Colombia University students engaged in a sit-in to protest against Israel reached a breakthrough in negotiations in the early hours of April 24. The students voluntarily dismantled some of the tents, and the university agreed to continue negotiations without deploying police or the National Guard to clear the site.
University President Minouche Shafik had initially set a midnight deadline on April 23 for the protesting students to come up with a plan to dismantle the tent encampment. At 3 a.m. on the 24th, the university announced that the negotiations with the protesting students had made “constructive” progress, thus extending the deadline by 48 hours to continue the talks. Conditions agreed upon by representatives of the protesting students included restricting the protest activities to campus students only, requiring external individuals to leave, ensuring compliance with New York City Fire Department regulations on activities and safety at the site, and prohibiting the use of discriminatory or harassing language. The protesting students stated that the university had given written assurance that neither the NYPD nor the National Guard would be involved. By Wednesday, protesting students had already removed some of the tents on the campus’s western lawn, leaving approximately 60 tents, indicating a relative easing of tensions compared to the previous days.
House Speaker Mike Johnson led a group of Republican lawmakers, including Anthony D’Esposito, Nicole Malliotakis, Mike Lawler, and Virginia Foxx, to visit Colombia University on the afternoon of the 24th to meet with Jewish students and deliver speeches. Johnson criticized Colombia University’s administration for allowing anti-Semitic hate speech and harassing behavior, suggesting that if Shafik does not act to stop it, she should resign as president. He also accused the protesting students of being “instigators” who abuse freedom of speech, urging them to “return to the classroom and stop talking nonsense.” In response, the protesting students shouted, “We can’t hear what you’re saying! Free, free Palestine!”
President Biden is scheduled to visit New York City on the 26th and may encounter protests in support of Palestine. However, White House officials informed CNN that Biden does not plan to visit Colombia University.
Apart from Colombia University and New York University, which have seen protests against Israel on their campuses, on the night of the 23rd, Jewish Voice for Peace held a demonstration at the Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Over 200 people were arrested for blocking traffic. At least nine universities across the United States have witnessed a series of pro-Palestine protests erupting.