New York — Dozens of Jewish New Yorkers and their allies gathered outside of Columbia University Monday afternoon to show the Jewish students who have been harassed in recent days by anti-Israel protesters that they are not alone.

Pro-Israel protesters carrying Israeli and American flags said they were shocked by how quickly the elite New York City college — and surrounding neighborhood — have descended into a hotbed of antisemitic activism.

“How does that happen in New York City,” asked local radio host Sid Rosenberg, who organized the rally. “This is pathetic. It’s disgusting what’s happened here.”

A line of NYPD officers prepare for the pro-Israel rally across the street from Columbia.

The spark was lit last week when anti-Israel Columbia students set up a protest camp on the main university quad as university president Minouche Shafik testified before Congress, contradicting in real time her assurances to lawmakers that her administration was taking steps to crack down on unsanctioned campus protests and antisemitic harassment.

As students refused to disperse for days, left-wing activists began to hold daily protests just outside the campus gates, chanting pro-Hamas slogans and harassing visibly Jewish students. On Thursday, more than 100 anti-Israel demonstrators were arrested.

Shafik released a statement Monday morning announcing that classes would be held virtually on Monday in response to the “crisis” underway on campus.

Linda Jacknow of Long Island was in tears as she told National Review how she’d traveled to the rally alone despite her family’s concerns. She felt she had no choice but to attend after seeing what had become of an institution she’d sacrificed to send her daughter to 20 years before.

“I’m crying for our country — and for the $36,000 I paid for my daughter’s Columbia education,” she said.

Pro-Israel demonstrators sing at a rally organized by @sidrosenberg across the street from Columbia University, whose campus has been occupied by a large pro-Palestine encampment for days. pic.twitter.com/91QymVIYro

— National Review (@NRO) April 22, 2024

Jacknow explained that she had gone without eating out or buying new clothes in order to send her daughter to Columbia, but she now believes the university she was once so proud of is “embarrassing the United States.”

A small group of mostly masked counter-protesters showed up to antagonize the pro-Israel demonstrators. Some of the counter-protesters insisted they were merely “anti-Zionist,” not antisemitic. Others weren’t shy about sharing their true feelings.

“Jews control America,” a masked man carrying a large sign reading “Israel killed 14,000” told National Review. “Jewish money controls every political race.”

“It’s a rat race in which Jews are eating us like cheese,” he said. “They killed 15,000 f***ing kids and every politician in America is afraid to say ‘wow that’s evil’ because they’ll be accused of antisemitism. Antisemitism is bulls***.”

An anti-Israel protester stands across the street from the pro-Israel rally yelling antisemitic provocations.

The man, who identified himself as David but would not give his last name out of fear of being “doxxed by the Jews” gave the pro-Israel rallygoers a taste of what Jewish students have been exposed to on and off campus in recent days.

According to a letter signed by over 100 Jewish Columbia students, protesters stood outside Barnard University — a Columbia affiliate — dormitory buildings last week and harassed two undergraduates, screaming, "We know where you live now" and "You killed half our family." They yelled, "Come out, pussy" and wrote "intifada" in chalk on the street outside the students' dorm-room window.

Protesters assaulted a Jewish student who attempted to recover a stolen Israeli flag and prevent it from being set aflame, shoving him and yelling, "You've got blood on your hands!"

The environment became so threatening over the weekend that campus rabbi Elie Buechler sent a message to Jewish students urging them to leave campus until things died down.

"The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University's Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy," Buechler wrote to Jewish students on Sunday in a WhatsApp message obtained by CNN’s Jake Tapper. "It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus."

Representative Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.) also made an appearance at the rally and called for the resignation Shafik, the Columbia president, and any other university president who allowed anti-Israel protesters to violate policy and harass Jewish students with impunity.

“It is unacceptable and it must stop today,” Lawler said. “Every single one of these university presidents should resign and if they don’t resign their asses should be thrown out.”

Representative Mike Lawler addresses the crowd at a pro-Israel rally outside Columbia.

Lawler’s comments come after Representative Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.) — chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee — sent a letter to Shafik calling for order to be restored on Columbia University's campus, or risk losing federal funding.

Ed Garrett, a muscular Air Force veteran who stands well over six feet tall, positioned himself near the pro-Israel New Yorkers as they faced off with counter-protesters. A Bronx native, Garrett explained that he came to the rally to send a message to Hamas sympathizers and antisemites: “This won’t be tolerated.”