Two Barnard College students in New York City have been expelled for their alleged roles in disrupting the first session of the History of Modern Israel course last month.
The expulsions were made public by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group that calls on Columbia University to divest from any association with Israel. Barnard and Columbia are affiliated institutions.
In a post on X, the group said the Barnard administration has historically been hostile to those in support of Palestine while “wielding harsh disciplinary sentences against protestors to stifle dissent in an attempt to erase their complicity.”
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The entrance gate to Barnard College. Two Barnard students have reportedly been expelled for participating in the disruption of a modern Israel course in January. (Photographer name/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury said that under federal law, the college can’t “comment on the academic and disciplinary records of students.”
“That said, as a matter of principle and policy, Barnard will always take decisive action to protect our community as a place where learning thrives, individuals feel safe, and higher education is celebrated,” Rosenbury wrote, without confirming the expulsions. “This means upholding the highest standards and acting when those standards are threatened.”
“When rules are broken, when there is no remorse, no reflection, and no willingness to change, we must act,” she added. “Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience. At Barnard, we always fiercely defend our values. At Barnard, we always reject harassment and discrimination in all forms. And at Barnard, we always do what is right, not what is easy.”
The two unidentified students who were expelled reportedly banged on drums and chanted “free Palestine” during the course, which was held on Jan. 21, the Jewish Insider reported. The two Barnard students, a Columbia student and a fourth person also tried to plaster the walls of the classroom with a sign featuring an illustration of Hamas terrorists pointing guns and the words “THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW,” the report states.
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A student protester waves a large Palestinian flag at their encampment on the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in New York. Protesters of the war in Gaza who are encamped at Columbia University have defied a deadline to disband with chants, clapping and drumming. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
On Sunday, the CUAD posted a video taken by protesters during the class disruption on Instagram. The caption of the post described the History of Modern Israel class as “training future foot soldiers and managers of genocide.”
“We disrupted a zionist class, and you should too,” the post states.
The Columbia student was suspended days after the incident by Columbia University, according to the school.
Brian Cohen, the director of The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life praised Rosenbury’s actions.
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
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“These former students disrupted a class, handed out antisemitic flyers, and harassed students who only wanted to learn. These individuals don’t belong on campus – and now they won’t be,” he wrote Sunday on X.
