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Masked Pro-Hamas Protesters Storm Columbia’s Butler Library, Declaring It a ‘Liberated Zone’
By: Fern Sidman
A volatile scene erupted at Columbia University on Wednesday when dozens of masked, anti-Israel activists forcefully stormed Butler Library, one of the school’s most iconic academic buildings, disrupting students preparing for final exams and once again plunging the Ivy League campus into turmoil.
As The New York Post reported in exclusive detail, dramatic video footage shared on social media shows a swarm of protesters aggressively shoving past a lone security guard stationed at the entrance. The guard attempted to hold them back but was quickly overwhelmed as the demonstrators surged into the building.
Once inside the historic library, the pro-terror agitators wasted no time turning the academic sanctuary into a spectacle of political performance. According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the group unfurled large banners and draped them across bookshelves. One read: “Liberated Zone,” mimicking the phrasing used by anti-Israel demonstrators in earlier campus takeovers. Another banner bore the name “Bassel al-Araj,” a Palestinian figure who was killed by Israeli forces during a 2017 raid in the West Bank — though protestors misspelled his name as “Basel.”
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The demonstrators, many of them masked and dressed in black, then donned keffiyeh scarves, pounded on drums, and clapped along to loud chants of “Free, free Palestine,” echoing the charged slogans heard across campuses in recent months. The report in The New York Post noted that their takeover of Butler Library interrupted dozens of students studying for final exams, a disruption that left many deeply unsettled.
“I came here to prepare for my constitutional law final,” said one law student who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “Now I feel like I’m in the middle of a political demonstration in a war zone. This has crossed the line.”
BREAKING – Officials are refusing to allow the masked Democrats who invaded Columbia Library to leave without providing identification.
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) May 7, 2025
University officials had been on high alert in recent weeks following rumors that activists were planning to resurrect the tent encampments that paralyzed Columbia’s campus throughout the spring semester, as per the information in The New York Post report. Those earlier protests, which saw prolonged occupations of university grounds and repeated clashes with administration and law enforcement, were a major flashpoint in the national debate over rising antisemitism and the limits of political activism on campus.
Wednesday’s escalation at Butler Library appears to confirm those warnings.
The demonstration also raised eyebrows over the choice to memorialize Bassel al-Araj, a controversial figure affiliated with violent Palestinian resistance. As the report in The New York Post noted, al-Araj was not only a self-proclaimed intellectual but also had ties to a terror cell dismantled by the Israeli Defense Forces. Honoring him on an American university campus — and doing so in a way that disrupts academic life — is being seen by many as a brazen attempt to normalize violent extremism under the guise of political activism.
Faculty and Jewish student organizations expressed dismay over the protest. “This is not protected speech — this is intimidation,” said one faculty member familiar with the university’s disciplinary process. “When activists invade a study space, especially one as symbolically central as Butler Library, and declare it a ‘liberated zone,’ they’re not just making a political point — they’re actively suppressing the rights of other students.”
The New York Post report also noted that the timing of the incident — right as Columbia students are entering the crucial final exam period — adds another layer of recklessness to the demonstrators’ tactics. “It’s as if they want to disrupt not just the administration but the student body as a whole,” one administrator told the outlet. “This wasn’t just a protest — it was an incursion.”
University officials had not released an official statement as of Wednesday evening, but security personnel were seen escorting some students out of the library while attempting to monitor the protest. It remains unclear whether disciplinary or legal action will follow.
As Columbia continues to grapple with its identity in a time of surging political activism, especially around the Israel-Hamas conflict, incidents like this have prompted growing calls from alumni, donors, and local leaders for firmer administrative action. Many argue that Columbia’s tolerance of aggressive protests — even those that disrupt learning environments and target Jewish students — has contributed to an atmosphere of intimidation and unrest.
The university’s endowment took a hit after major donors pulled back in response to the administration’s handling of pro-Hamas demonstrations earlier this year, as The New York Post reported last month. Wednesday’s incident is likely to exacerbate those tensions — and raise even more questions about whether elite institutions are upholding their obligation to protect Jewish students from incessant harassment.
For now, one thing is clear: Butler Library, a symbol of intellectual pursuit and academic rigor, has once again become a battleground — not of ideas, but of ideological coercion and campus chaos. And with final exams looming, many Columbia students are being forced to choose between their safety and their studies.