The pro-Palestinian student organization at Columbia University known as Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine issued a statement in which they supported recent attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel by portraying them as a “counter-offensive against their settler-colonial oppressor.” In the statement, they referred to Israel as a “settler-colonial oppressor.” The statement was released after Hamas carried out attacks on Israel, which ultimately resulted in casualties being sustained by both parties.
The student group argued that the assaults on Israel were a watershed moment for Palestinians in Gaza, stating that they were breaking free from oppression as a result of the uprising against Israel and that this watershed moment was marked by the attacks on Israel. They emphasized the power imbalance that exists between Palestinians and Israelis as a result of the significant amount of military financing that Israel receives from the United States. This funding comes mostly from the United States.
The organization disagreed with any account of the events that portrayed the attacks as “unprovoked” and claimed that peace initiatives amounted to “quiet submission to systemic violence.” In addition to this, they described the previous Israeli bombings against Gaza as “indiscriminate” operations that were carried out against Palestinian civilians.
The statement leveled criticism at administrators of the institution who had previously shown support for Israel and demanded that the university cut ties with Israel. In addition, the statement demanded that a dual-degree program that was being provided in cooperation with Tel Aviv University be discontinued immediately. The organization begged the institution to acknowledge not only the humanity of Palestinians but also their existence as a people group.
Columbia University has issued a statement in reaction to the statement that was issued by a coalition of student groups at Harvard University. That statement blamed Israel for the recent attacks, which provoked a great amount of debate and condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum.