Columbia University Rabbi Elie Buechler has urged more than 290 Jewish students at the New York City school to go home amid pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved,” Buechler wrote in his message. “It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus. No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.”
The comments from Buechler have drawn widespread coverage as Columbia and other college campuses across the U.S. have found themselves embroiled in the domestic debate over the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Students have led protests against Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, raising concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians that have been killed in the conflict.
These protests have sparked criticism from some Jewish leaders, who say they make Jewish and Israeli citizens feel at risk due to alleged antisemitism.
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Buechler, who is affiliated with Columbia University’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, issued his warning calling for Jewish students to leave the campus last week.
According to a report by the New York Post, witnesses said that Jewish students who gathered on Columbia’s campus Saturday night to protest antisemitism were threatened with “hate speech” and “calls to violence.”
Buechler previously served as the assistant rabbi of The Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side from 2019-2022, according to his biography from Columbia’s Hillel. He attended college at Brandeis University, where he received his bachelor’s in Near Easter & Judaic Studies.
He also received his master’s in rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, according to the biography.
Newsweek reached out to Buechler for comment via email.
In an automatic response, Buechler wrote that he could “confirm that the message I posted internally to a group of students was sent by me.”
The Orthodox Union wrote in a message that they “completely and totally stand behind Rabbi Buechler’s message.”
“The anarchy inside and outside Columbia’s campus is disturbing, disorienting, and frightening for all of us to witness, but it has been downright dangerous for the Jewish students experiencing it,” the statement reads.
A Columbia University spokesperson previously told Newsweek the university is “acting” on students’ concerns.
“As President Shafik has said repeatedly, the safety of our community is our number one priority,” the statement read. “Columbia students have the right to protest, but they are not allowed to disrupt campus life or harass and intimidate fellow students and members of our community. We are acting on concerns we are hearing from our Jewish students and are providing additional support and resources to ensure that our community remains safe.”
Tensions at the university increased last week after students set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus to protest ongoing military action in Gaza and what they called Columbia’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.”
Nearly 100 Columbia students were arrested on Thursday after the university’s president, Nemat Shafik, called in law enforcement to shut down the student-led encampment sit-in, and protests continued over the weekend.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.