Columbia University continues to fail Jewish students, The Free Press reports, after effectively allowing the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition to hold a two-day celebration of terrorism.
Shoshanna Aufzien and Alon Levin filed a Title IV complaint with the school in November after scoping out the event “Hind’s House” — a series of pro-Hamas exhibitions ostensibly honoring Hind Rijab, a five-year-old Gazan girl killed in the Israel-Hamas war.
Student protesters renamed Hamilton Hall, “Hind’s Hall,” last April after breaking into the building and holding several custodians hostage. The infamous “occupation” resulted in more than 100 arrests.
Title IV of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in institutions and activities that receive federal aid. These protections extend to the creation of “hostile environments” based on these characteristics, which the Department of Education defines as:
In their Title IV complaint, Aufzien and Levin alleged the “terrorist propaganda and antisemitic tropes [displayed at ‘Hind’s House’] in such a blatant manner [made them] feel targeted and unsafe.”
It’s no wonder. The students’ testimony, in addition to photos and videos obtained by The Free Press, show “Hind’s House” presented, in part, a wall covered in distorted and bloodstained paintings of menorahs and Jewish stars; a poetry reading “borrowing” from Yahya Sinwar, the deceased Hamas leader behind the October 7, 2023 massacre of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens; a “resistance training” session teaching attendees how to avoid detection while protesting; and a poem superimposed over an image of a hang-glider, which Hamas terrorists used to breach Israel’s borders on October 7.
“So on that day, the people of Gaza drifted into the sky like a host of colorful dragon flies,” the poem read.
The event most prominently featured a shrine, of sorts, to the take-over of Hamilton Hall. Event-runners filled a pool table with wire cutters, wrenches, hammers and other tools used to break into and vandalize the building.
Among the tools were the red headbands protester’s sported, emblazoned with the logo of another regional terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (Ironically, Hamas sprouted in opposition to PFLP and other groups interested in establishing a secular regime in Palestine. The two don’t like each other.)
The pro-Hamas protest queen herself, Nerdeen Kiswani, thanked the Hamilton Hall vandals in a speech at “Hind’s House.”
Kiswani runs Within Our Lifetime, the pro-Hamas group behind some of the most damaging and disruptive demonstrations in New York. She was banned from Columbia’s campus in November 2023 after she called for “intifada revolution,” or armed rebellion against Israel. She defied this ban in April to participate in Columbia’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”
True to form, Kiswani concluded, “As long as Israel exists, it’s a genocide against the Palestinian people…”
Click here to learn about the real genocide that took place in 2024.
Columbia has made promise after promise to address campus antisemitism. This summer, the school’s Antisemitism Taskforce released a report documenting the abuse Jewish and Israeli students suffered during pro-Hamas protests and recommending the university make changes to address the “serious and pervasive” problems the investigation uncovered.
One section of this report specifically concludes:
But outside a single Zoom call with the Columbia’s Office of Institutional Equity — which, to its credit, was reportedly engaged and concerned — Aufzien and Levin do not know the status of their Title IV complaint.
“We don’t know what happened next with the information we provided,” Levin told The Free Press.
Columbia, for its part, claims the investigation is ongoing, but tricky, because “Hind’s House” took place in an off-campus house owned and operated by an alumni group. The school reportedly pays for several of the houses’ amenities, including Wi-Fi.
“Essentially, the house exists in an ambiguous gray zone,” Levin explains, “allowing Columbia not to take accountability for the events that take place there, despite its clear affiliation with the school.”
It’s unclear whether Columbia will face any punishment for violating Title IV, but that’s beside the point. In “Hind’s House,” Columbia had a perfect opportunity to demonstrate its revitalized commitment to antisemitism. Instead, it has proven itself as feckless as ever — full of promises but ultimately unwilling to confront even the most blatant antisemitism.
I wish I could say I was surprised.
Additional Articles and Resources
New York Drops Charges Against Pro-Hamas Protesters Who Stormed Hamilton Hall
INVESTIGATION: Who funds anti-Israel protests?
Jewish Students Urged to Flee Columbia University Following Antisemitic Protest
Antisemitism — What It Is and Its Connection to the Israel-Hamas War
Israel is Under Attack—Here’s Why Christians Should Support Its Defense
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