Columbia University has elected Israeli student Maya Platek to serve as Columbia Student Government president for the 2024-2025 academic year, Student Services for Israel (SSI) announced Friday.
The selection of an Israeli student for this position comes as Columbia's campus has been hit by a wave of overwhelming anti-Israel protests and encampments.
Platek is determined to speak up for Jewish students on campus as a member of SSI, an organization dedicated to empowering pro-Israel voices on college campuses, according to its website. are doing.
Prateek introduced himself to the student council in his post-election speech.
“I am a rising senior from Israel who was recently elected student body president at Columbia University. As Columbia reaches the height of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, I am honored to have been elected student body president for next year. Now more than ever, it is important that our voices are heard and that we are kept safe.”
Columbia University has also been accused of unprecedented levels of anti-Semitic activity, including acts of violence against Jewish students.
Speak out against anti-Semitism on campus
Prateek spoke out against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment across campus and criticized the actions of his classmates and professors on campus.
“Our classmates and professors are choosing to manipulate history to demonize us, just as humanity has done throughout history. They choose to rewrite our identity. They choose to cheer on our pain and suffering, delegitimizing the world's only Jewish state among dozens of Christian and Muslim states. I chose to do that,” Prateek explained.
“They have chosen to claim our exclusion from this campus because of our nationality. That is discrimination,” she declared from a podium on the university's campus.
