Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University are coordinating an anti-Veterans Day gathering to instead celebrate “those martyred by the Israel-US war machine,” just months after a congressional probe was launched into antisemitism on the Ivy League campus.
According to a flyer for the gathering, the protest is scheduled for noon on Monday, Veterans Day, at the Sundial, which the university describes as “a highly trafficked location and is often used as a campus landmark for gathering.”
“We reject this holiday and refuse to celebrate it. The American war machine should not be honored for the horrors unleashed on others,” the flyer promoted on social media reads.
“Instead we will celebrate martyrs day in honor of those martyred by the Israel-US war machine,” the flyer says.
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News of the gathering garnered backlash on social media, including from the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, who condemned the “atrocious behavior.”
“This post by CUAD is absolutely DISGUSTING,” the group wrote in a post on X. “They ‘reject’ VETERAN’S DAY??? We unequivocally condemn this disgraceful attempt to pervert and disrespect the sacrifices of our military veterans.”
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“Wonder if these activists at @Columbia realize that veterans won and preserved their right to protest?” Craig Bruce Smith, an associate professor of National Defense University, wrote on X.
“In an attempt to become even more unpopular, the students in Columbia University Apartheid Divest say they will reject Veterans Day and celebrate ‘martyrs day’ instead,” wrote Steve McGuire, Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, on X.
The protest comes just months after the Ivy League university was plagued with anti-Israel protests following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
The House Ways and Means and the Education and the Workforce committees have been leading an investigation into antisemitism on college campuses, including Columbia University, since April that they say has “uncovered a deeply worrisome, systemic culture of antisemitism at a large number of elite American universities across the country.”
A spokesperson for Columbia University told Fox News Digital that they will be monitoring the gathering.
“Columbia is proud of our students, faculty and staff who are veterans, and we are grateful for their service and sacrifice and the invaluable contributions they offer to our community. The University honors its veterans on Veterans Day and every day, and we are proud to be participating in the New York Veterans Day Parade tomorrow, as we have for more than a decade,” the university said in a statement. “We are aware that a small group has called for a demonstration today, and our public safety team is monitoring for any disruptions to campus activity. As always, we are committed to preserving our core mission to teach, create, and advance knowledge.”
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