Columbia University’s ongoing crisis reached a new low Wednesday evening when more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, many masked and draped in keffiyehs, stormed the main Butler Library, overpowering campus security and igniting a tense standoff that left two security officers injured. Videos circulating online show activists pushing past guards, racing into the ornate reading room, and festooning bookshelves with Palestinian flags and banners. Some protesters even scrawled the menacing phrase “Columbia will burn” across framed photographs.
Anti-Israel, pro-Palestine protesters have taken over Columbia University’s library. All of these people, if they are students, should be immediately expelled: pic.twitter.com/IsJuZi4JTQ
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 7, 2025
The demonstration, organized by the radical group Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was billed as a protest against the university’s alleged ties to Israel and “imperialist violence.” Protesters commandeered the library, renaming it after a Palestinian activist killed by Israeli forces, and refused repeated requests by university officials to show identification or vacate the premises. As the situation escalated, Columbia’s acting president, Claire Shipman, called in the NYPD to “secure the building and the safety of our community,” a move she described as “absolutely necessary” given the presence of agitators not affiliated with the university.
Police in riot gear entered the library, arresting at least 80 individuals, many of whom were escorted out with their hands bound, while supporters outside cheered and chanted “Free Palestine.” The university condemned the violence, antisemitism, and hate on display, with Shipman declaring, “We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University.” New York officials, including Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, also denounced the unrest and pledged support for law enforcement efforts to restore order.
This latest eruption comes amid a wave of anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents that have left Jewish students and faculty feeling increasingly unsafe on campus. Despite new policies banning masks and requiring IDs at protests, Columbia continues to grapple with escalating disruptions and intimidation tactics that threaten the fabric of academic life and Jewish student security.