Staff Reports
At Columbia University, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced a rowdy crowd during his speech this past week. As he took the stage to address the troubling rise of antisemitism on college campuses, he was met with a chorus of boos from the audience. Ouch!
The Speaker wasted no time letting the crowd know exactly how he felt. He reminded them that Columbia University, the place they were standing, once honored Winston Churchill, who famously supported the idea of a Jewish national home. Johnson boldly declared his unwavering support for Israel and the Jewish students on campus, making it clear that they would never stand alone.
#Columbia University students heckled House Speaker Mike Johnson as he visited the flashpoint of nationwide student demonstrations over the Israeli war in #Gaza, even as the school agreed to 48 more hours of negotiations to end a protest encampment.https://t.co/kE2cITbjEx
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 25, 2024
To make matters even more scandalous, video footage surfaced of Columbia University students shouting, “Get the f**k off our campus!” at Johnson during his speech. Yikes! Talk about hostility.
This uproar comes on the heels of anti-Israel protesters taking over the university’s lawn and setting up camp just a week earlier. The situation escalated when over 100 protesters, including Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, were arrested, and some students were even suspended for their involvement in the encampment. Trouble seems to be brewing at Columbia!
The Speaker didn’t hold back in condemning the rise of radical ideologies on campus that target Jewish students. He called out the anti-Israel protesters for their support of terrorists and their harassment of Jewish students, calling it detestable and a threat to the cherished traditions of the university. And when asked about his message to the protesters in the encampment, Johnson didn’t mince words: “Go back to class and stop the nonsense.”
Clearly, tensions are running high at Columbia University, and Speaker Johnson isn’t afraid to speak his mind about it. It’s a good thing he’s not easily intimidated!
