AOC defends Columbia protests as ‘peaceful’ — despite rabbi warning Jewish students to stay home

Policy

By Stepheny Price, Fox News

At an Earth Day press conference, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., changed the subject and called student-led protests taking place on college campuses “peaceful.” from the country.

“Today also reminds us of the power of organizing, what we can accomplish (when) young people, climate advocates, union organizers and workers from all walks of life come together to demand the future. We all deserve it. It is especially important that we remember the power of young people who are shaping the country today,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Every day, we once again witness the leadership of these peaceful student-led protests on campuses like Columbia, Yale, Berkeley and many others,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.

His message comes as the Orthodox rabbi of Columbia University and Barnard College sent a message recommending Jewish students to leave campus and return home, as anti-Israel agitators continued their “encampment” on campus and that participants were filmed sympathizing with the terrorist group Hamas.

Follow the Post’s coverage of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University:

“The events of the past few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee the safety of Jewish students in the face of extreme anti-Semitism and lawlessness,” Buechler wrote. “It pains me greatly to say that I strongly recommend that you return home as soon as possible and stay home until the reality on and around campus has significantly improved.”

Shai Davidai, a Jewish Columbia professor who went viral in October for speaking out against the school’s inaction on anti-Semitism, demanded that the National Guard be mobilized if the New York Police Department could not act.

“This is a hostile takeover of the university,” he added. “It is a confrontation between support for Hamas on the one hand and Western civilization on the other. … The confrontation takes place on the Columbia campus.”

Davidai said the protests in Columbia “were never about human rights.”

“From the beginning, these protests were intended to justify rape as a means to an end,” he said, referring to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack. “This is not about human rights.”

Columbia University is one of several Ivy League schools, as well as other universities, experiencing massive chaos from anti-Israel agitators invading campuses.

Danielle Wallace of Fox News contributed to this report.