Khymani James
Khymani James’s Organizing the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia)
Khymani James organized the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in April 2024. James has also spread anti-Semitism, threatened violence and called for the deaths of Zionists. James has called for Israel’s destruction and showed support for Hamas terrorism.
Columbia student Khymani James was an organizer, media liaison [p. 5] and a member of the “safety team” at the pro-Hamas encampment.
On April 21, 2024, James was featured in a video posted on X, organizing anti-Israel protesters at the Columbia encampment to form a human chain to “push” pro-Israel students out of the encampment.
James led the crowd against pro-Israel students with their arms linked, while chanting [00:00:17]: “We have Zionists who have entered the camp. We are going to create a human chain…so that they do not pass this point and infringe upon our privacy and try to destruct [sic] our community…”
According to a lawsuit James filed against Columbia on April 27, 2024, James was placed [p. 7] on “interim suspension” by the university and charged with “Disruptive Behavior” and “Harassment and/or Violation of the Columbia University Non-Discrimination Statement” for James’s involvement in the encampment.
The lawsuit also stated [p. 11] that Columbia sent James a charge letter in May 2024, saying that participation in a human chain at the encampment violated the student code of conduct. Another letter was sent in August 2024 stating [p. 12] that James was suspended for one academic year.
James also spoke at press conferences at the Columbia encampment on April 24 and April 25, 2024.
The encampment was also in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Columbia is located in New York, New York.
Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”
The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.
Among the encampment leaders was Columbia student Khymani James who had said [00:00:25]: “Zionists…They are nazis!... They’re supporters of genocide! Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live?... Be glad, be grateful that I am not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Aidan Parisi, another encampment leader, responded to Columbia’s demand to disband the encampment by declaring online that: “COLUMBIA WILL BURN.”
The encampment was forcibly dismantled at the directive of Columbia’s president and administration. The NYPD [New York Police Department] entered the area, cleared the encampment and arrested more than 100 protestors, approximately 80 of whom were Columbia students. The students were charged with trespassing and suspended from Columbia indefinitely.
The next day, activists created a new encampment. When divestment negotiations with Columbia failed, protesters illegally forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall on April 30, 2024. They smashed [00:00:55] through a glass-paneled door, broke security cameras, threw university property out of the windows and unfurled [00:00:01] a banner in the building’s wall that read: “INTIFADA,” a term in Arabic for uprising or insurrection that carries the connotation of violence.
While barricading themselves in the building, agitators kept three Columbia custodians hostage and stopped them from leaving. When the NYPD raided and dismantled the encampment a second time, they arrested more than 100 students, nearly half of whom were reportedly not affiliated with Columbia.
NYPD shared on Twitter photos of objects the police found in Hamilton Hall. These included knives, hammers, gas masks, ropes and a pamphlet that read [video 1]: “...DISRUPT/RECLAIM/DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere! DEATH TO ISRAELI REAL STATE! DEATH TO AMERICA!...LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA!”
Just outside the encampment area, Jewish students were called [slide 2]: “Uncultured a** b**ches!” and were told to “Go back to Europe!” Activists also said [slide 3] to them: “Yahoodim [Jews], yahoodi [Jew], f**k you!” and “Stop killing children!” as they walked from campus to their dorm rooms.
Also just outside the encampment area, anti-Israel activists chanted [slide 5]: “Ya Hamas, ya habib, odrob, odrob Tel Aviv! [Oh Hamas, oh loved one, strike, strike Tel Aviv!]”, a chant that celebrates Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.
An activist just outside the encampment area held [photo 4] a sign that said, referring to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing: “AL-QASAM’S NEXT TARGETS.” Her sign contained an arrow pointing to a pro-Israel crowd.
On May 31, 2024, Columbia SJP announced that its activists had set up a third encampment at the university. At the encampment, protesters reportedly displayed on a big screen a video that portrayed Hamas as a peace-seeking organization and made a sign that contained an inverted red triangle, a symbol in support of Hamas.
The Columbia encampment reportedly inspired a wave of protest encampments across North American campuses, where pro-Israel students were blocked or restricted from campus facilities. Jewish students were reportedly harassed in several other ways.
Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians. As of May 26, 2024, 125 hostages remained in Hamas captivity.
On January 9, 2024, James participated in an online meeting with an associate director of Columbia’s Center for Student Success and Intervention (CSSI) to discuss [00:00:11] James’s Instagram post that reportedly said: “Zionists in my dm wanting to meet up and fight lol. I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a ‘winner’ / ‘loser’. / I fight to k*** [kill]...”
James live-streamed a video of the meeting on James’s Instagram, in which James said [00:00:36]: “…when Hitler died, the world rejoiced…And so just like that, during the Haitian revolution, the Haitian slaves had to kill their masters in order to gain their independence. And these were masters who were white supremacists. What is a Zionist? A white supremacist.”
James continued [00:01:42]: “...if an individual who identifies as a Zionist threatens my physical safety in person i.e. puts their hands on me, I am going to defend myself. And in that case scenario, it may come to a point where I don’t know when to stop.”
After the meeting, James continued recording himself and said to viewers [00:47:17]: “Zionists, they’re Nazis, they’re Nazis, they’re fascists, they’re supporters of genocide. Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live?...Zionists, along with all white supremacists, need to not exist…And so, be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists…”
In the same video, James also said [00:05:51]: “Zionists, they don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone, Zionists don’t deserve to live…Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world…the existence of Nazis, white supremacists, Zionists - these are all the same people - the existence of them and the projects they have built i.e. Israel, it’s all antithetical to peace…And so yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable calling for those people to die.”
