Columbia celebrates ‘alleged terrorists' with on-campus memorial to ‘journalists’ killed in Gaza: report

Anyone suggesting they are ‘terrorists’ will be blocked, according to one professor

Columbia University’s hallowed halls feature a memorial to "dead Hamas propagandists and alleged terrorists," according to the Daily Mail.

Pulitzer Hall, the home of Columbia's prestigious journalism school that is named after Pulitzer Prize namesake Joseph Pulitzer, is lined with posters dedicated to "Gaza journalists" who have been killed during the Israel-Gaza war

However, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that many of them have ties to the Hamas terror group. The Daily Mail reported that 21 people being honored worked for "Hamas' propaganda TV and radio stations," 11 others "worked for outlets affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group," and three were known as alleged terrorists themselves. 

COLUMBIA STUDENT SUSPENDED AFTER ALLEGED ‘FART SPRAY’ ATTACK DURING PRO-PALESTINIAN RALLY SUES SCHOOL

A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York.  (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Nina Berman, a Columbia journalism professor, posted images of the tribute to her Instagram page in February and declared she would block anyone who called the individuals "terrorists." 

"This wall, created by students and cared for by the CJS community, has been an important reminder and acknowledgment of the unprecedented violence against Gaza journalists. Note to trolls: anyone commenting with doubts about the legitimacy of these journalists or suggestions that they are terrorists will be promptly blocked," Berman wrote. 

Berman, who declined permission to allow Fox News Digital to publish the images, appeared to delete them from her Instagram account shortly after being asked. Berman declined further comment. 

COLUMBIA STUDENT DESCRIBES CAMPUS FEAR, ANTI-ISRAEL SIGNS SUPPORTING TERRORISTS WHO ‘PUT BABIES IN AN OVEN’

Anti-Israel protesters hang signs from Columbia University in New York City on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.  (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

The Daily Mail report said one of the men being honored at the Ivy League journalism school is Mohamed Khalifeh, who was employed by Al Aqsa TV, which the Obama administration sanctioned as a terrorist entity.

Other people being honored by Columbia University’s journalism school include multiple former staffers of the Hamas-controlled Al-Aqsa radio station and at "least one of these 'journalists' have been accused by Israel of being 'actively involved in attacks against IDF forces,’" according to the Daily Mail. The publication reported another person being honored by the school was a member of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades.

Columbia University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists told the Daily Mail that none of the people being honored by Columbia were found to be "engaged in militant activity."

"CPJ does not support journalists engaged in breaking the law. In the cases we have documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that these journalists were engaged in militant activity. CPJ’s ongoing list of casualties in the Israel-Gaza war is a preliminary list that includes all killed journalists. We continue to investigate the circumstances of each case," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS AT COLUMBIA ISSUE DEFIANT ULTIMATUM

A protester holds a sign during a march on Columbia University campus in support of a protest encampment supporting Palestinians. (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)

On Tuesday, the New York Police Department swept through the historic Hamilton Hall at Columbia University and cleared out a group of anti-Israel agitators who had "occupied" the building as part of ongoing demonstrations.

Police stormed the structure after school administrators repeatedly retreated from enforcing deadlines demanding the groups dismantle their campus encampment over the past two weeks. Columbia University officials finally threatened the group with expulsion after students smashed their way into the school's Hamilton Hall and "occupied" the building.

Critics have widely condemned the controversial encampments, which have cropped up at Columbia and other major university campuses, as an antisemitic display that threatens the safety of their Jewish classmates.

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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 

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