Columbia University students and Jewish advocates called on the Ivy League school Thursday to crack down on the more than 80 anti-Israel rioters who took part in a violent takeover of a campus library.
The elite Upper West Side school has so far kept quiet about what, if any, punishment students and staff who stormed Butler Library on Wednesday will face, including whether they would be suspended or even expelled.
“What happens the day after? We need to see serious consequences,” Joseph Postasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis told The Post, calling for “some Old Testament” justice.
“This happened during preparation for final exams — they don’t qualify as serious students,” he said of the rioters. “There should be harsh consequences — people were assaulted. Columbia needs to come down hard or this activity will happen again and again.”
Postasnik’s sentiment was echoed by the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, which said it was “dismayed at the violence, destruction of property and antisemitic acts by protesters” at the library, while still thanking the school for calling in the cops.
“We look forward to Columbia holding these students accountable for their actions so that the 99% of Jewish and non-Jewish students can do what they pay for — focus on learning.”
Dozens of masked thugs stormed the campus library in the afternoon as students studied there. The protesters committed acts of vandalism and injured two campus security guards in the melee, prompting the school to call in the NYPD hours later, administrators said.
In all, 81 rioters were arrested — 62 women and 19 men — all of whom have since been released with tickets or summonses for trespassing or criminal mischief, law-enforcement sources said. Their identities were not released.
Acting Columbia University president Claire Shipman put out a video statement Thursday morning condemning the “substantial chaos” caused by the mob, and hinting that “the disciplinary proceedings will reflect the severity of the actions,” but did not give further specifics.
Shipman said the disruptive protest forced some 900 students from the library reading room, many of whom left their belongings behind in the chaos.
She condemned the rioters for intruding on hard-working pupils whose studies were interrupted.
“It’s a big shame and a big offense to students who are trying to study for the finals. It’s an unbelievably considerate disruption that does frankly nothing for their cause,” agreed Natan Rosenbaum, 22, a junior studying American Studies.
He called the library break-in “completely inexcusable.”
“This is nothing more than sowing chaos and anarchy and I’m glad it was shut down,” he told The Post Thursday, praising Shipman for having the cops bust up the demonstration.
Elisha Baker, also a junior, called the mob’s actions “outrageous and unacceptable,” and said she was grateful for Columbia Public Safety officers holding the ground, despite being far outnumbered.
“I am looking forward to seeing any students involved disciplined for their behavior. There is no place for those actions on a college campus,” she said.
Although it was quiet on the Morningside Heights campus a day after the violent episode, Matan Barak, 22, an Israel Defense Forces soldier on vacation, said he feared further escalation was still possible.
“What are they waiting for? For something worse to happen?” he said of the university administration.
As for the protesters’ frequently repeated refrain of “free Palestine,” Barak said, “If you have never been in Israel, how could you cheer on a team you’ve never been to? If you’ve never seen a basketball game, how could you cheer a team you don’t know?”
He was incredulous that the students involved in the riot were allowed to remain on the rolls.
“Why do they still have people that go to school here that want to kill Jews? That’s what they want to do,” he said.
Columbia has been locked in tense negotiations with the Trump administration over demands it take meaningful action to curb antisemitism on campus — which has erupted in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks that killed over 1,200 people.
President Trump threatened to yank around $400 million in federal funding if the school failed to comply, and in March Columbia agreed to adhere to many of the requirements in principle, chief among them forbidding mask wearing by students engaged in violations of university policies.
Nearly all of Wednesday’s rioters were wearing masks while flagrantly flouting the rules, and the university’s response will be something of a referendum on how strictly it intends to follow the newly implemented prohibitions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the feds would be reviewing the visa statuses of those involved in the mayhem.
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