Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is calling on one of America’s top universities to not cave under the pressure of antisemitic mobs on campus.
Marshall joined a 25-state coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to Columbia University to encourage the university not to give in to demands to divest from Israel, while also raising grave concerns about antisemitism seen on their campus.
“Some of the groups causing unrest on campus have been tied to international terrorists who have used their propaganda and funds to incite antisemitism, encourage violence, and demand divestment from Israel. We are calling on Columbia’s administration to hold the line against these radical demands including to divest from Israel,” said Attorney General Marshall.
The letter, to Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong, MD, says, “In April of this year, several pro-Palestinian groups staged occupation protests on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, established encampments, and demanded the university divest from Israel. Even after some protesters were arrested, occupations continued, and the school entered negotiations with protesters. The school appropriately declined to divest from Israel. But demands for divestment have not abated. And the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks heralded an escalation in anti-Semitic rhetoric by pro-Palestinian campus protest groups.”
The attorneys general also praised the university’s leadership for not giving in to the protesters demands.
“Against that backdrop, we commend Columbia University for its decision earlier this year to not divest from Israel,” they wrote. “And we urge your administration to continue to maintain that position despite blatantly anti-Semitic pressure from some pro-Palestinian student groups. While balancing student speech rights against credible threats to people and property can be a delicate task, declining to divest should be an easy call.”
The letter was co-led by South Carolina and Arkansas. In addition to Alabama, the letter was joined by the attorneys general of Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
