New Columbia University committee targets pro-Palestine students
A new university disciplinary committee at Columbia University in New York City has initiated a flurry of cases against students who have expressed criticism of Israel, The Associated Press reports.
The committee, the Office of Institutional Equity, in recent weeks has sent notices to dozens of students for activities ranging from sharing social media posts in support of Palestinian people to joining “unauthorized” protests.
The office is raising alarm among students, faculty and free speech advocates, who accuse the school of bowing to Trump’s threats to slash funding to universities and deport campus “agitators”.
“Based on how these cases have proceeded, the university now appears to be responding to governmental pressure to suppress and chill protected speech,” Amy Greer, an attorney who is advising students accused of discrimination, told the Associated Press.
The Columbia campus saw a wave of student protests in support of Palestine last year that caused controversy and charges of stifling free speech as the university administration cracked down.
US to use AI to revoke visas of students perceived as pro-Hamas: Report
The US State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke visas of foreign students who are perceived as supporters of Hamas, Axios reported, citing senior State Department officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching “Catch and Revoke”, AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts, the outlet reported.
Axios said officials were checking news reports of protests to identify students seen as sympathetic towards the Palestinian group.
Officials will also examine internal databases to see whether any visa holders were arrested but allowed to stay in the country during the Biden administration, the outlet reported.
“We see people marching at our universities and in the streets of our country … calling for Intifada, celebrating what Hamas has done … Those people need to go,” Rubio had said a few days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack which sparked Israel’s war in Gaza.
Trump echoed the same in a January 30 White House fact sheet tied to an executive order aimed at “pro-Hamas” activity, Axios reported: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice. We will find you, and we will deport you.”
Less than half of Americans now support Israel: Gallup
Support for Israel among Americans is at its lowest since the polling company Gallup started surveying them on this question.
According to new data released by Gallup, only 46 percent of Americans express support for Israel, down from the previous lowest point – 51 percent – recorded both last year and in 2001. Gallup started tracking responses to this question 25 years ago.
The number of Americans who say they support Palestinians is at 33 percent, up by 6 percentage points since last year.
The poll also found that only 40 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, lower than his already low overall job approval rating of 45 percent.
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