Protesters were allegedly sprayed with a hazardous chemical while attending a pro-Palestinian “divestment now” rally on Low Steps on Friday, according to nearly two dozen students who reported a foul smell, physical symptoms, or property damage after the protest.

Spectator conducted interviews with four students, collected testimonials from eight protest attendees under the condition of anonymity via a Google Form only open to LionMail accounts, and reviewed 12 reports submitted to Columbia’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Eighteen students reported a putrid smell during or after the protest, 10 reported physical symptoms such as burning eyes, headaches, and nausea—with three having sought medical attention—and eight reported damage to their personal belongings.

Two students expressed concerns about their safety on campus during interviews with Spectator, fearing that incidents like this may continue.

Public Safety “is investigating incidents reported in connection with Friday’s protest that are of great concern,” according to a Sunday evening statement from the department. The department received an initial complaint on Friday night and additional complaints on Sunday, according to the statement, and “has been actively working with local and federal authorities in this investigation, with the NYPD taking a lead role.”

“While the investigation is proceeding, we continue to seek the university community’s support: Reporting is essential so that the proper authorities -- including the NYPD -- can track down the facts and take action as necessary,” the statement reads. “It is important for people to come forward if they have any information, and we are grateful to the members of our community who already have.”

A New York Police Department spokesperson told Spectator on Sunday afternoon that it received one report and is investigating the incident. No arrests have been made, the spokesperson said.

Earlier on Sunday, a Columbia University official confirmed that the University was “aware of social media posts on an alleged incident” and “conferring with the NYPD.” At the time, Public Safety had received one complaint, according to the official.

Three students identified the substance as “Skunk,” a chemical developed by the Israeli firm Odortec and employed by the Israeli military against demonstrators in the West Bank, according to the BBC. The company Mistral Security supplies Skunk in the United States and describes the “non-lethal vile smelling liquid” as causing crowds to “cease their activities while allowing Law Enforcement to gain control with minimum injuries and casualties.”

Aside from its stench—which has been compared to sewage and rotting flesh—side effects of the chemical include nausea, skin rash, and vomiting, according to a 2016 report on crowd-control weapons by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Maia, BC ’24, who spoke to Spectator on the condition that she be identified by only her first name citing safety concerns, said she witnessed a person in an orange jacket allegedly spraying protesters after Friday’s march, when students gathered back on Low Steps. She said two people with their faces “pretty much all covered” by keffiyehs stood out to her because their keffiyehs appeared to be a slightly different color and pattern from the black and white ones sold by student groups on campus.

“I noticed them come up behind different people at the edges of the protest and would stand there for like a second,” Maia said.

She said she eventually came close enough to the individuals that she could hear and smell the spray.

“Once they were closest to me, behind someone that was near me, I heard a little spraying sound,” Maia said. She said she noticed the individuals walk away, “and then it started smelling really bad.”

Layla Saliba, SSW ’25, said she noticed individuals of the same description acting “unusual” and approaching students holding a “CU Jews for Ceasefire” banner, calling the protesters “self-hating Jews,” she said.

“They were referring to students as ‘Jew killers’ and ‘terrorists,’” Saliba said.

Saliba grabbed her phone and took pictures of two students allegedly harassing pro-Palestinian Jewish students. The individuals were not wearing keffiyehs at that point, Saliba said, and she was unaware of the alleged spraying at the time.

Spectator reviewed photos and videos taken by reporters at the protest that appeared to corroborate the descriptions given by Saliba, Maia, and two other student testimonials of an individual wearing an orange jacket allegedly spraying protesters.

“They seemed very uncomfortable with being photographed,” Saliba said. She noticed that it seemed “like they wanted to get away as quickly as possible.”

In one photo reviewed by Spectator, an individual with an orange jacket is seen wearing a keffiyeh, with white sunglasses covering their eyes. In another, they appear to be holding a white object in their hand with their index finger apparently placed on top of the object, standing behind a group of students on Low Steps. In photos posted by Saliba on X, the individual in the orange jacket appears to be wearing the same white sunglasses, without a keffiyeh.

