Palestinian, Jewish student groups gather on campus during second anniversary of October 7 attack

The day’s events fall on the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.

Photo by Gabriela Valentin/The Barnard Bulletin

By Jaya Shankar, Fiona Hu, Riya Mahanta, and Kimberly Wing

October 8, 2025

On Tuesday, October 7, members of the Columbia community participated in events recognizing the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent ongoing war in Gaza. Organizations including Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and Columbia Palestinian Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) organized and promoted multiple events, such as memorials, rallies, and art installations.

Prior to Tuesday, Columbia University increased campus security, required advance notice of at least two business days for protests on specific dates, including October 7, and changed guest and alumni access policies from October 6-8. Same-day guest registration and alumni access were suspended from October 6-8, along with the guest pre-registration request window for October 7. 

The morning of October 7, barricades were placed along College Walk, at the base of the Low Library Steps, outside of Columbia’s 116th and Broadway and 116th and Amsterdam gates, and Barnard’s main entrance. New York Police Department officers stood outside the Columbia entrance at 116th and Broadway. 

At 12:30 p.m., people gathered at the Sundial to attend a memorial honoring Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks. The memorial was one of several events planned by Columbia/Barnard Hillel to take place this week. The day before the vigil, an art installation of 1,205 white chairs containing roses, candles, and pictures of the victims was displayed on the East Butler lawn.

Over 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered for a “Community Rally” in front of the 116th and Broadway gates at 1:00 p.m. In an Instagram post announcing the rally, CPSC, JVP, SDS, and Sunrise invited people to express “love, rage, grief, and solidarity [...] after 700 days of genocide.”

Student groups had also announced a “Vigil for Palestine” at the Low Library steps “in memory of the 680,000 martyrs killed in Gaza,” also scheduled for 1:00 p.m. That morning, Columbia Public Safety notified the Columbia community that the vigil was not authorized, and “demonstrations or protests held without timely pre-notification or with no pre-notification […] will be required to relocate or disperse.” 

Shortly after this announcement, vigil organizers published another Instagram post, stating that an alternative “(NOT A) Vigil for Palestine” would take place outside the 116th gates. 

Wearing keffiyehs, masks, or sunglasses, protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “globalize the intifada” as they gathered in front of the Columbia gates at 116th and Broadway. Stickers reading “On this day, we must confront empire” and “October 7th, day of action: strike, march, resist” were thrown from windows in Columbia’s Pulitzer and Dodge Halls overlooking College Walk.

Protesters distributed cardboard signs with declarations such as “Victory to the Palestinian Resistance,” “There are no universities left in Gaza,” and “Columbia funds genocide.” Protesters chanted “600,000 dead, you’re [arresting, deporting, expelling] us instead” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” 

Between rounds of chanting, individuals addressed the crowd, delivered speeches, and read poems. One speaker read the poem “If I Must Die” by Refaat Alareer, a Palestinian writer who was killed in an airstrike by Israel on December 6, 2023. 

Physical media was handed out to protesters and bystanders, including a “Columbia Intifada” paper by Columbia University Students Justice for Palestine (SJP) formatted similarly to the Columbia Daily Spectator; posters with a QR code linking to a petition to “keep Mohsen Mahdawi free” after his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was placed under federal appeal; and stickers calling October 7 a “day of action.” In addition, copies of Challenge Magazine, a “communist newspaper of [the] Progressive Labor Party” were distributed by Progressive Labor Party representative Ellen Isaacs with the headline “No Tears for Fascists.” 

“We have to organize, not from a human rights perspective, but from the perspective of overthrowing capitalism and imperialism all over the world,” Isaacs told The Bulletin.

Meanwhile, at the Sundial, attendees of the memorial paid homage to the Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks. Wearing “Bring Them Home” shirts, some attendees held Israeli flags and posters of hostages held by Hamas, while others delivered speeches, sang songs, and led prayers in Hebrew for the October 7 victims and the Israeli Defense Forces. 

Moriya Lombroso, a memorial attendee, told The Bulletin that the memorial was “a way to commemorate and think about all those lives that were taken on October 7, the senseless murders of civilians in their homes.”

“It feels now more important than ever, with the rise of antisemitism, to be able to voice that in a peaceful way,” Lombroso said. The ceremony ended at 1:21 p.m.

Outside the Columbia gates, around 1:45 p.m., Mahmoud Khalil (SIPA ’24) addressed the crowd. Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, was detained by ICE and held in custody from March 8 to June 20. During the Spring 2025 semester, demonstrations were held on campus calling for Khalil’s release.

“The Board of Trustees of Columbia are happy about what Trump has done to me and to others,” Khalil stated in his speech. “They would rather silence us, they would rather change policies last minute [than] listen to the students, who said loud and clear that Columbia must divest from its war crimes.” 

As Khalil spoke, bystanders and counter-protesters yelled “Get the fuck out!” and other expletives. 

“That’s why I’m here to show them that they will never succeed in silencing us,” Khalil continued. “We continue to resist — loudly, clearly, unapologetically — until every political prisoner is out, until all the criminals are held to account, and until Palestine, all of Palestine, is liberated.” 

The crowd applauded, cheered, and chanted “Free, free Palestine,” and “Viva, viva, Palestina,” led by Khalil.

At 2:05 p.m., a speaker invited them to “remain in solidarity… with other students who are fighting across the city.” The group dispersed, with some members heading to the 110th St subway station to take the train to join another rally at the City College of New York (CCNY).

Before the protesters left, the speaker thanked them for their presence. “I want you to keep coming to all of our events, all of our protests,” they said. “Keep speaking out in every way you can.” 

Co-Editor-in-Chief Karissa Song contributed to reporting for this article.