Nearly six months after Columbia University banned Khymani James, a pro-Palestinian student activist, who said “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” the coalition that apologized on his behalf withdrew its statement of regret — and advocated armed resistance against Israel . .
“Last spring, in the midst of the encampments, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) posted a statement of apology on behalf of Khymani James,” CUAD wrote on Tuesday evening Instagram. “We have deliberately misrepresented your experiences and words, and we have failed you.”
In a now-deleted post on X, James acknowledged in April that he had said in an Instagram Live video several months earlier: “Zionists don’t deserve to live‘ and ‘Be grateful that I don’t just start killing Zionists.’ In the now-deleted post from April, he said: “I made a mistake in the heat of the moment, for which I apologize.”
Columbia suspended James in April and he has since sued the university to overturn his ban.
“I never wrote the neoliberal apology that was posted in late April, and I’m glad we’ve set the record straight once and for all,” James wrote in an email on Tuesday X message. “I will not allow anyone to shame me for my politics. Whatever I said, I meant it.”
CUAD helped ignite the protest camps in Columbia in April, which sparked a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel movement on campuses across America. In the months since that movement began, the group has taken an increasingly hard line against Israel and advocated violent uprisings against the country.
“We support the liberation with all possible means, including armed resistance,” the group said in a statement. “Once you have exhausted all peaceful solutions, violence is the only way forward.”
Columbia said in a statement Wednesday that it disapproved of any calls for acts of violence.
“Statements advocating violence or harm contradict the core principles on which this institution was founded,” University Interim President Katrina Armstrong, Provost and Executive Committee of the University, said in a statement. “This seemed so fundamental that it didn’t need to be said; To hear such things in our community is an aberration, protected by the First Amendment or not. We must be clear: calls for violence have no place at this or any university.”
CUAD’s post was made on October 8 – just one day after the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks. The attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis, and Hamas continues to hold more than 100 people hostage. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Defending itself against subsequent bombings from Iran and Hezbollah, Israel has expanded its war across the Middle East in recent months.
Meanwhile, Israel’s war against Hamas has killed 40,000 people in Gaza. The brutal war in Gaza and the enormous number of civilian casualties have sparked widespread anger, even among Israel’s allies. Calls for a ceasefire, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government have dug in and opposed such arrangements.
As the war becomes bloodier and more unbearable, the protest movement on campuses has become increasingly radical. Colleges that have had difficulty with encampments, anti-SemitismIslamophobia and other hateful acts and speech will ever face the challenge of balancing freedom of expression and security.
Over the summer, many U.S. universities adopted new rules to support student safety while allowing for non-disruptive forums for students to protest. But these new guidelines will soon be put to the test in this new school year.
“We strive to be an open campus, but cannot be open while we are uncertain about safety,” Columbia said in a statement. “The trade-off between the safety of our students, faculty and staff and the ideal of a campus that is porous to the city is real. This week, as social media mixes calls for armed violence in the Middle East with defenses of local statements calling for violence, the balance is tipped towards security.”
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