White House condemns anti-Israel university protests

The White House on Tuesday denounced the anti-Israel protests that have erupted on college campuses, saying the occupation of university buildings is “wrong” and not peaceful.

The statement comes just hours after protesters at Columbia University took over a hall on campus Tuesday, just hours after school officials ordered the dispersal of an encampment.

Videos on social media show protesters creating a barricade with metal chairs and smashing windows at Hamilton Hall after midnight. Several demonstrators appeared in the video unrolling pro-Palestinian posters from the building’s balconies.

“President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates. “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.”

One of the banners unfurled at Columbia called for “Intifada,” aggression against the Jewish state and those who support it.

“President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term intifada, as he has other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” Mr. Bates said.

Mr. Biden hasn’t addressed the protests roiling college campuses since last week when deemed the actions of demonstrators as “antisemitic,” but also criticized those who didn’t empathize with the suffering of those living in Gaza.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions Monday about the responses of universities across the country. She refused to say if Mr. Biden was satisfied with how colleges are handling the situation or whether it was fair that protesters at Columbia or other schools were being threatened with probation or other discipline.

“These are institutions. Some of them are private, some of them are public, and it is up to their leadership, university leadership and colleges, to make that decision,” she said.