Spectator could neither confirm nor deny the identities of the individuals accused of spraying the protesters. The NYPD had not publicly released any information about potential suspects as of Monday morning.

Section 443, Subsection A, 15 of the Rules of University Conduct reads that “A person is in violation of these Rules when such person individually or with a group, incident to a demonstration, including a rally or picketing: … illicitly uses, or attempts to use, or makes threats with a firearm, explosive, dangerous or noxious chemical, or other dangerous instrument or weapon.”

Violations of this nature are designated as a “serious” violation of the Rules of University Conduct, and the University “will seek to resolve every report of misconduct within approximately two (2) months of an incident, not counting any appeal,” the webpage states.

Maryam Iqbal, BC ’27, a member of SJP and one of the speakers at Friday’s demonstration, said she first noticed the smell when the group left Low Steps to march around campus. She described the aroma as “a really strong smell of poop mixed with decaying animal” and said it would come and go during the walk.

When Iqbal returned to her dorm after the protest, she said she could still smell the foul odor. She said she narrowed down the source to her jacket and texted some friends who attended the protest about the smell.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh my god, I thought I was going insane,’” Iqbal said.

She said they began to believe they had been “stink bombed,” and that her Palestinian friends later told her “they recognize that smell from the West Bank and Palestine because Israeli forces use Skunk on Palestinians as crowd control.”

Iqbal is an associate for Spectator’s editorial page and had no involvement in the reporting for this article.

Saliba said that she went to urgent care following the alleged attack and experienced fatigue, headaches, nausea, and a “raw sewage” smell after the protest. She said that she made the decision to seek medical attention after seeing SJP’s posts about the alleged attack on social media.

Doctors diagnosed Saliba with “exposure to a harmful chemical” and told her that she will have to miss class “for a few days” due to her “severe pain,” she said. Saliba said that her autoimmune condition has worsened the effects of the spray.

Saliba said she believed the substance used at Friday’s demonstration was a “diluted” version of Skunk but emphasized that the “average person would not have access to this stuff.”

“You can’t just go and buy this stuff online,” Saliba said.

Shay, CC ’26, who spoke to Spectator on the condition that they be identified by only their first name citing safety concerns, said their coat is now ruined as a result of the Skunk spray. They said it belonged to their late grandmother and was “very meaningful” to them.

Shay, who is Jewish, said they are concerned that the protests are getting framed as “Jewish students versus Palestinian students,” when “it’s not this binary that people make it out to be, and we are being targeted by this as well.”

“I think it’s very important because attacks on pro-Palestinian protesters are not for Jewish safety,” Shay said. “It’s actually hurting.”

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the alleged attack and “demanded law enforcement investigate the incident as a possible hate crime” in a Saturday news release.

Columbia’s chapter of Students Supporting Israel released a statement on Sunday condemning “any actions of any individuals who may engage in behaviors with the intent to cause physical or psychological harm to other Columbia students.”

Columbia University Apartheid Divest, one of the main organizers of the Friday rally, is an unrecognized student group and is not authorized to hold events on campus, per University event policy. The University unilaterally revised its event policies in November—17 days before suspending SJP and the Columbia chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

The Columbia University official wrote in their statement to Spectator that “Friday’s event was unsanctioned and violated university policies and procedures which are in place to ensure there is adequate personnel on the ground to keep our community safe.”

University delegates distributed flyers to students at the rally demanding students stop their “disruption,” threatening “interim sanctions by the Provost up to and including suspension for the rest of the semester.”

“The University alerted participants that this was an unsanctioned event held by an unrecognized student coalition and that is a violation of university policies and procedures,” University spokesperson Samantha Slater wrote in a Friday statement to Spectator.

Saliba said the alleged attack has made for an “incredibly hostile environment to learn.”

“I went on campus today, I went to Public Safety to talk to them about this, and it’s like, this is not something that your body forgets easily,” Saliba said. “When I was walking past Alma Mater and Low, my body physically recoiled. I was so uncomfortable.”