Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine organized a Wednesday teach-in and discussion titled “Significance of the October 7th Palestinian Counteroffensive” in the lobby of the Social Work Building on Wednesday. The event, which was originally planned to be held inside a classroom, had previously been canceled by the School of Social Work administration following online backlash.

Counterprotesters shouted insults at teach-in participants, and School of Social Work administrators threatened disciplinary action against non-School of Social Work students who refused to leave the building.

In a statement to Spectator, a member of Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine said that the group was never directly informed that the event had been canceled. Organizers told Spectator that they found out about the cancellation from a School of Social Work official Instagram post on Monday containing a statement from Melissa Begg, dean of the School of Social Work.

“This is not a CSSW-sponsored event. The students who organized the event did not seek approval for the fliers and text as required by CSSW processes,” Begg wrote. “CSSW supports free speech but does not condone language that promotes violence in any manner, which is antithetical to our values. This event will not go forward at CSSW.”

Despite the statement from Begg, a Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine member wrote in a statement to Spectator that the group “decided to go ahead with the event as planned.”

Members of the student group gathered in the lobby at noon and delivered speeches.

“On October 7, the Palestinian Liberation fighters demonstrated their refusal to be dominated,” a speaker from Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine said. “They showed the world that the Palestinian people will fight for freedom instead of quietly adapting to subjugation. They showed us that through creativity, determination, and combined strength, the masses can accomplish great feats, a fact that we have seen in every heroic struggle for liberation, from Vietnam to Afghanistan.”

A video of the demonstration, which contained the above speech, was posted on X by the official account of the Embassy of Israel to the United States an hour after the demonstration, with the comment “Shame.”

In an interview with Spectator after the demonstration, a member of Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine said that “revolutionary violence is central to anti-imperialism.”

The member said that Cheiku Camara, School of Social Work assistant dean for student services, arrived at floor C, where the demonstration was planned, around 11 a.m. to “monitor the situation and dissuade attendees,” but that he did so “before most students had gathered” for the event.

Moira Curtain, School of Social Work associate dean of student affairs and dean of students, sent an email on Tuesday notifying students of the option to attend Wednesday classes on Zoom, and that all classrooms would be set up in a hybrid format.

University delegates passed out flyers to teach-in participants and counterprotesters outlining the “Rules of University Conduct,” which instructed students to turn over their Columbia IDs for identification, threatened interim sanctions by the provost, and threatened suspension for the rest of the semester.

A group of students who referred to themselves as “Collective Students of CSSW” organized a Nov. 8 sit-in at the Social Work Building, during which University delegates gave out similar fliers demanding that students stop the sit-in and provide identification, threatening academic sanctions for non-compliance with the delegates’ requests.

In a Thursday evening statement on X, the School of Social Work administration emphasized that the demonstration had taken place without permission and that the organizers were aware of this.

“School and University administrators informed the students of the possibility of disciplinary action and urged them to disperse, which they did,” the School of Social Work wrote in the statement. “The matter is under review under University procedures.”

A University official wrote to Spectator that the University is currently determining in what capacity it will review a complaint about the event that was filed through Columbia’s reporting system.

Counterprotestors highlighted their objections to the demonstration’s characterization of the Oct. 7 attacks as well as posters promoting the event, which contained illustrations of a dove and an AK-47 with a poppy directed at a broken chain. The flower is a symbol often associated with Palestinian solidarity.

A member of Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine also told Spectator that “the AK-47 … is associated with revolutionary struggle.”

“If there’s any way this event could have any beneficial knowledge to our community, it has been ruined by how it was advertised and how it was even put out there in the world. We have room for conversations,” a counterprotester said during the event, addressing the teach-in participants. “We have room for dialogue and peace. This is not it. And if you are supporting this event, you are supporting violence.”

After Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine first posted advertisements for the event on Instagram, it gained traction online, with critics condemning the School of Social Work for allowing the event. Shai Davidai, a Columbia Business School assistant professor, made a post on X condemning the event that received over 729,000 views.

David Friedman, former U.S. ambassador and adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also criticized the event on X.

Other counterprotesters attempted to record the demonstration, verbally interrupted speeches, and held up signs reading “Grieve with us, we’ll grieve with you” and “Bring them home,” referencing Israeli civilians taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack.

Protesters shielded speakers from being recorded by holding up keffiyehs and umbrellas. A Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine member said that umbrellas had been provided by School of Social Work student affairs administrators in order to protect students from doxxing.

Beginning around 1 p.m., University delegates instructed protesters and counterprotesters to disperse multiple times.

Public Safety officers and administrators also barred non-CUID holders and non-School of Social Work students from entering at the doorway.

By the end of the demonstration, counterprotesters began to yell at the protesters, accusing them of condoning the violence committed during the Oct. 7 attacks.

“It’s disgusting, awful, beyond all means. Justifying everything Hamas did on October 7 as the will of the Palestinian people? Shame on you! Justifying it as an act of rebellion? Shame on you! And saying that in this space? Shame on you!” one counterprotester said.

Despite administrative pushback and the presence of counterprotesters, a Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine member described the demonstration as “touching.”

“It was the closest to dialogue we’ve gotten so far,” they said after the demonstration ended.