State AGs Are Pressuring Columbia To Crack Down On Protesters

Over two dozen US state attorneys general have signed a letter addressed to Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, asking the university to stand firm against calls for divestment from Israel and to address antisemitism on campus.

The 25 attorneys general expressed “grave concerns” in a letter dated 23 October about what they characterised as antisemitic incidents on Columbia’s campus, referring to pro-Palestinian protest movements and encampments on US campuses.

University of Texas students protest Israel's war in Gaza and the arrest of students at a demonstration the previous day at a rally on campus.

The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement has guided a lot of Pro-Palestinian movements across US campuses since the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza, demanding universities end their investments in companies that facilitate or profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the war.

On the question of why these judges from different states were writing in regards to the affairs of a private New York City university, the letter read: “This issue is a matter of special concern to the states because students from across the country attend Columbia University.”

The letter goes on to commend Columbia University’s earlier decision not to divest from Israel and to continue to “hold the line”, urging the administration “to continue to maintain that position despite blatantly antisemitic pressure from some pro-Palestine student groups”.