by Elad Benari
White House Press Secretary says the DHS has compiled a list of individuals at Columbia believed to be in violation of Trump’s executive order aimed at combating antisemitism, but the university is refusing to help identify them.
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Columbia University is refusing to cooperate with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in identifying students who have been linked to pro-Hamas activities on campus, the White House stated on Tuesday, according to JNS.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that DHS has compiled a list of individuals believed to be in violation of US President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at combating antisemitism.
“They have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation’s colleges and universities—on our college campuses—who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity,” Leavitt told reporters.
“I don’t have a readout on how many arrests will come, but I do know that DHS is actively working on it,” she continued. “I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals, who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity, and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus.”
Leavitt emphasized the administration’s stance, stating, “As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that.”
Columbia University declined to comment directly on the allegations. Instead, a spokesperson referred JNS to a statement from Columbia’s interim president, who maintained that the university has always followed the law and has a longstanding policy of denying law enforcement access to non-public areas of campus unless presented with a warrant.
The comments follow the arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a prominent figure in Columbia’s student-led protests against Israel.
On Monday, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the deportation of Khalil, who had been under investigation by Columbia University’s disciplinary committee for his role in campus protests.
In her remarks on Tuesday, Leavitt provided additional details regarding the government’s case against Khalil, stating, “This is an individual, who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda flyers with the logo of Hamas. I have those flyers on my desk.”
She also asserted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the authority to deport individuals deemed a threat to US national security and foreign policy.
“Mahmoud Khalil was an individual, who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges,” Leavitt said. “He took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege, by siding with terrorists.”
Khalil’s arrest came two days after the Trump administration officially announced that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April of last year, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.
The university has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks. In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.
The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.
Elad Benari
Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405231
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