Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University confronted former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday, condemning him for war crimes against Palestinians and his staunch opposition to Palestinian statehood.

The protest erupted as Bennett spoke on campus as part of a broader effort to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to hold Israel accountable for its occupation and human rights violations.

Led by the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and other student organizations, protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and called for Bennett to be banned from speaking. Flyers circulated ahead of the demonstration highlighted Bennett’s past statements, including his boastful remarks about killing Arabs and his insistence that Palestinians would "never have their own state." Another flyer accused him of dehumanizing Palestinian children by referring to them as "terrorists."

Despite the widespread opposition, Columbia University allowed Bennett’s event to proceed, further fueling tensions on campus, where pro-Palestinian voices have faced increasing suppression.

Following the protest, Bennett took to his Telegram account to dismiss the demonstrators, boasting that they had “failed” to prevent him from speaking.

“For two hours, I spoke with students about the just war we are fighting against a horrific Islamist terror cult and our right to the land,” he wrote, doubling down on his claim that Israel is “indigenous” to Palestine—an assertion widely disputed by historians and international legal experts.

Bennett’s remarks ignored the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians—many of them children—have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardments. His attempt to frame Israel’s actions as a “just war” was met with outrage from activists who see it as a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Since the escalation of Israeli attacks on Gaza, Columbia University has become a central hub for pro-Palestinian activism in the U.S. In April 2024, students took over Hamilton Hall in protest of Columbia’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, prompting a violent NYPD intervention and the arrest of hundreds of students.

Then-president Minouche Shafik was widely criticized for calling in police to suppress student activism, leading to her resignation in August 2024. Her successor, Professor Katrina Armstrong, has since issued a public apology to pro-Palestinian students for the administration’s harsh response.

Despite the growing movement, repression of pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia persists. Last week, students staged a protest outside the Barnard College dean’s office, reenacting past demonstrations to challenge the university’s complicity in Israeli apartheid.

Administrators attempted to discredit the protest by alleging property damage and an attack on a staff member. However, activists argue that such claims are part of a broader effort to criminalize Palestinian solidarity movements on U.S. campuses.

As Bennett continues his U.S. tour, pro-Palestinian activists vow to escalate their efforts, ensuring that figures complicit in Israeli war crimes are met with fierce resistance wherever they go. (ILKHA)