Barnard College expels two students for disrupting Columbia's Israel History Class

Two Barnard College students have been expelled for disrupting a Columbia University course on Israeli history, marking the first expulsions of Columbia-affiliated students related to pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The students were removed following a January 21 incident in which masked protesters interrupted "History of Modern Israel," a course taught by Israeli historian Dr. Avi Shilon. The expulsions were announced by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) on Saturday.

Following the announcement, CUAD, an unrecognized student activist group, called for additional classroom disruptions and announced plans for a week of activism starting Monday. "We disrupted a Zionist class, and you should too," the group posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Columbia University swiftly condemned these calls for further disruption. In a statement Monday, the university's Public Affairs Office emphasized that CUAD is neither recognized nor authorized by the institution and warned that classroom disruptions would not be tolerated.

The January Incident

During the class disruption, masked activists delivered a speech and distributed flyers containing violent imagery. One flyer, titled "Crush Zionism," showed a boot stepping on a broken Star of David, while another depicted a masked figure carrying a burning Israeli flag with the text "burn Zionism to the ground."

The university's response was swift. The two Barnard students were initially suspended on January 24, just three days after the incident. A third participant, identified as a Columbia student, was also suspended pending investigation.

"When uninvited visitors enter classrooms with the intention of interfering with learning — let alone when they target specific courses, communities, or individuals — they betray the very principles of intellectual exchange that underpin our community," said Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury.

By January 27, Columbia had identified the two Barnard students as participants in the disruption. They were barred from campus and their case was referred to Barnard for disciplinary action, ultimately resulting in their expulsion.

Escalating Tensions

CUAD has since doubled down on its position, calling for widespread disruption of what they term "Zionist classes" at Columbia. "We have an even greater duty to disrupt them all as students of elite universities," the group stated on Sunday.

The expulsions represent a significant escalation in the university's response to campus protests, setting a precedent for how similar disruptions might be handled at other institutions. The incident has drawn attention to the ongoing tensions surrounding discussions of Israeli-Palestinian issues on college campuses across the United States.

Jpost contributed to this article.