Columbia University students reportedly walked out of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s class in protest against the school’s handling of a recent antisemitic demonstration on campus.
Around 30 students of the class of 300 abruptly stood up and left the room a half hour into the lecture on women’s involvement in peace processes hosted by Clinton and Keren Yarhi-Milo, who is the university’s dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
The students reportedly staged a protest against the school’s poor response to a truck that appeared near campus last week, displaying images of students from groups that had signed a statement alleging that Israel was responsible for the October 7 massacre carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Dozens more protesters gathered near the lobby of the building where the walkout was taking place. The demonstrators fell silent as the class concluded, figuring that Clinton and Yarhi-Milo would pass them on their way out. However, reports say that the lecturers actually left through a side door and completely evaded the crowd.
Clinton has been a staunch supporter of the state of Israel and has rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Last week, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate pushed back on activists demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, claiming that such an accord would be a “gift” for the terrorist group.
“People who are calling for a ceasefire now, don’t understand Hamas,” Clinton said during the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s 30th-anniversary event. “That is not possible.”
“It would be such a gift to Hamas, because they would spend whatever time there was a ceasefire in effect rebuilding their armaments, creating stronger positions to be able to fend off an eventual assault by the Israelis,” she continued.
This comes after the Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border earlier this month, killing at least 700 people. The attack prompted Israel to declare war against the terrorist group with a ruthless aerial campaign that has flattened homes, schools, medical institutions, and government buildings in the Gaza Strip.
