Columbia University cancels all in-person classes as protests dominate campus and after school rabbi issued shocking warning to Jewish students

Columbia University has canceled all in-person classes amid escalating anti-Israel protests that have sparked fear among Jewish students - and a warning from a rabbi.

President Minouche Shafik on Monday said she was 'saddened' by the situation and that the school 'needed a reset'.

The Egyptian-born academic added that tensions have been 'exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia', warning they are pursuing their own agenda.

It comes after the school's rabbi warned Jewish students not to return to campus amid a horrifying spike in 'extreme anti-Semitism.'

Last week the NYPD removed an encampment at the college on Thursday and arrested more than 100 demonstrators, including the daughter of Ilhan Omar.

Columbia university has cancelled all in-person classes on Monday amid escalating anti-Israel protests that have sparked fear in Jewish students 

In an email to students announcing virtual learning for Monday, Columbia president Minouche Shafik said the school 'needed a reset' following the chaos on campus

Video from last week shows pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrators clashing outside of the school as one woman screams, 'We are Hamas!'

Shafik added: 'I understand that many are experiencing deep moral distress and want Columbia to help alleviate this by taking action.

'We should be having serious conversations about how Columbia can contribute.'

Democratic Mayor Eric Adams previously said the city was asked in writing by university officials to remove the encampment. 

'Students have a right to free speech, but do not have a right to violate university policies and disrupt learning on campus,' Adams said on Sunday night.

'I am horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus.

'Hate has no place in our city, and I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law they receive a report about and will arrest anyone found to be breaking the law,' Adams said on Sunday night.

'I do, however, want to be abundantly clear: Columbia University is a private institution on private property, which means the NYPD cannot have a presence on campus unless specifically requested by senior university officials.

'For the safety of all New Yorkers, I urge Columbia's senior administration officials to improve and maintain an open line of communication with the NYPD to ensure the safety of all students and staff on campus.

'The NYPD has an increased presence of officers situated around the campus to protect students and all New Yorkers on public streets, and they stand ready to respond if a request is made by the university, like was done this past Thursday.' 

The students had been protesting on campus since early Wednesday, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim 'profit from Israeli apartheid.'

Rabbi Elie Buechler of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel issued the grim warning to students on Sunday morning

Buechler encouraged students to consider staying home, writing, 'It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus'

Columbia's president Nemat Shafik issued a statement saying the school had warned protesters on Wednesday that they would be suspended if the encampment was not removed. School officials made the decision Thursday to call in police and clear out the demonstrators, she said.

'The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies,' she wrote.

Shafik also said the university tried through several channels 'to engage with their concerns and offered to continue discussions if they agreed to disperse.'

The school said it was still identifying students involved in the protest Thursday and added more suspensions would be forthcoming.

Police moved in early Thursday afternoon, using zip ties to arrest protesters and escort them to waiting buses before removing the tents.

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of left-wing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar , says she's has nowhere to live or eat after being suspended for participating in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University 

Hirsi (pictured right with her mother), 21, was part of a now days-long protest in support of Palestine that has drawn heavy condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, including the White House

Commissioner Edward Caban said the arrests were peaceful and the protesters were cooperative.

Pro-Palestinian protesters reorganized on campus a short time later, chanting, 'Shame.'

'We demand full amnesty for all students disciplined for their involvement in the encampment or the movement for Palestinian liberation,' the protest coalition said in a statement.

On Sunday Rabbi Elie Buechler of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel issued a warning to students on Sunday morning in a statement provided to DailyMail.com.

'What we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic,' Buechler wrote a day before Passover, one of the main Jewish holidays.

'The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University's Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy.' 

Following her arrest, Rep. Omar's daughter Isra Hirsi, 21, claimed she has nowhere to live or eat after being suspended from the school.

'I was a little bit frantic, like, where am I going to sleep? Where am I gonna go? And also all of my s**t is thrown in a random lot. It's pretty horrible,' she told Teen Vogue.

'I don't know when I can go home, and I don't know if I ever will be able to.'

Jewish students at the school have alleged violence and harassment amid the politically charged climate 

She said the administration at Bernard College has hung her out to dry when it comes to being able to get food.

'I sent them an email like, "Hey, I rely on campus for my meals, I rely on my dining plan," and they were like, Oh, you can come pick up a prepackaged bag of food, a full 48 hours after I was suspended,' she said.

'There was no food support, no nothing.'

A large group of demonstrators met outside the university gates on Saturday while student protestors returned to the main lawn, waving flags and chanting.

Buechler's statement came days after video surfaced showing a woman screaming 'We are Hamas!' while a man wearing a yarmulke and a Israeli flag on his back walked past.

As another man filmed the protestor and shoved his phone in her face, she repeated, 'Yes, we are all Hamas, b****!'

'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.

'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 rabbi encouraged the students to reach out to him for help and ended the message: 'May we see better days on campus soon.'

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, issued his own statement on behalf of Buechler and Columbia's Jewish students.

'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,' read the statement provided to DailyMail.com

'No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school,' Buechler wrote in his message to students

Shafik asserted that the 'vast majority' of protests on campus have been 'peaceful,' adding that the school has been working with the NYPD and FBI

'The fact that Jewish students must seek refuge from their university campus is shameful evidence of the failure of the university and every level of government to effectively address the growing horror of domestic antisemitism.'

Meanwhile Rabbi Zach Horwit, the Columbia Campus Rabbi for Meor, the local branch of Olami, also issued a statement to DailyMail.com denouncing Columbia's protests.

'The average Jewish student on campus doesn't want to be here anymore. They don't feel safe and they feel ostracized,' Tabbi Horwit said Monday.

'Students hear professors justifying the events of October 7th, when looked at in the right context, and holding up civil disobedience and violence as the only ways to advance a cause. 

'This has created an environment where students and professors are standing shoulder to shoulder in threatening, harassing, and assaulting their Jewish peers. That is not a safe environment for learning or living. There must be Zero Tolerance for antisemitism like other forms of hate.'

Protests have exploded across the university's campus over the past few months as war continues to brew in the Middle East.

However, they have only intensified amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that has seen over 30,000 Palestinian civilians killed.

In a testimony before Congress,  President Shafik defended the students' actions and insisted she had been working to combat antisemitism.

Shafik asserted that the 'vast majority' of protests on campus have been 'peaceful' and said the college is focused on upholding free speech, but 'cannot and shouldn't tolerate abuses this pledge to harass and discriminate.'

For the fifth day, pro-Palestinian students occupy a central lawn on the Columbia University campus on Sunday

: Pro-Palestinian student protesters resume demonstrations at Columbia University on the fifth day of 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' on Sunday

She noted holding daily meetings with the campus security team and working closely with the NYPD and FBI in instances where hate crimes are reported.

Also on Sunday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates issued a statement.

'While every American has the right to peaceful protect, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America,' he said.

'And echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms.'

Demonstrators gathered at The New School, a private university in New York City, on Sunday to stand in solidarity with other students.

Video posted to social media shows a small group sitting cross-legged inside a campus building, clapping and chanting, 'No tuition for genocide!'

The protestors have assembled tents bearing messages including 'Liberated zone' and 'Free Palestine.'

Similar demonstrations have erupted at Harvard University and Boston University in Massachusetts.