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Cooper Union College: Jewish students hide in locked library as pro-Palestinian protesters storm campus

The Jewish students eventually left safely after the protesters were dispersed and the library reopened after 20 minutes

Warning: Content can be triggering, readers’ discretion advised

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A group of Jewish students were forced to flee an unruly mob of pro-Palestine activists inside a New York City college on Wednesday, October 25. The Jewish students ended up having to lock themselves in a library while the crowd hammered on the door to get to them.

The incident unfolded at Cooper Union, a liberal college near Astor Place in Manhattan, in the afternoon that day.

A crowd chanting “Free, free Palestine” was initially held in the lobby of the building.

The protesting mob reportedly barged past a security guard, who yelled at them but to no avail.

They then stormed up the stairs and hammered on the door of the library, where the Jewish students had taken refuge. The people inside the library were later freed.

No one was injured, and the protest has since been dispersed, The Messenger reported. 

An NYPD source told DailyMail.com that no arrests have been made. 

Outside the college premises on Wednesday evening, a passerby could be seen tearing away a pro-Palestine sign, which was placed next to the posters highlighting the plight of those kidnapped by Hamas.

The sign said: “Killing children is justified???”

NYPD officers were later seen entering the building and were standing outside.

Kim Newman, a spokesperson for the college, told The Messenger that the library was temporarily “closed” as the protesters marched through the building.

She said that all students have been “dispersed.”

“The library was closed for approximately 20 minutes while student protestors moved through our building,” she said. 

“Some students who were previously in the library remained during this time. All students have now dispersed.”

There is currently heightened tension on college campuses across the United States due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and this recent incident targetting Jewish students has added to these tensions.

Middle East conflict creates fissures in campuses nationwide

A geneticist at Washington University in Missouri sparked outrage by claiming that Israel was carrying out a “much needed cleansing” in Gaza, while a law professor at Berkeley called on law firms not to hire “my anti-Semitic students.”

Last week, a climate scientist teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago issued an apology after calling Israelis “pigs,” “savages” and “irredeemable excrement.”

Dr Mika Tosca, who describes herself on social media as “Chicago's radically optimistic transsexual climate scientist”, published a long piece of writing on her Instagram story on Tuesday.

“Israelis are pigs. Savages,” she wrote. “Very bad people. Irredeemable excrement.”

She apologized soon after, saying she rejected her words and wanted to retract them.

“Yesterday I wrote some things on my Instagram Story that I unequivocally reject and do not stand behind,” her retort stated.

“I am deeply sorry for writing what I wrote, and for hurting many people with my words, and I am especially sorry to Israeli people that I broadly placed at fault for the war.”

“You did not - and do not - deserve that, and I was wrong to post what I posted: I know that my words perpetuated harmful stereotypes.”

At Harvard University, the Palestinian Solidarity Committee has been condemned for issuing a letter on October 7, co-signed by thirty-three other Harvard student organizations, stating: “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Harvard's president has since apologized for the statement and said the open letter did not represent the views of the university.

Both Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania are scrambling to limit the fallout as they are set to lose $487 million in funding, based on current and prior donations by those now speaking out against the students of the respective universities for defending Hamas' attacks.

On Friday, a Cornell University professor in upstate New York who referred to the Hamas terror attacks as “exhilarating and energizing” announced he has taken a leave of absence, and will not return to class for the remainder of the year.

On October 15, Russell Rickford addressed a rally at Ithaca Commons, in the downtown shopping district of the city, stating he was thrilled by Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed.

His words were met by anger, and Rickford, a history professor, attempted to explain and even doubled down on his outrageous take.

He said he condemned the killing of any civilians. Still, he said he was angered by “the injustice and the hypocrisy of Western support in celebration of Israeli war crimes, and the equation of any form of Palestinian resistance with terrorism.”

On October 18, Rickford finally apologized, saying that he was sorry “for the horrible choice of words that I used”, and calling his language “reprehensible”.

The university confirmed he would not be teaching for the remainder of the semester due to the fallout from his speech.

“Professor Russell Rickford has requested and received approval to take a leave of absence from the university,” the university's spokesperson said.

Claudia Tenney, a Republican congresswoman whose district borders that of Cornell, said Rickford's leave of absence was insufficient, and that he needed to resign. 

“Since I sent a letter to Cornell President Martha Pollack demanding that Professor Russell Rickford resign for his anti-Semitic comments, he has taken a leave of absence,” she wrote on X. 

“Cornell must take this a step further and fire him for his pro-Hamas comments!” her tweet stated.

Internet outraged over Cooper Union College incident

A page on X named StopAntisemitism, whose bio claims itself to be the “Leading non-partisan American based organization fighting antisemitism.“ posted a video of the incident in Manhattan yesterday asking, “Where are the police?!!!”

People were shocked at the lack of security for students inside campus premises.

One X user wrote: “Every single student involved in this act of terror should be immediately expelled.”

Another user wrote: “Utter disgrace. I am sure the mob is mostly made of western white knights / far left extremists. I mean for goodness sake, is the goal to make every Jewish person so uncomfortable that they all move to Israel? This is highly pathetic.”

One user tweeted, "But they said they're not against Jews, only against Israelis. Maybe the pro-Palestinian mob lied?”

Another user called for action against the institution: “The schools obviously don't care.. they need to be punished financially.”

One user wrote: “"Locked inside the library", what's next the university will place the Jewish students in a pickup truck and haul them away. There has to be a major law firm willing to file a class action suit representing Jewish students as a result of the harm universities have allowed and promoted.”

Another X user wrote: “When I was a kid I was like "How the heck could Germany allow Nazis to rule and be ok with the holocaust?" The past couple weeks have shown me how. Praying for Israel and praying for Jews around the world. May God keep you safe and deliver you from this evil.”

One X user said: ”This is horrible. They’re banging on the door, trying to get into the library cuz they know that the Jewish kids are in there. Can you believe that this is happening in New York City, of all places? Where are the Allies? C’mon guys. This is America. We can’t let this happen here.”

Another X user called on the city’s authority for its spinelessness in the face of apparent danger: “The Mayor of NYC gave such an inspirational impassioned speech after the Hamas Massacre.. It was such a beautiful speech - Where are the city officials now? Disappointing.”