Columbia University Protesters Attempted to 'Reclaim' Veterans Day – JP

A student group at Columbia University held a “Martyrs Day” event in an attempt to “reclaim” Veterans Day.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) wrote on Instagram, “We reject this holiday [Veterans Day] and refuse to celebrate it. The American war machine should not be honored for the horrors unleashed on others.”

“Instead, we will celebrate Martyrs Day in honor of those martyred by the Israel-US war machine. A day to honor the patriotism, love of country, and sacrifice of those martyrs.”

A flyer passed out at the event stated that the “martyr is not only in Palestine.”

“We honor and recognize all of our martyrs across the world that have been killed at the hands of Zionist ideology. We honor them the way we honor those who have been martyred in Palestine.”

The flyer added that the “martyr is not only Muslim” and concluded that the “idea of martyrdom being the greatest honor for Palestinians is not because they love death, rather it is because they love life so much that they are willing to accept the greatest sacrifice in order to continue the struggle for the freedom of the people.”

Students at Columbia are beginning to protest Veteran’s Day.

When we told you the anti-Israel protesters were always anti-American, this is exactly what we meant.

This is about more than just antisemitism. This is anti-Western civilization. pic.twitter.com/JnfQInLtjA

— Eliana Goldin (@Eliana_Goldin) November 11, 2024

Columbia University students have been involved in numerous anti-Israel demonstrations since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas.