Barnard Pro-Palestinian Protesters Seize Hall

Scores of masked pro-Palestinian protesters "forcibly entered" an academic building at Barnard College on Wednesday and injured a school employee, resulting in hospitalization, the school said.

The protesters dispersed late Wednesday night only after "forcing" the administration to the "negotiating table," the group, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, posted on X early Thursday morning.

The keffiyeh-clad demonstrators, numbering about 100, staged a sit-in at Milbank Hall, the oldest building on Barnard College's campus, in protest of two students who were expelled last week after barging into a classroom and passing out anti-Israel propaganda to the students in the class, "History of Modern Israel."

Robin Levine, Barnard College's vice president for strategic communications, said in a statement to media outlets the horde, "forcibly entered Milbank Hall" and "physically assaulted a Barnard employee, sending them to the hospital."

New York City Police responded to the school Wednesday afternoon and found a 41-year-old man who said he was "shoved by numerous individuals and complained of pain about the body." He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in stable condition, NBC News reported.

Levine said the protesters were given a deadline of 9:30 p.m. local time to leave the building or the college would "be forced to consider additional, necessary measures to protect our campus." The protesters dispersed at 10:40 p.m., the New York Post reported.

"Tonight, a small group of masked protesters attempted to undermine Barnard's core values of respect, inclusion, and academic excellence," Barnard President Laura Rosenbury released a statement Wednesday night. "Thanks to the efforts of our staff and faculty, the protesters have now left Milbank Hall without further incident. But let us be clear: their disregard for the safety of our community remains completely unacceptable."

While the protesters said they had secured a meeting with Rosenbury and Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage, Levine told CNN on Wednesday that the college's offer to meet with them was "refused" over the administration's "simple condition" that the protesters remove their masks.

It was Rosenbury who said the college had no choice but to expel the students who barged into the class on Jan. 21 and handed out flyers with "violent imagery." One showed a boot smashing the Star of David while another depicted an Israeli flag on fire, the Post reported.

"Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience," Rosenbury said this week.

In response, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest called for a "week of action" demanding Barnard reverse the expulsions.

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, condemned the protests at Barnard.

"It is completely outrageous that these protesters endorsed masked strangers barging into a New York City classroom during instruction with the clear intention to intimidate Jews and spread fear. Accountability is needed," Treyger told the Post.

Columbia was the site of multiple pro-Palestinian protests last year, also including a building takeover, an encampment on university grounds and arrests of more than 100 protesters. The university's handling of the protests led to the resignation of former President Minouche Shafik in August. That came four months after Shafik's appearance before Congress, when she told lawmakers the university condemned "antisemitism that is so pervasive today."

Barnard College is an independent women's college affiliated with Columbia in which students can take courses at both schools.