The College Democrats of America issued a statement commending pro-Palestinian protesters for their “bravery,” hours after protesters seized control of a building at Columbia University.
In its statement, the student organization of the Democrat Party said it stood “with the broad and interfaith coalitions of students” that were protesting and had established anti-Israel encampments at Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, George Washington University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The statement read:
There is nothing more American than the right to protest peacefully for what is right. The freedom of speech, assembly, and protest is not just one enshrined in our constitution, but one that has been a tradition in America for generations, ranging from movements surrounding Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, LGBTQ equality, and more recently Climate Change.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University took control of Hamilton Hall, an academic building on campus, and were captured on video smashing the glass doors, bringing barricades into the building, and hanging pro-Palestinian banners from the windows.
— College Democrats of America (@CollegeDems) April 30, 2024
In the aftermath of the occupation, Columbia University restricted access to its campus for the remainder of the semester and threatened to expel the students currently occupying the encampment.
The College Democrats continued:
We commend the bravery of students across the country who have been willing to endure arrests, suspension, and threats of expulsion to stand up for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.
While the organization acknowledged that it stood with “those protesting for peace,” it added that it found “all calls for violence, such as those against Jewish and Muslim students, wrong,” while not addressing the events that unfolded in the morning at Columbia University.
In the statement, President Joe Biden and his administration were criticized for giving a “bear hug” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While Biden has indicated that his support for Israel is “ironclad,” he demanded an “immediate ceasefire” from Israel in the war against Hamas earlier this month.
In the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, antisemitic incidents skyrocketed 360 percent in the three months after the attack.