Columbia University suspends protester who disrupted Israeli professor’s class

Columbia University says it has suspended one of the protesters who disrupted an Israeli professor’s class earlier this week, pending a full investigation.

The protesters had barged into professor Avi Shilon’s class on the history of modern Israel on Tuesday, shouting that the lecture represented “genocide” and handing out fliers showing a boot poised above a Star of David.

The university says that efforts to identify additional protesters are still ongoing. The group had covered their faces with keffiyehs, making it difficult to identify them.

“Disruptions to our classrooms and our academic mission and efforts to intimidate or harass our students are not acceptable,” the university says.

January 23, 2025 Update on University Actions on Classroom Disruption: https://t.co/TUFahZPR26 pic.twitter.com/1T8c5ad872

— Columbia University (@Columbia) January 23, 2025