RFK’s Health and Human Services Dept. Commends Columbia for Combating Antisemitism, Arresting Pro-Palestine Protesters

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department commended Columbia University for combating antisemitism on Thursday a day after local police arrested dozens of pro-Palestine student protesters at the Ivy League school.

“The Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism took early action at Columbia because of its record of failures. The Task Force is encouraged by Acting President Shipman’s strong and resolute statement regarding the unlawful, violent and disgraceful takeover of Butler Library yesterday,” HHS officials wrote in a statement. “She has stepped in to lead Columbia at a critical juncture and has met the moment with fortitude and conviction. We are grateful for the public safety officers who acted swiftly, and at a danger to themselves, to secure the library and remove the radical protesters that had seized it.”

“The Task Force is keeping the public safety officers that were injured, and their families, in our thoughts. Importantly, we concur with Acting President Shipman that what happened was utterly unacceptable, which is precisely why the American people are demanding that the administration act to implement meaningful and enforceable commitments to enforce civil rights laws with institutions that receive taxpayer dollars,” they continued. “The Task Force is confident that Columbia will take the appropriate disciplinary actions for those involved in this act.”

According to Reuters, at least 40 to 50 students could be seen handcuffed with zip-ties before being loaded into NYPD vehicles on Wednesday. This marked the university’s largest pro-Palestine protest in over a year.

The update comes after school Acting President Claire Shipman issued a statement of her own, calling the Butler Library protest “outrageous.”

“Sadly, during the course of this disruption, two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301. These actions are outrageous,” she wrote. “Individuals participating in the Reading Room 301 disruption were repeatedly asked for identification and to leave, and were repeatedly told that failure to comply would result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest for trespassing.”

“We have been clear from the outset about applying our protocols and advising participants of the potential consequences of not complying. Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” Shipman continued.

“Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies; this is especially unacceptable while our students study and prepare for final exams. Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today,” she concluded. “We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our university.”

It’s also worth noting that RFK’s praise comes after Columbia has been accused of capitulating to the demands of the Trump administration.

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