Columbia University's chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) issued a Monday statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It compared Auschwitz to "Zionist dungeons and torture camps" in Gaza.
"Eight days into a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, as Palestinians bury their dead and return to their destroyed homes, as aid trucks finally enter with food and the search for bodies under the rubble can commence, as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are freed from Zionist dungeons and torture camps, it is impossible to ignore the parallels," Columbia JVP wrote in an Instagram post.
Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz—where an estimated 1 million Jews died—but doesn’t mark the end of the suffering Jews experienced at the hands of the Nazis. Columbia JVP equated this to conditions in Gaza following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, which released 33 civilian Israelis kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were convicted of terrorism and murdering Jews.
"A return to the status quo prior to October 7 is not enough," JVP Columbia wrote. "The parallels between January 27, 1945 and the ceasefire agreement enacted on January 19, 2025 remind us that the road to liberation goes on. We must continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, Jenin, and beyond as the struggle continues."
Last week, anti-Israel student activists unleashed mayhem at Columbia to kick off the spring semester. Four keffiyeh-clad student activists stormed an Israeli history class and targeted Jewish students with anti-Semitic flyers that glorified Hamas, showed a trampled Star of David, and advocated violence.
One flyer stated, "THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW," and used an upside-down triangle—a symbol Hamas uses to denote Israeli targets—to spell "TOMORROW." The flyer depicted a truck full of Hamas terrorists brandishing RPGs and machine guns.
Another flyer with the caption "CRUSH ZIONISM," depicted the Star of David underneath a boot. A third encouraged students to "BURN ZIONISM TO THE GROUND."
In response, Columbia posted a security guard outside at least one Jewish studies course on Wednesday. The university announced that it "mobilized the Public Safety team to prevent future incidents, including identifying and directing additional resources to classes at increased risk for disruption."
On Thursday, Columbia identified and suspended one student activist involved. On Monday, the school announced that it identified two additional individuals from an "affiliated institution" and referred them to their "home institution for further investigation and discipline." The school is currently working to identify the fourth and final participant.
"Columbia strongly condemns anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our university," a Columbia spokeswoman told the Washington Free Beacon. "Since assuming her role in August, interim president Armstrong and her leadership team have taken decisive actions to reinforce Columbia’s academic mission, make our community safe, and strengthen and clarify our disciplinary processes."