President Donald Trump threatened to stop federal funding for schools that permit “illegal protests” following a wave of anti-Israel protests and encampments at educational institutions throughout the United States after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump posted the statement Tuesday to his TruthSocial page a week after anti-Israel protesters at Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University in New York City, invaded a campus building and injured a university employee.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” the president wrote on his social media page. “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”
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The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, as well as the U.S. General Services Administration, announced on Monday that they will conduct a review of Columbia University’s federal contracts.
According to the announcement, the federal government’s new Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is reviewing the more than $5 billion worth of grants connected to the university and ensuring the school complies with federal regulations. The task force is also considering halting $51.4 million worth of contracts with Columbia University.
In a Monday statement on its website, Columbia University said that it was reviewing the communication from federal agencies, and it promised to work with the current administration to combat antisemitism on campus.
“We are reviewing tonight’s communication from the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration,” the university stated. “Columbia is fully committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our University.”
“We look forward to ongoing work with the new federal administration to fight antisemitism, and we will continue to make all efforts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff,” the statement continued.
The university made headlines last year after anti-Israel activists set up an encampment on campus in response to Israel’s war against the terror group Hamas.
Jewish students reported that they experienced antisemitic harassment from the protesters, and lawmakers urged the school to take decisive action after demonstrators took over a campus building.
Activists at schools throughout the country, including the University of California Los Angeles and Harvard University, set up encampments last year to protest Israel.
Jewish students attending these schools reported being prevented from going to class, and, in some cases, activists followed them around and monitored their movements.
Harvard Divinity School graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, who testified in May before a House Judiciary Committee about antisemitism at Harvard, said that the anti-Israel protesters established their “own rule of law on campus.” The activists appointed “safety marshals” who would often record Jewish students like Kestenbaum.
Kestenbaum testified that he attempted to contact Harvard’s administrators many times to discuss these issues, but they were not receptive to his concerns.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon declared in a statement this week that institutions that receive federal funding have “a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination.”
“Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses—repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators,” McMahon stated.
“Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralysed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
