Columbia University President Minouche Shafik broke her silence Friday night, releasing a three-minute video about the events that led to police being asked to liberate an administration building that was illegally occupied by anti-Israel protesters.
After negotiating with the protesters, who were illegally encamped for more than a week, Shafik said the university's hand was forced when the protesters "crossed a new line" in taking over Hamilton Hall.
"It was a violent act that put our students at risk as well as putting the protesters at risk," Shafik said.
Shafik said the damage to the building was "distressing."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called for Shafik's resignation long before protesters escalated their actions to the takeover of the building. Republicans criticized Shafik for not breaking up the second encampment sooner.
Instead, Shafik chose to negotiate with the mob, saying the university tried "very hard to solve the issue of encampment through dialogue."
"Academic leaders talked with students for eight days and nights," she said. "The university made a sincere and good offer but it was not accepted."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Newsmax on Thursday that Columbia and others shouldn't be negotiating with a "mob" in the first place.
"We need consequences, not concessions," Greenblatt said. "Like, don't give in to the mob. Don't let a small fraction of people ruin it for all of our students. They deserve better."
Shafik is facing a vote of no confidence from a Columbia faculty association, which was angered by the liberation of Hamilton Hall by law enforcement on Tuesday. The school's chapter of the American Association of University Professors called it a "horrific police attack," the New York Post reported.
"The issues that are challenging us — the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, antisemitism, and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias — have existed for a long time," Shafik said.
"And Columbia, despite being a remarkable institution, cannot solve them singlehandedly. What we can do is be an exemplar of a better world, where people who disagree do so civilly, recognize each other's humanity and show empathy and compassion for one another," Shafik concluded.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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