Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) visited the anti-Semitic protest encampment at Columbia University this week and praised its leadership, which comes after video went viral of one of the most vocal students in the protest saying earlier this year that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”
Ocasio-Cortez traveled to the school on Friday where the demonstrations have generated national headlines for over a week.
“The leadership you have is so excellent,” Ocasio-Cortez told one of the activists. “It’s really special. It’s really amazing.”
WATCH:
AOC visits students in the Columbia University protest encampment today. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/ydx8LkVOBj
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) April 26, 2024
The Daily Wire unearthed earlier this week that Khymani James, who CNN described as a “student protest leader,” openly stated in a live-stream of an official university inquiry in January that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”
James, who was reportedly barred from campus late this week, had claimed in a statement posted to social media on Friday that he was the victim of “far right agitators” who he said posted his remarks on social media “without context.”
In a video stream from January, he made the case for Zionists to die several times and stated “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”
James said he made the comment because he was feeling “unusually upset after an online mob targeted me because I am visibly queer and Black.”
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The full meeting with Columbia University and his comments afterward on the livestream are below.
Here is the full Khymani James live-stream that includes his disciplinary meeting with Columbia University over making threatening social media posts.
I saved you all the first 30 minutes where he rants with a friend and started with the school meeting. pic.twitter.com/DfN6mKdlbm
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyDillon) April 26, 2024
James, who goes by “he/she/they” pronouns, is the spokesperson of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) group and has been the visible face of the protests that have garnered national attention, including holding a press conference on Wednesday.