April 30, 2024 (EIRNS)—By no later than 7:42 a.m. on April 29, the day that Columbia campus administrators set a 2 p.m. deadline for the clearing of the pro-Palestine encampment, the university had been sent a letter by a grouping of 21 Democratic Party members of Congress, led by Josh Gottheimer and Dan Goldman, demanding that the encampment be disbanded.
The letter claimed that the protest encampment was a “breeding ground for anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish students”—where “attacks” in this case means “hate speech, harassment, intimidation, and even threats of violence.” It says that the chant “from the river to the sea” is a direct demand to “eliminate Israel and all Jews within its borders.” The members of Congress hyperbolically claim that “many students … cannot safely attend class, enter the library, or leave their dorm rooms” [emphasis added].
They claim that the university is not in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial and other forms of discrimination in programs supported by federal funding.
“The time for negotiation is over; the time for action is now. It is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to act. If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University’s legal obligations under Title VI,” the letter concludes.
(It is noteworthy that neither Gottheimer nor Goldman have posted on their X accounts about this letter.)
