White House condemns ‘blatantly anti-Semitic’ protests amid ongoing unrest in Colombia

The White House on Sunday condemned calls for “violence and physical intimidation aimed at Jewish students” as protests continue at US universities, including the latest protest at Columbia University in New York.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation against Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly anti-Semitic, unacceptable and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on college campuses , nor anywhere else in the United States. America,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement shared with The Hill.

“And 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 continued.

The statement came shortly after reports released On Sunday, an associate rabbi at Columbia University sent a message to 300 Jewish students to leave campus, return home and stay there before the start of Passover, the Jewish holiday that begins Monday evening.

The Hillel campus contradicted this statement, write on social platform“We do not believe that Jewish students should leave @Colombia. We believe the University and the City must do more to ensure the safety of our students.

Protests have continued at Columbia University since last week, when dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment consisting of dozens of tents on campus. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik later authorized the New York Police Department to help remove the camp.

More than 100 protesters arrested, NBC News reported last week.

All university students involved in the protest were told they would be suspended, according to school officials.

Among the suspended was Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Hirsi is a student at Barnard College, which is linked to Columbia but has some independence.

A series of U.S. universities have faced a surge in demonstrations and protests in the months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, which left about 1,200 people dead in southern Israel and about 250 others captured. hostages.

Israel responded with a bombardment of Gaza, which killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.