Masked protesters invade and disrupt ‘History of Modern Israel’ course at Columbia, video shows

The students repeatedly refused requests to leave the class and recited anti-Israeli propaganda.

‘We want to be absolutely clear that any act of antisemitism, or other form of discrimination, harassment, or intimidation against members of our community is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,’ Columbia’s interim president said.

Screenshot taken from X account of Elisha Baker.

Masked protesters at Columbia University have apparently disrupted the first day of a course on Israeli history, prompting a condemnation from the school’s leadership. 

Elisha Baker, a Columbia University student, posted a video to X on Tuesday showing keffiyeh-clad and hooded protesters staging their demonstration during the “History of Modern Israel” class.

One of the activists filmed another protester from the group as she started reading from a pre-written anti-Israel statement, beginning: “We’re giving you an inside scoop on Columbia University’s normalization of genocide.” Other protesters handed out flyers with anti-Israel propaganda. 

The activists ignored repeated requests from the students and from the professor, Avi Shilon, to leave the classroom. The students also told the activists to remove their face coverings, to no avail. 

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The student reading the pre-written statement continued, calling Israel an “apartheid state,” and claiming Columbia University should have named the class “history of the occupation from the point of view of the colonizers.”

She also accused Israeli soldiers of “raid[ing] homes of martyrs and refugees to try on their underwear.”

One of the students in the class responded: “Is this why you came to Columbia? Is this what you’re paying for? Is this why you’re here? You think this is what you do in a classroom?”

Professor Shilon also said: “If you want to talk, you are invited to talk. If you want to protest, please get out.”

The activists eventually left, shouting “Free Palestine!” 

Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong issued a statement in response to the disruption on Tuesday, stating that the university “strongly condemn[s] this disruption, as well as the fliers that included violent imagery that is unacceptable on our campus and in our community.”

Armstrong added that “[n]o group of students has a right to disrupt another group of students in a Columbia classroom,” stated that the activists violated university regulations, and promised that Columbia would “move quickly to investigate and address this act.”

“We want to be absolutely clear that any act of antisemitism, or other form of discrimination, harassment, or intimidation against members of our community is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the statement concluded. 

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The classroom invasion was not the only action that anti-Israel activists carried out at the Ivy League university recently. Columbia University Apartheid Divest also posted an Instagram video on Tuesday, showing a hooded protester defacing the walls of a campus building with anti-Israel graffiti.  

Professor Shilon has taught the “History of Modern Israel” course before in 2023, and his class was “exceptionally well received,” according to the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University. 

A Columbia University spokesperson directed Campus Reform to the university’s statement condemning the incident, and to two updates about the occurrence. 

Campus Reform has contacted Professor Shilon for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.