Columbia University Suspends and Evicts Four Students Over Unauthorized Pro-Hamas Event

Four Columbia University students were suspended last Friday over an unauthorized event dubbed “Resistance 101” which featured a speaker who allegedly has connections to a terrorist group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The event called “Resistance 101” was led by prominent Palestinian activist Khaled Barakat, who appeared by video to discuss the Gaza conflict that erupted in the aftermath of Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7…

During the meeting, Barakat — who has been accused of being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — talked about speaking with his “friends and brothers in Hamas, Islamic Jihad… the PFLP… especially after Oct.7,” and how excited they are when they see student groups in America protesting on their behalf.

“They don’t care about what Biden says and what Kamala Harris says… what they’re focused on is to actually stop the Israeli aggression and defeat Israel,” Barakat said during the meeting.

It’s hard to overstate just how extreme this event was. Fortunately, the whole thing was recorded so I can give you a few samples. Here’s Khaled Barakat praising Hamas for their 10/7 attack on Israel.

Since I released the full video of this event, I am skipping intros and getting to the meat and potatoes of this radical teach-in.

Khaled Barakat states, “It’s really important to see how the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation have liberated the Palestinian inner-strength outside. The new… pic.twitter.com/6nC1gUX3q0

— Stu (@thestustustudio) March 26, 2024

And here he is talking about his friends in Hamas and the PFLP:

If there was any doubt…

“When I speak to my friends and brothers in Hamas Islamic Jihad you know the PFLP in Gaza these days, especially after October 7th, we talk about different things that has nothing to do with our movement… when they see students organizing outside… pic.twitter.com/x1MwrImkma

— Stu (@thestustustudio) March 26, 2024

This is Charlotte Kates (Barakat’s wife) arguing there is nothing wrong with being a member (or a fighter) in Hamas.

I feel like I am burying the lead here but…

“The fact is that Hamas is a mass Palestinian movement that is in a leadership role in the liberation struggle right now and there is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter, and Hamas,… pic.twitter.com/IxdKpaQmea

— Stu (@thestustustudio) March 26, 2024

One more clip. This is Sean Eren from the National Students for Justice in Palestine Steering Committee. He is talking about how Hamas’ has created a united front with leftist groups and how their ability to defeat Israel and the US is “inspirational.”

Sean Eren who is part of National Students for Justice in Palestine discussed how “a blend of of tactics and a blend of ideologies that some people relate to
Maoism, some people relate to Orthodox Marxist Leninist from a party that is not you know overtly leftist. It’s a purely… pic.twitter.com/5Lg3IpWwC8

— Stu (@thestustustudio) March 26, 2024

The event was organized by a student group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest. It was banned from campus but organizers held it anyway. The university brought in an outside firm to investigate and Columbia’s president condemned it.

Columbia President Minouche Shafik acknowledged in a statement that the “Resistance 101” event featured speakers who “support terrorism and promote violence” and that administrators had already prohibited the event twice.

“I want to state for the record that this event is an abhorrent breach of our values,” Shafik said in the statement.

She added, “I did not become a university president to punish students. At the same time, actions like this on our campus must have consequences. That I would ever have to declare the following is in itself surprising, but I want to make clear that it is absolutely unacceptable for any member of this community to promote the use of terror or violence.”

Initially, six students were suspended but the school reversed itself on two of those students. The other four were given 24-hours to vacate their dorms.

The University initially suspended six students and notified them of eviction, but lifted sanctions on two students on Thursday, a Columbia College sophomore whose suspension was lifted told Spectator. The sophomore said he was not involved in organizing nor did he attend the event, but lives in the residence hall where the panel was held.

In a document from the Center for Student Success and Intervention obtained by Spectator, a suspended student received preliminary charges of disruptive behavior, endangerment, violation of law, violation of University policy, and “failure to comply.” The student was sanctioned with an “interim” suspension, making them unable to participate in classes and extracurriculars or enter campus without prior arrangements through public safety.

You might think that having their members suspended and kicked off campus would chasten this group somewhat. But in fact, they held another unauthorized demonstration on campus during which the students who were suspended complained they were now homeless:

The evicted students spoke out against Columbia’s decision at a separate pro-Palestinian event on Thursday called “All Out for Al-Shifa”, a reference to the hospital in Gaza that has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli troops.

“I stand before you today as one of the six Columbia students unjustly and inhumanely suspended from Columbia as of 8 pm last night,” one student speaker said at the event. “Columbia is making us homeless, taking away our campus jobs, our sole source of income, taking away our scholarships, our access to dining halls, our access to classrooms and education that we have earned.”

I guess Columbia takes a dim view of undergrads using spaces at the school to support terrorists. What a radical idea.