Jewish students and professors speak out against claims Columbia protests are antisemitic
In the week since a protest camp exploded across the grounds of Columbia University in solidarity with Gaza, PhD student Jonathan Ben-Menachem has been fielding worried calls from his family. They had been watching the news and were concerned for his safety.
"I’ve had to reassure them that I am not about to get mobbed by antisemites anytime I go to campus,” he told The Independent. “It’s just people trying to take a stand for what they think is right, very peacefully.”
Mr Ben-Menachem is one of many Jewish students who joined the protests at calling for their institutions to cut ties with companies linked to Israel over the war in Gaza.
