Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have avoided visiting Columbia University as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protests have wreaked havoc on the campus.
The pro-Palestinian occupation first developed on the Ivy League campus earlier this month and quickly turned into an encampment, taking over a portion of the school’s outdoor space.
Since then it has persisted, being inspired by Endorsements from high-profile Democratic legislators from New York. Both Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. was seen meeting with members of the camp as it continued to attract national media attention and significant reaction.
A spokesperson for Schumer did not respond to multiple inquiries, but referred Fox News Digital to the majority leader’s Tuesday remarks on the Senate floor, in which he addressed the protests.
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Prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have avoided visiting Columbia University amid anti-Semitic protests. (Getty Images)
“Breaking windows with hammers and occupying university buildings is not free speech — it’s anarchy, and the people who did it should face immediate consequences that are more than just a slap on the wrist,” Schumer said, referencing the recent takeover of protesters. Not there.” A building on Columbia’s campus.
The New York Democrat’s office did not say whether he would follow the House GOP leadership’s lead and visit the school, which is in his home state.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., last week led many Republicans On a visit to the university amid the demonstrations, he commented at the time, “We have to bring order to these campuses. We can’t let this happen across the country. We are better than this.”
Johnson revealed this on Tuesday met President Biden To visit the school as protests escalate.
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Gillibrand, Schumer’s New York counterpart who has been vocal in her support for Israel, also did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries about any planned trip to Colombia or whether she heard from the “Squad Democrats” cheering on the protesters. Had supported.
“I am shocked by the blatant anti-Semitism on display on the campus of Columbia University,” Gillibrand said in a statement last week. “Threats of violence against Jewish students and the Jewish community are appalling, disgusting, and completely unacceptable. The rhetoric of terrorists has no place in New York, where we are proud of tolerance and the right of every group to practice their religion peacefully. We do.” ,
Representative Jared Moskowitz said Jewish students are not being protected at Columbia University and compared anti-Israel protesters to ‘White Aryan’ protesters in Charlottesville. (Getty Images)
House Democrats, including several representing New York expressed their concerns about The opposition is known. Signed by 21 lawmakers and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. In a letter led by , the Democrats urged the university’s board of trustees to eliminate “the unauthorized and unacceptable anti-Israel camp.” Anti-Semitic activists on campus told him, “The time for talks is over.”
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Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer were among those who joined their Republican colleagues in condemning anti-Semitism on Columbia’s campus. (Getty Images)
Another New York Democrat, Representative Ritchie Torres, a signer of the letter, has not visited the campus since the encampment began, but told Fox News Digital, “I’ve been to Columbia University on several occasions — whether it’s the Jews “Whether it’s meeting with Columbia Law School students or connecting with students for Shabbat at Columbia Chabad, I will continue to do so in the future.”
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Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y., who recently took over the seat of ousted former Rep. George Santos, was also a signer of the letter. He shared a series of posts to X last week, detailing his trip to Colombia during the protests.
“Yesterday I went to Columbia University to show my support for Jewish students who have faced harassment, bullying, and brutal anti-Semitic attacks on campus,” he said in a post.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., condemned the visit to the encampment by “a member of Congress” “who accused some Jewish students of being ‘genocide supporters.'” He was joined by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D. Was giving reference. -Min., who. said on video Last week, “I think it’s really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish children should be kept safe, and that we should not tolerate anti-Semitism or bigotry toward all Jewish students, Whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
