Dozens of anti-Israel students at Columbia University gathered outside former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s "sham class" on Wednesday to protest her "war crimes" and urged attending students to walk out.
Clinton teaches a fall semester course at Columbia called "Inside the Situation Room," which is open to students by application only. Videos of the sit-in, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, show students outside the former secretary of state’s class demanding the school divest from Israel, chanting, "From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever." The protesters displayed several banners and cardboard signs that said, "Resist until victory," "Resistance is justified when people are occupied," "The Palestinian resistance is alive, not dead," and "Fa[s]cist bootlicker we know [yo]u."
The sit-in was organized by the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs Palestine Working Group. A poster advertising the event featured a bloody image of Clinton with crossed-out eyes and a caption that read, "Welcome to IGP: Israel Global Propagandists." The acronym is a riff on Columbia’s Institute of Global Politics, which Clinton heads.
"JOIN US in a sit in as we speak out against the war criminal Hillary Clinton," the Palestine Working Group wrote. "Tell Columbia & SIPA, we will not stand for genocide, propaganda and the militarization of our campus! We call on all students to walk out of Hillary’s sham class! #copsoffcampus."
Columbia University Apartheid Divest and the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter similarly promoted the event on social media, declaring that Clinton is "not welcome on campus." A day earlier, the group praised Hamas leaders and promised that protests would continue.
"We’re making it clear: War criminals are not welcome on campus. Hillary Clinton has actively engaged in war crimes against the peoples of Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Palestine," the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter posted on X. "Hillary Clinton has used her power & influence to cause devastation across the globe. As secretary of state, Clinton backed arm deals to bomb Yemen, interfered in Haitian elections, & lied about ‘mass rape in Libya’ to support a regime change."
"In a class at Columbia University, ‘In the Situation Room’, Hillary Clinton is touting her legacy of war crimes as ‘valuable learning experiences’. We’re not buying it. The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be," the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter continued.
The sit-in came a day after Columbia students returned to campus for the first day of fall classes, where they were met with chaos: Dozens of keffiyeh-clad protesters blocked the entrance to the school, a student group praised Hamas, a statue was vandalized, and others clashed with police.
One of the "actionist" groups involved, Unity of Fields—a self-described "militant front against the US-NATO-zionist axis of imperialism," formerly known as Palestine Action US—took credit for dumping paint on the bronze Alma Mater statue and vowed to bring violence to America.
Meanwhile, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter released a statement praising Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin and the terrorist group’s current chairman, Yahya Sinwar.
"Sheikh Yassin was assassinated by the Zionists in 2004, but even in death, his legacy of unrelenting resistance in the face of oppression lives on," the group wrote on Telegram. "He lives on in his students, which includes the current head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar—the man who fooled the Zionist entity—and all the Palestinian fighters who embody the steadfastness that Yassin taught."
On X, the student group said protests would continue.
"As we begin our new semester, students in Gaza have no universities to return to. Instead of listening to the student body, Columbia University is doubling down. We will not stop & we will not rest until Columbia divests from apartheid and genocide. This is just the beginning," the post said.
The protest did not disrupt Clinton's class, according to a university official. "Every Columbia student has the right to free expression as well the right to live and learn on campus free from discrimination and harassment," the official added.
Clinton joined Columbia in 2023 to head the Institute of Global Politics, a new center housed within the School of International and Public Affairs and designed to transform ideas into "global policy action." As chair of the institute’s Faculty Advisory Board, Clinton plays a key role in shaping its policy agenda, selecting fellows and affiliated faculty, and overseeing programming and editorial content. Students can sign up for her pre-recorded Columbia course for $499.00.
Since Oct. 7, anti-Israel protesters have disrupted several of Clinton’s classes. In a now-deleted social media post, former pro-Hamas Columbia professor Mohamed Abdou revealed that he had organized a Feb. 9 protest in which Columbia students interrupted a panel featuring Clinton. One demonstrator called the former secretary of state a "war criminal" who "will burn," then chanted, "Free, free Palestine."