Dozens of pro-Hamas students seize control of historic Barnard College academic building

Dozens of keffiyeh-clad anti-Israel protesters took over a building at Barnard College for several hours Wednesday evening, assaulting a school employee while protesting the expulsions of two students who stormed a Columbia University class in January and threw around flyers loaded with hateful rhetoric.

Videos circulating online, posted by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine on X, show the masked students lining a hallway in Milbank Hall, the oldest building on campus, beating drums and loudly chanting through megaphones.

One of the X posts made by the group — which proclaims “long live the student intifada” in its bio — includes a list of demands, among them a reversal of the expulsions, amnesty for students punished during last year’s anti-Israel campus protests and a public meeting with Dean Leslie Grinage and Barnard President Laura Rosenbury.

The group’s demands also include “abolition of the corrupt Barnard disciplinary process and complete transparency for current, past, and future disciplinary proceedings.”

The pro-Hamas student group claimed in a follow-up post that Barnard public safety has “harassed and shoved” several students, and knocked at least one to the ground. “Who are they really protecting?” the manic social media post read in all-caps.

But a Barnard spokesperson said the protesters “physically assaulted” a college employee, sending them to the hospital. 

“They encouraged others to enter campus without identification, showing blatant disregard for the safety of our community,” Robin Levine, Barnard College’s Vice President for Strategic Communications, said in a statement.

College administrators offered to meet with the unruly group if they removed their masks – but the protesters refused, according to Levine.

Levine said masked rabble-rousers had until 9:30 p.m. to leave the building, or else the school would consider other actions. 

“We have made multiple good-faith efforts to de-escalate. Barnard leadership offered to meet with the protesters,” Levine’s statement said.  “They refused. We have also offered mediation.”

A representative for Columbia University also attempted to reason with the angry crowd — taking a conciliatory tone to the students in a video posted to social media.

Kristina Milnor, a classics professor at Columbia University, meekly extended an olive branch on behalf of the Barnard College administration — offering a meeting with administrators if protesters took off their masks, presented school IDs at the meeting, and promised not to post recordings of the proffered pow-wow on social media.

All of the proposals were met with groans and boos from the dissatisfied crowd who seemed set on continuing their campaign of complaints.

Protestors graffitied political messages — such as, “Free Palestine,” “Barnard expels students,” and “F–k Barnard” — on the walls of Milbank Hall and vowed to continue their sit-in until administrators entered into “good-faith and substantive negotiations,” the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine posted on X Wednesday night.

Despite vowing to continue protesting until their demands were met, the mass of students left Milbank Hall just before 10:40 p.m. Wednesday night. 

The crowd marched to nearby Riverside Park — promising to return to the front gates of the school on Thursday at 12:45 p.m. to continue their efforts.

Protesters also called for fellow students to skip classes on Thursday.

Barnard President Laura Rosenbury called out the protesters over “their disregard for the safety of our community,” in a statement released after they departed the campus.

“Tonight, a small group of masked protesters attempted to undermine Barnard’s core values of respect, inclusion, and academic excellence. Thanks to the efforts of our staff and faculty, the protesters have now left Milbank Hall without further incident,” Rosenbury said.

“But let us be clear: their disregard for the safety of our community remains completely unacceptable.”

Wednesday’s demonstration was set off by the permanent dismissal of two Barnard students.

The two expelled students — who haven’t been publicly identified — barged their way into a “History of Modern Israel” class at Columbia University in order to distribute anti-Jewish literature, including a flyer depicting a boot stomping on a Star of David and another showing an Israeli flag on fire.

The caught-on-camera saga erupted on Jan. 21, the first day of the semester at the Ivy League campus. The students were quickly slapped with suspensions, and were permanently tossed from the university last week following a probe, according to Columbia’s Apartheid Divest — a student-led anti-Israel group.

“When rules are broken, when there is no remorse, no reflection, and no willingness to change, we must act,” Rosenbury told The Post in a statement, noting she couldn’t comment directly on a student’s disciplinary record, citing federal law.

“Expulsion is always an extraordinary measure, but so too is our commitment to respect, inclusion, and the integrity of the academic experience.

Other video shows a large gang of students thuggishly shoving their way into the historic academic building, pushing past security guards as they shouted “free Palestine.”

Another video shows a Jewish student wearing a yarmulke allegedly trying to get into the building for class and pleading with a person who appears to be a security guard.

“You’re catering to them. You gotta get them out. We all have to go to class,” the student says.

In a statement, Columbia University said it was “not acceptable conduct” to disrupt academic activities — though stressed that Barnard College bears the responsibility for addressing the protest.

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, condemned the disruption 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,” said Treyger.

Columbia/Barnard Hillel’s executive director, Brian Cohen, said he was “appalled that students once again stormed an academic building, prevented classes from taking place.

“This is a direct infringement on students’ right to enjoy an education without fear of harassment.”

Additional reporting by Carl Campanile