April 26, 2024 - Protests at Columbia and other schools escalate

A Columbia student who has spoken on behalf of pro-Palestinian protesters has apologized for saying on video that "Zionists don’t deserve to live." 

Khymani James, a student activist associated with the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition acknowledged the statement in a post on X, saying it was from an Instagram Live video in January. “I misspoke in the heat of the moment, for which I apologize." 

The apology came early Friday morning, hours after an interview with CNN at Columbia where James repeatedly declined to apologize for the video, saying that the focus should be on Palestinian liberation. 

The video of the comments, which was posted by a pro-Israel group, circulated on social media in recent days, prompting online outrage. 

The portion of the video that has been reposted online shows James saying, “Zionists – they don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone Zionists don’t deserve to live. The same way we’re very comfortable accepting that Nazis don’t deserve to live, racists don’t deserve to live – Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world.” 

CNN reached out for comment Thursday to the organization that posted the video and to request a copy of the full Instagram post, and did not receive a response. 

In the new statement, James says, “Far-right agitators went through months of my social media feed until they found a clip that they edited without context,” but added that CUAD and the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, another group of protesters at Columbia, "have made clear that my words in January, prior to my involvement with CUAD, are not in line with the CUAD community guidelines." 

In a statement, CUAD said, “Khymani’s words in January do not reflect his views, our values, nor the encampment’s community agreements. We believe in the sanctity of all life, and believe our work is in changing minds and hearts.” CNN asked CUAD what position James has in the organization, and a spokesperson responded, “like most participants in the protest, he has no formal or elected role.” 

Asked about whether Columbia had fielded concerns about the video remarks, a spokesperson for the school told CNN, “While we do not comment on individual cases, when there are violations of student conduct policies, they are reviewed and disciplinary measures are applied.” 

CNN's Miguel Marquez contributed to this report.

Students are holding pro-Palestinian demonstrations in two UK cities on Friday as the university protest movement spreads overseas.

Students gathered outside the University College London (UCL) to protest against the school's ties to Israeli academic institutions. 

Video showed a crowd outside the main campus on Gower Street, central London, carrying pro-Palestinian placards. 

The protest was organized by UCL Action For Palestine, an activist group at the prestigious university. During a Sky News interview Thursday, the group's spokesperson Amna Ghaffar claimed UK universities have taken more of a "silencing approach" to protests so far, compared to the US where several high-profile arrests of students and staff have taken place. 

Ghaffar said the campaign is focused on highlighting the university's research partnerships with arms companies she said, "are directly responsible for supplying the Israeli military." She criticized a recent partnership with Tel Aviv University, which she claimed has close ties to the Israeli military as well. 

University of Warwick students protested on Friday in the school’s “piazza.” The university said it was aware of an "ongoing demonstration" organized by "Warwick Stands With Palestine," a coalition of student and staff organisations. 

The university posted on its X account that it was "speaking to the demonstration's organisers,” reiterating that freedom of speech is a "vital component of university life."

The "Warwick Stands With Palestine" group posted a photo of a tent encampment members set up in the courtyard overnight. The group said it wanted to "reclaim our campus for Gaza" after the university failed to heed demands. 

"We rise up in unison with fellow students all around the world from Columbia, NYC to Paris to Sydney," the group said on Instagram. 

First appearance hearings in DeKalb County, Georgia, are expected this morning for those arrested during a campus protest at Emory University Thursday morning.

Most of those arrested were students or community members of the university, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. 

Caroline Fohlin, an economics professor, is the only professor currently in custody.

Some of those detained on Thursday were given citations and released, the source told CNN.

Other were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the source said. "Those who were arrested have no significant prior criminal history."

"Most of them are students," the source added. 

Those making their first appearance on Friday will likely get an Unsecured Judicial Release with some special conditions, according to the source.

"Typically, when people are released on criminal trespass they can't go back to the scene where they were arrested. We worked really hard last night to make sure they will be able to return to school and teach class."

The encampment at Columbia University remained peaceful and quiet overnight.

