Pro-Palestinian protests erupt at Columbia University as its president testifies on Capitol Hill

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian students occupied Columbia University‘s main lawn on Wednesday to demand the school divest from Israel, as university president Nemat Shafik was on Capitol Hill testifying about campus antisemitism.

Members of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment started staging their occupation around 4:00 AM Wednesday morning, setting up tents and claiming they would remain there until the school capitulates to its demands, according to student newspaper Columbia Daily Spectator.