Rewritten Article:
Elliot Sadoff, a senior at Columbia University, appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the surge in antisemitism on campus and how he is combating anti-Israel sentiment. He highlighted signs that included common tents being pre-purchased and timed protests taking place before Passover which put Jewish students at a disadvantage due to them potentially being away for the holiday. Sadoff also mentioned similarities in language used by protesters and foreign actors, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Fox News contributor Michelle Greene similarly spoke of “training sessions” organised by Palestinian groups taking place at Columbia University and other locations that were designed to train students using the same talking points utilised by leaders from these organisations in speeches advocating for a global intifada and foreign assistance. She explained how there have been similarities observed between equipment, language used during protests, as well as domestic origins of movements being facilitated and fuelled by foreign agents.
Weeks before anti-Israel demonstrations reached their peak following Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s testimony to Congress about antisemitism on campus, the university had already suspended several students over a March 24 event hosted at one of its residential facilities that was barred from occurring twice. Video footage circulating online showed a two-hour “Resistance 101” seminar organised by Columbia University Apartheid Divest featuring Charlotte Kates and her husband Khaled Barakat, who has links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), classified as a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organisation by the State Department.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also highlighted how during a webinar hosted at Columbia University, Barakat told students that “friends from Hamas or Islamic Jihad” underscored their commitment to campus-based assistance above anything political leaders like President Biden might say in his remarks. He added that these same individuals do not care about the former’s opinions but rather view college campuses as crucial battlegrounds for support, with Barakat declaring that “every demonstration [in New York] matters more than all this nonsense happening on mainstream media.”
NYPD officers cleared away tents from an encampment set up by anti-Israel protesters at NYU in April. The Students for Justice in Palestine’s name has been a regular fixture of protests across elite universities, with Greene describing the group as “remarkably shadowy” given it doesn’t operate under its own 501c3, making examination challenging since observing its inner workings is challenging without legal requirements around governance.
The Biden administration’s failure to prioritise this issue was highlighted by Sadoff and Greene, who stated that the problem would necessitate significant government intervention for investigation into organisations violating non-profit tax laws to facilitate foreign influence or support terrorism to be revealed over time in a similar manner as occurred with previous investigations. However, they emphasised that such action requires an administration prioritising this issue – something currently lacking under President Biden’s leadership.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry separately criticized the apparent uniformity among tents used by demonstrators on Monday night’s protests, with Adams suggesting that “outside agitators” have latched onto university student initiatives aiming to intensify disturbance in communities across these states. Mayor Adams also highlighted how authorities had identified individuals who did not attend either Columbia University or NYU and were inciting trouble within campus confines as the rallies reached a crescendo of passion at week’s end – demonstrations characterised by confrontational, belligerent chants directed against Jewish students and university administrators.
Representative Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) also weighed in on this matter while visiting Columbia University yesterday; he criticized “terrorist sympathizers” who were proud of being endorsed by Hamas, describing them as part of the problem. He added that if these threats and intimidation continue without any resolution or containment, it could escalate to a situation necessitating deployment of National Guard forces. NYPD officials explained on record why officers required permission from university leadership before entering campus premises: they cannot trespass onto private property unless there is an ongoing crime in progress at the time – and when such incidents arise where lives are threatened by individuals involved, law enforcement authorities will intervene immediately to forestall injury to potential targets or victim(s) during active violent scenes unfolding on college campuses.
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