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Over 600 Students, Alumni, And Faculty Sign Declaration Condemning Apartheid Divest

In response to Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s embracing of the Barnard Columbia Socialists’ treatment of the early 1990’s and 2000-2005 intifadas as actions of “civil disobedience,” over 600 students, alumni, and faculty have come together to condemn the characterization. The group is not representative of Aryeh, J Street Initiative, or any pro-Israel group on campus, but includes both Jews and non-Jews from different places on the political spectrum.

The text of the statement reads as follows: “We the undersigned students, alumni and faculty write today to condemn Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s dismissal of terrorism as ‘civil disobedience.’ The first and second intifadas mark tragic low points in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thousands of innocent civilians on both sides were murdered during these violent periods. The mischaracterization of suicide bombings, stabbings, and shootings as ‘civil disobedience’ is an egregious ethical breach. We proudly uphold the value of free speech, but malicious incitement and fictitious characterizations do not lie within that value and should find no welcome within our campus discourse.”

Update (9:16PM): The post has been revised to include information regarding Barnard Columbia Socialists’ stance on the intifadas.