Student protesters at Columbia University allegedly put on an anti-Israel demonstration right next to a Holocaust Remembrance Day event.
According to a report from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the Students for Justice in Palestine group at Columbia University staged an anti-Israel protest right across from a Holocaust Remembrance Day booth. Approximately 20 students showed up to protest with the pro-Palestine student group.
The Holocaust Remembrance Day booth, which was set up by the Students Supporting Israel group, contained candles and notes from Holocaust survivors. Additionally, the group flew a large Israeli flag.
Aaron Maccabee, a Columbia student member of the Students Supporting Israel, said that the Students for Justice in Palestine held a similar protest during last year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day event.
“It’s offensive because they continue, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, to put on events and speakers that wish to destroy the Jewish state. It’s really horrific to choose this day to bring this kind of hateful rhetoric into our campus,” Maccabee.
A Facebook post from the Students Supporting Israel group condemned the student protesters for choosing Holocaust Remembrance Day to stage their protest.
“The memorial was quickly disrupted by a protest from Columbia’s anti-Israel students who brought speakerphones and chanted for the ethnic cleansing of Jews,” the post read.
The post explained that many anti-Israel student groups use Jewish holidays and Holocaust Remembrance Days to “intimidate” Jewish and pro-Israel students.