Hillary Clinton criticized the pro-Palestinian campus protests at Columbia University, claiming they were heavily influenced by outside donors and groups. She called the protesters’ treatment of Jewish students “disgusting.”
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday’s “GPS,” the former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate described watching tensions escalate at Columbia University – where she co-teaches a course – following the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip.
“There were already groups in our country, and particularly on certain campuses like Columbia, that had talking points,” Clinton said.
“They had a plan for protests and disruption, and I watched it morph into something that was not student-led, although students participated, but had external funding and external leadership.”
Clinton blamed biased social media algorithms and outside influences – but did not identify them – for fueling the protests on campus.
Clinton said videos on social media presented a “one-sided,” “pro-Hamas” view of the war, and that many of the protesters she met did not understand the history of this complex, long-running conflict.
“When I tried to speak to students, not only at Columbia but elsewhere, I was confronted with slogans. I was attacked and confronted with very inflammatory language,” she added.
Some context: Columbia became the epicenter of pro-Palestinian student protests last school year, and demonstrations broke out at universities across the country. Most protests were peaceful, but some turned violent and disrupted academic life on campus.
The majority of protesters demanded the withdrawal of companies that support Israel and the war in Gaza and drew attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Some Jewish and Muslim students reported being intimidated, harassed or physically attacked by various parties.
