President Biden on Monday weighed in on the pro-Palestine demonstrations taking place at elite university campuses.
More than 100 people have been arrested at Columbia University since pro-Palestine protesters began occupying the grounds last week, and police arrested 45 protesters at Yale University on Monday after the demonstrators repeatedly refused to vacate the plaza voluntarily. Students at Yale and Columbia are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanding their universities divest from companies connected to Israel. But some Jewish students at Columbia say many of the chants are antisemitic, and they're concerned about their safety.
Similar protests have been taking place at other college campuses, including at MIT, Boston University, Emerson College and Tufts University.
Other top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York, have criticized the demonstrations, too. The protests come as Passover is set to begin at sundown Monday.
Calls are growing for Columbia's president, Nemat "Minouche" Shafik, to resign, as Columbia goes fully remote in an effort to deescalate the situation.
The entire Republican congressional New York delegation called for Shafik's resignation Monday, accusing her of failing to keep students safe.
"The ongoing situation that has unfolded is a direct symptom of your continued lax enforcement of policy and clear double standards," the lawmakers wrote. "Your failure to enforce the rules on campus has created an environment in which students and outside agitators know they are able to operate with impunity and without any accountability. While the rot is systemic, the responsibility rests squarely on your shoulders."
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who was just outside Columbia University Monday, "Everybody has the right to protest. They have the right to voice their opinion. The moment you turn that into physical assaults or threats against others is the moment you lose that right."
Shafik testified before Congress for several hours last week, telling Congress, "Antisemitism has no place on our campus and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly."
Israel continues near-daily aid raids on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, including children.
