Rep. Malliotakis, House Republicans, get chilly reception at Columbia amid protests

House Republicans, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn), received a chilly reception at Columbia University Wednesday after meeting with Jewish students about on-campus antisemitism.

“It’s shocking the amount of antisemitism that we’re seeing coming out of America’s colleges,” Malliotakis said. “It is heartbreaking.”

The group, led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), visited the Morningside Heights institution to learn more about the ongoing protests in support of the Palestinian people, and its impact on the school.

Boos and heckles drowned out Johnson and the other Republicans when they tried to address a crowd of about 250 outside the school’s Low Memorial Library at around 4 p.m.

“Stop your grandstanding,” one member of the crowd shouted. Another led a series of pro-Palestinian chants, including: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.”

The Republican group met with school president Minouche Shafik and a group of Jewish students ahead of their attempted press conference.

A C-Span microphone picked up the group’s comments at Columbia, with Johnson decrying the “mob” that prevented most present from hearing his comments.

“I’m here to proclaim to all those who gnash their teeth and demand to wipe the state of Israel off the map and attack our innocent Jewish students, this simple truth — neither Israel nor these Jewish students on this campus will ever stand alone,” Johnson said.

Not even 200 yards away from the spot Johnson spoke, Columbia students have set up a camp tent protest on the school’s quad.

Members of the protest group belong to a coalition known as Columbia University Apartheid Divest, formed in 2016 to demand Columbia and Barnard College disclose investments in and divest from Israeli and American companies and institutions that support Israel.

The group’s latest protest movement has been spurred by Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip following the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, led by Hamas.

They’ve garnered international attention, particularly after members of the NYPD were called in to arrest some of the campers just a few weeks before the end of the spring semester.

A representative outside the encampment said Wednesday that they were not taking questions from the media, but that they would be holding a press conference Thursday. A Columbia spokesperson said Shafik opted to meet with the politicians in the hopes of addressing their concerns.

“The president shares the representatives’ focus on and commitment to the safety and security of the campus community and she appreciates help from all those who offer it,” the spoksperson said. “As we are seeing on campuses from California to Texas, from Minnesota to Massachusetts, fellow universities are confronting immense, and similar challenges.”

The school switched to remote learning Monday, hoping for a cool-down of the tense situation on the campus in upper Manhattan.

Opponents of the protestors have largely sought to paint the group as antisemitic, and two of the students that met with the Republican elected officials, who asked to be only identified as Francesca and Jonathan, said they’ve had experiences of their own.

An Israeli, Jonathan hopes to be a doctor someday and said he’s had healthy dialogue with some people in the camp protest. Unfortunately, that dialogue can often be hijacked by more radical members of the group.

“It’s part of our free speech ... but it gets to a point where I just can’t have a discussion,” he said.