Washington DC, United States

United States President Joe Biden on Sunday (April 21) warned of an “alarming surge of antisemitism” in a statement which was released over the approaching Jewish holiday of Passover while referring to the student protests at Columbia University.

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“Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country," read Biden’s statement. 

The statement was released by the president to formally mark the religious holiday which starts on Monday (April 22). 

“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad,” Biden said.

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Biden's statement came hours after the White House issued another statement in which it criticised appeals for violence and “physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community” on Columbia’s campus. 

Rabbi asks Jewish students to vacate campus

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Earlier, Rabbi Elie Buechler appealed to all 300 Jewish students to exit the campus for their own safety as protests continued.

“What we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic. The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the (New York Police Department) cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy," Buechler wrote in an online post.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, 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,” said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, in a statement.

The statement was released after a video appeared on social media over the weekend in which pro-Palestinian activists were seen telling Jewish students, “The 7th of October is going to be every day for you,” while referring to the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

“Echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organisations, 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,” said Bates.

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Since last week, the campus of Columbia University has been marred by protests and the situation escalated when New York Police Department officers entered the campus and arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian student protesters as thousands of others appealed for them to stop.

Columbia President Minouche Shafik authorised the police to arrest the students, stating that the move was “a decision that I hoped would never be necessary.”

(With inputs from agencies)