Columbia University was forced to issue a statement after an anti-Israel group, which organized last year’s on-campus encampment in protest of the Gaza war, posted ‘death to America’ on socialmedia. This comes a day after the US and Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, sparking a series of Iranian strikes in the Middle East.
The post on X, platform formerly known as Twitter, was made by Columbia University Apartheid Divest [CUAD]. The tweet read: ‘Marg bar Amrika’, which is Persian for ‘Death to America’ – a famous rally cry by Ayatollah Khomeini.
The post was immediately removed by the Elon Musk-led organization. “X forced us to delete our “marg bar amrika” tweet in order to gain back access to our account but the sentiment still stands,” CUAD said.
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Columbia University responds
After facing backlash, the Ivy League school said that CUAD is not ‘affiliated in any way with the University’.
“There is no evidence that anyone currently in control of their account is a current Columbia student, staff, or faculty member. They are illegally using the Columbia name,” the New York City-based institute added.
In a press release, Columbia wrote that it has ‘zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment based on protected traits. Our University Rules and Policies are well-defined on this matter’.
“Any organizations, of any sort, that promote violence or encourage disruptions of our academic mission are not welcome on our campuses and the University will not engage with them.”
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Khamenei praised CUAD
The group was among the many that received praise from the Iran supremo. “You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government’s ruthless pressure, which openly supports Zionists,” the 86-year-old leader wrote in 2024, according to the Jewish News Syndicate. He was referring to the anti-Israel protests across school campuses.
“The people’s conscience has awakened on a global scale and truth is coming to light. Besides you, students from dozens of universities in the U.S., there have also been uprisings in other countries among academics and the general public,” Khamenei further noted.
