Columbia University has reportedly started suspending students involved in an anti-Israel encampment established on the campus grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang revealed<\/a> in a statement that the university had started the process of suspending students after giving them a 2:00 p.m. deadline to vacate the encampment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus,\u201d Chang said in the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his statement, Chang revealed<\/a> that suspended students will no longer be eligible to finish the semester or graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To View TweetEnable Social Cookies<\/p>\n\n\n\n View on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier in the day, Columbia University had distributed a letter to anti-Israel protesters taking part in the encampment informing them of a 2:00 p.m. deadline by which to \u201cgather\u201d their belongings and \u201cleave the encampment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter explained that the encampment had created an \u201cunwelcoming environment for members\u201d of the community and adds that students are starting exams and preparing to graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the top of the letter, the words, \u201cColumbia will burn,\u201d and, \u201cI ain\u2019t reading all that. Free Palestine,\u201d were written<\/a> in red ink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the past week and a half, since an initial anti-Israel encampment was established at Columbia University, several others have been established<\/a> at Yale University<\/a>, George Washington University<\/a>, Princeton University, Harvard University<\/a>, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed in the United States since Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which left 1,200 people dead and over 200 people taken as hostages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Breitbart News reached out to Columbia University for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n