Several student protest leaders spoke and provided updates on their negotiations with university leadership. They said offers from school administrators still fall short regarding divesting and amnesty for students and professors, who have been punished for their involvement in the protest.

One student leader told the group that their representatives are "negotiating content of a statement from the president acknowledging wrongdoing committed against students protesting." He went into some detail on the specifics, mentioning the use of the NYPD to clear out the first on-campus encampment.

More than 100 people were arrested by the NYPD on suspicion of criminal trespass during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Columbia's campus last week.

Many students told CNN they believe the school's refusal to budge on their divestment demands is what is delaying the process. They were also adamant that all students and professors get complete amnesty without making a promise to never protest on school grounds again — something they say was proposed by the school and rejected by student negotiators.

 CNN has reached out to Columbia University for comment.

The heads of Israel's public universities have expressed "deep concern" over what they called a "recent surge of severe violence, antisemitism, and anti-Israel sentiment" at universities across the United States.

"Violent demonstrations" have led to a climate in which Jewish and Israeli students felt threatened, the Association of University Heads, Israel (VERA) said in a statement Friday.

Israeli and Jewish students and faculty members felt "compelled to hide their identities or avoid campuses altogether for fear of physical harm" due to the "disturbing events," the university presidents said.

VERA said that freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate were "vital to the health of any democracy" and "crucial in academic settings."

But, the university heads said, "These freedoms do not include the right to engage in violence, make threats against communities, or call for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

They added that they would assist Jewish and Israeli students who wished to join Israeli universities and "find a welcoming academic and personal home."

While the protests and some protesters’ social media posts have made some Jewish students feel unsafe, CNN reporting has found protesters acting in an unobtrusive, nonviolent manner in the vast majority of protests.

A Jewish student at the University of California, Santa Barbara said she felt uncomfortable going on campus Thursday amid a protest that had formed at her school. 

In a phone interview with CNN, Tessa Veksler, who is the student body president at UCSB, described a protest that has taken over the student resource building at the university. 

Veksler said there are lectures given at the encampment, food being passed out and chants that mirror what is being said at other universities. 

Veksler lives off campus and did not go to the university Thursday because she said she is fearful and uncomfortable. She explained that fellow students and administrators have described the situation on campus to her. 

Veksler said that since October 7, she’s been “getting personally targeted and harassed.” She added that she recently defeated impeachment efforts and indicated that she is not backing down.

CNN has reached out to the university for comment on the protest.

The nuance and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains difficult to capture succinctly, particularly during escalating turmoil among groups with deep-held — and entrenched — views on the issue.

Students inside campus encampments that have spread across the United States over the past week are from a variety of backgrounds — including Palestinians, Arabs, Jews and Muslims, joined by students of other religious and ethnic backgrounds. They hold a spectrum of political and social views too: liberal and heterodox, progressive and absolutist. Many have been motivated by the reports and video coming out of Gaza that is often unbearable to watch. Many of these students see the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza as a continuation of a more than 70-year-long oppression of Palestinian rights, land and culture. Protesters say they want their schools to stand against what they believe is genocide in Gaza.

Read the full story.

Dozens of students are currently carrying out a pro-Palestinian blockade in the main campus building of major French university Sciences Po in central Paris.

A CNN team on the ground saw students chanting pro-Palestinian slogans from the windows of the building on Rue Saint Guillame. Students have also erected a barricade blocking access to the street, which lies off the famous Boulevard Saint German in Paris' Left Bank. 

CNN video showed students carrying placards calling for an end to "genocide" in Gaza and the boycott of Israeli universities. The group of students could be heard chanting slogans such as "Free Palestine."

Earlier this week, Paris police removed over 100 students who had camped out in one of the campus courtyards as part of their efforts to protest. 

Sciences Po is one of France's most highly ranked universities and the alma mater of a slew of French presidents, including Emmanuel Macron. 

The university has strong ties to Columbia University in New York, where students have been staging widespread pro-Palestinian protests. The two universities offer a dual BA program that affords students the opportunity to study in both institutions. 

One student named Hicham told CNN that there is "a link" between the Paris protests and those being staged in Columbia.