An anti-Israel protester who sought “humanitarian aid” for those who forcibly occupied a building on the campus of Columbia University appeared nonplussed when questioned by reporters.
The protesters seized Hamilton Hall, an administration building on the Manhattan campus of the Ivy League school, early Monday morning, at one point preventing one of the workers in the building at the time from leaving while they demanded the school not take action against the demonstrators and end financial ties with Israel. The protester, identified as Johannah King-Slutzky by journalist Jordan Schachtel in a post on X, gave a press conference Tuesday where she discussed requests from the protesters occupying the building. (RELATED: Jewish Columbia Student Files Lawsuit Accusing School Of Failing To Protect Jewish Students)
A student fixes a Palestinian flag as student protesters bring tents and supplies back into the protest encampment in support of Palestinians after a midnight deadline for protesters to leave the encampment on campus passed and it was reported to have been extended to 8 a.m., during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2024, REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
“First of all, we’re saying that they’re obligated to provide food for students who paid for a meal plan here,” King-Slutzky said at the start of a video posted on X.
WATCH:
Columbia students occupying Hamilton Hall are demanding the university provide them food so they can continue their occupation:
“This is basic humanitarian necessities we’re asking for.” pic.twitter.com/Njg20hpMoc
— Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) April 30, 2024
A reporter asked a question of King-Slutzky regarding the request for food and water.
“To allow it to be brought in,” King-Slutzky responded. “I guess it’s ultimately a question of what kind of community and obligation Columbia feels it has to its students. Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill if they disagree with you? If the answer is no, then you should allow basic… I mean, it’s crazy to say because this is an Ivy League campus, but this is basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for, like could people please have a glass of water?”
“But they put themselves into that deliberately in that situation and position,” a reporter said.
Protesters at Columbia University (Screen Capture/ABC News)
King-Slutzky, who described herself in her biography on Columbia’s website as “a political strategist for leftist and progressive causes,” paused for a moment after the reporter’s question.
“No one is asking for anything,” she claimed. “We’re asking them to not violently stop us from bringing in basic humanitarian aid.”
King-Slutzky later admitted she did not know if any effort had been made to provide supplies, but reiterated they were looking for a commitment that food and water would be allowed into the building. (RELATED: ‘Useful Idiots’: Alan Dershowitz Rips Pro-Hamas Students, Compares Them To ‘Hitler Youth’)
#BREAKING: NY1 cameras (shown on CNN) have NYPD officers entering Hamilton Hall in Columbia University off the roof of a SWAT bearcat pic.twitter.com/VX0ZXnfpJK
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 1, 2024
The protest started when demonstrators lit flares and chanted anti-Israel slogans hours after Columbia University President Dr. Nemat Shafik was grilled by Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York during an April 17 House Education Committee hearing titled “Columbia In Crisis: Columbia University’s Response To Antisemitism,” Fox News reported.
Protesters at multiple demonstrations at Ivy League schools since a deadly attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas against Israel have made statements like “resistance is justified,” including an Oct. 15 protest where attendees chanted a slogan that has connotations of wiping out Israel after a Cornell University professor called the attacks “exhilarating.”
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