Anti-Israel groups spray-paint Columbia University building, 'cemented' sewage system
Anti-Israel protesters say they spray-painted the front of a Columbia University building and "cemented" the sewage lines of another building to mark the one-year anniversary of a Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli forces in 2024.
Three groups, in a joint post, uploaded a video to social media on Wednesday showing evidence of their defacement, while Columbia University says it is working with law enforcement to investigate the incident, which included "disturbing, personal attacks."
The video shows the front of the Henry R. Kravis Hall building at the university's Business School in Manhattan being doused and then covered with red spray paint.
The walls of the women's restroom at the university's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) building were also spray-painted with an image of Hind Rajab, the 6-year-old who died during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
The protesters also sprayed the words "Keren eat Weiner" with a drawing of feces. The message relates to Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD's deputy commissioner for intelligence, who also serves as an SIPA adjunct professor.
The protesters also claimed to have clogged the toilets with cement.
"One year ago, the world failed Hind. But today and every day we owe Hind, all our martyrs, and ourselves, action," the defiant post reads. "So today we acted. Inspired by Hind, and the bravery of every Palestinian child who has faced down Israeli genocide for the last century - whether they threw a Molotov at a checkpoint, a rock at a tank, or made a call for help. So long as they resist, so must we."
The women's restrooms on the fourth, sixth, 14th, and 15th floors of the SIPA building were "vandalized with a cement-like substance causing the toilets to clog," according to an internal email by the university, cited by the Columbia Spectator.
In the video, a gray watery substance is seen in a toilet.
"Early this morning, Columbia Business School's main entrance was sprayed with red paint in an act of vandalism," the university said in a statement. "Vandalism of a University building in an attempt to disrupt our academic mission and intimidate or harass our community will not be tolerated. We will provide updates as they become available."
The three anti-Israel groups — the Palestine Solidarity Working Group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and @nycresistswithgaza — bragged about the vandalism and wrote that they targeted the Henry R. Kravis Hall building because they say it is "one of Columbia's most recent violent gentrification projects into Harlem."
"The construction of which was conditioned on the creation of Columbia's Apartheid Global Center in 'Tel Aviv.' We will not allow this land-grab to go unchallenged."
They said that the SIPA building was targeted because it was the first Columbia institution to expel a student for their support for "Palestinian liberation," which is run by Keren.
When a mob of anti-Israel protesters stormed the iconic Hamilton Hall academic building at the university in April during the campus protests, they rebranded it "Hind's Hall," after Rajab. The group unfurled a banner with "Hind's Hall" emblazoned on it and at the time they described her as a "Gazan Martyr."
Rajab was killed as she and her family were fleeing Gaza City when their vehicle was shelled.
The attack killed her uncle, aunt and three cousins, with Rajab and another cousin surviving. She contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to ask for help while noting that they were being attacked by an Israeli tank.
And then there was a burst of gunfire. She screamed and fell silent. But after the organization sent an ambulance, it lost contact with the crew.
Twelve days later, the ambulance was discovered, blackened and destroyed. The two medics were dead and Rajab. Her cousin also died.
The Palestinian Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of targeting the ambulance as it pulled up near the family's vehicle. The organization said it had coordinated the journey with Israeli forces as in the past.
Wednesday's incident came on the same day President Donald Trump ordered a law enforcement crackdown on antisemitism on college campuses, including removing pro-Hamas activists with student visas from the country,
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