As an Israeli student at Columbia Law School, Barnard's BDS vote didn't surprise me. After all, how different could things be on the campus across the street? Throughout this past month at Columbia, we've seen both Israel Apartheid Week and the Gaza solidarity protest opposite a Holocaust commemoration. They are all reminders of how far I am from home, but more importantly, of how far we've grown from one another.
A few weeks ago, five large painted canvases stood outstretched on the Low Library steps, one of which read “End Israeli Apartheid” in red capital letters. Students in kafiyas handed out flyers advertising events such as “I is for Intifada.” Intifada, a student explained, has been internationally recognized as a legitimate form of resistance. And Zionism, he said, is a racist movement.
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