBS News New York has learned the group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine organized the demonstrations. It was involved in many of the protests at the school in the spring and has repeatedly demanded the university divest from Israel in the wake of the ongoing war with Hamas.
The protesters started at around 9:30 a.m. outside the campus gates at Broadway near 116th Street. There was a similar protest on the opposite side near the gates by Amsterdam Avenue.
The NYPD said later Tuesday at least two people had been arrested.
There were no signs of any demonstrations on the campus grounds, but at around noon the Alma Mater statue outside Low Memorial Library was doused with red paint, Chopper 2’s Jim Smith reported. The area was blocked off and crews worked to clean the statue. There was no immediate word on any arrests or suspects related to the vandalism.
“They’re making life unbearable for all Jews on campus. They’re making life unbearable for everyone on campus, right? Nobody wants this,” Columbia senior Alon Simon Levin said.
In a statement, a university spokesperson said, “The University welcomed new and returning students for a productive first day of classes on Morningside Campus. As we begin the new semester, we are focused on our mission of teaching, creating, and advancing knowledge and ensuring a safe, respectful campus environment for our community.”
New security measures were put in place at the end of last semester, after protests on campus over the war led to numerous arrests. The changes include students and staff having to show identification at the five points of entry to the Morningside campus. Any guests must also pre-register.
“I don’t mind having to show my ID. What I mind is the fact that I’m being harassed every time I walk by these people,” Levin said. “You hear them. They’re saying ‘Antifada is the only solution.’ We’ve already heard what one solution means. They’re standing here in masks calling for, essentially, the destruction of the one Jewish state.”
However, Professor Joseph Howley said not all Jewish students share the same sentiment.
“I know there are Jewish students in that picket line right now. I know there are also Jewish students who feel a deep connection to state of Israel and are probably very unhappy seeing protests directed at the state of Israel. I could also turn it around and ask the alternative question, which is how are our Palestinian students feeling walking on to campus for the first day of classes and seeing so many of their classmates willing to come out and protest a war that has been killing their family members for the last year?” Howley said.
Demonstrators gathered in late August to call for college campuses to put a mask ban in place to better protect students during protests.
Just a block from Columbia, more than 100 pro-Israeli demonstrators came together to urge American colleges to ban face coverings during protests.
“They want to make us feel us unsafe, afraid and targeted simply because of our Jewish identify,” one demonstrator said.
It followed the spring protests at the school, where some accused pro-Palestinian demonstrators of covering their faces and taunting Jewish students.
Former Columbia President Minouche Shafik’s 13-month tenure was marred by controversy over her handling of pro-Palestinian protests. She announced her resignation in August and was replaced on an interim basis by Katrina Armstrong, who has vowed to balance students’ right to free expression with ensuring safety on campus.
“I don’t believe this is the right way to prevent innocent people from dying because innocent people are dying, and it’s a shame, but innocent people are dying on both sides. And we have to acknowledge this is a two-way conflict,” student Leo Ravina said.
Students who support Israel said Shafik waited too long to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters’ encampments in the spring.
Shafik had also been criticized for twice bringing in the NYPD, which took action and forced out protesters who were barricaded inside Hamilton Hall.
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine posted on Instagram, “Any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body’s overwhelming demand for divestment will end exactly as President Shafik did.”