CAIR-NY: We Denounce Columbia, CCNY Actions Unleashing Police Violence, Call on Manhattan DA To Drop Charges

By CAIR Photos: YouTube Screenshots The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, denounced Columbia University and City College of New York (CCNY) for calling on the NYPD to arrest student protesters condemning the ongoing genocide in Palestine and calls upon the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, to drop all charges against the arrested.  At both CCNY and Columbia, students have encamped in buildings after their universities failed to meet student demands largely calling for divestment from companies that profit off of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. Schools threatened the students with suspension and arrests. Columbia threatened expulsion of students occupying Hamilton Hall, renamed Hind Hall for the 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed alongside her family fleeing the violence and the paramedics who were trying to respond to her pleas for medical assistance. Hamilton Hall is the same historic building occupied in 1968 against the Vietnam War. Last night, the NYPD appeared at the scene with riot gear, swept into the building encampments and reportedly arrested numerous protesters at Columbia and CCNY. Final numbers of those arrested is not yet known, but initial reports indicate more...