On April 26, 2024, after James’s live stream of the January meeting was circulated online, the Columbia Spectator reported that a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement that James had been “banned from campus.” The New York Times later reported that James had been put on “interim suspension.”
On September 26, 2024, James filed a lawsuit against Columbia, claiming James was the victim of discrimination, including [p. 15] “reverse discrimination, as Columbia privileges a class of self-described ‘Zionist Jewish’ people…”
On the same date, James posted on X: “...The discrimination they’ve subjected me (& many others) to, in addition to cowering to billionaire donors and fascist politicians, has been disgusting. / Let’s play
.”
/ I couldn’t agree more. Long live Palestine, the Intifada, and the Resistance 
.”
The term “intifada” translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection” and carries the connotation of terrorist violence, including suicide bombings, hijackings, shootings and stabbings.
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Columbia student Khymani James was an organizer, media liaison [p. 5] and a member of the “safety team” at the pro-Hamas encampment.
On April 21, 2024, James was featured in a video posted on X, organizing anti-Israel protesters at the Columbia encampment to form a human chain to “push” pro-Israel students out of the encampment.
James led the crowd against pro-Israel students with their arms linked, while chanting [00:00:17]: “We have Zionists who have entered the camp. We are going to create a human chain…so that they do not pass this point and infringe upon our privacy and try to destruct [sic] our community…”
According to a lawsuit James filed against Columbia on April 27, 2024, James was placed [p. 7] on “interim suspension” by the university and charged with “Disruptive Behavior” and “Harassment and/or Violation of the Columbia University Non-Discrimination Statement” for James’s involvement in the encampment.
The lawsuit also stated [p. 11] that Columbia sent James a charge letter in May 2024, saying that participation in a human chain at the encampment violated the student code of conduct. Another letter was sent in August 2024 stating [p. 12] that James was suspended for one academic year.
James also spoke at press conferences at the Columbia encampment on April 24 and April 25, 2024.
The encampment was also in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Columbia is located in New York, New York.
Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University
On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Many participants were arrested and the encampment featured multiple violent incidents, including taking over a campus building and taking a university worker hostage.Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”
The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.
Among the encampment leaders was Columbia student Khymani James who had said [00:00:25]: “Zionists…They are nazis!... They’re supporters of genocide! Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live?... Be glad, be grateful that I am not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Aidan Parisi, another encampment leader, responded to Columbia’s demand to disband the encampment by declaring online that: “COLUMBIA WILL BURN.”
The encampment was forcibly dismantled at the directive of Columbia’s president and administration. The NYPD [New York Police Department] entered the area, cleared the encampment and arrested more than 100 protestors, approximately 80 of whom were Columbia students. The students were charged with trespassing and suspended from Columbia indefinitely.
The next day, activists created a new encampment. When divestment negotiations with Columbia failed, protesters illegally forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall on April 30, 2024. They smashed [00:00:55] through a glass-paneled door, broke security cameras, threw university property out of the windows and unfurled [00:00:01] a banner in the building’s wall that read: “INTIFADA,” a term in Arabic for uprising or insurrection that carries the connotation of violence.
While barricading themselves in the building, agitators kept three Columbia custodians hostage and stopped them from leaving. When the NYPD raided and dismantled the encampment a second time, they arrested more than 100 students, nearly half of whom were reportedly not affiliated with Columbia.
NYPD shared on Twitter photos of objects the police found in Hamilton Hall. These included knives, hammers, gas masks, ropes and a pamphlet that read [video 1]: “...DISRUPT/RECLAIM/DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere! DEATH TO ISRAELI REAL STATE! DEATH TO AMERICA!...LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA!”
Just outside the encampment area, Jewish students were called [slide 2]: “Uncultured a** b**ches!” and were told to “Go back to Europe!” Activists also said [slide 3] to them: “Yahoodim [Jews], yahoodi [Jew], f**k you!” and “Stop killing children!” as they walked from campus to their dorm rooms.
Also just outside the encampment area, anti-Israel activists chanted [slide 5]: “Ya Hamas, ya habib, odrob, odrob Tel Aviv! [Oh Hamas, oh loved one, strike, strike Tel Aviv!]”, a chant that celebrates Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.
An activist just outside the encampment area held [photo 4] a sign that said, referring to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing: “AL-QASAM’S NEXT TARGETS.” Her sign contained an arrow pointing to a pro-Israel crowd.
On May 31, 2024, Columbia SJP announced that its activists had set up a third encampment at the university. At the encampment, protesters reportedly displayed on a big screen a video that portrayed Hamas as a peace-seeking organization and made a sign that contained an inverted red triangle, a symbol in support of Hamas.
The Columbia encampment reportedly inspired a wave of protest encampments across North American campuses, where pro-Israel students were blocked or restricted from campus facilities. Jewish students were reportedly harassed in several other ways.
Background on Pro-Hamas Encampments
The encampment was one of over 140 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians. As of May 26, 2024, 125 hostages remained in Hamas captivity.
For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Khymani James’s Anti-Semitism, Threatening Violence & Calling for the Deaths of Zionists
On October 26, 2023, James posted on X: “...Zionism is a type of white supremacy, period. So yeah, we don’t want WHITE SUPREMACISTS who support the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians sanctioned by a fascist Jewish ethnostate…”Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.
On January 9, 2024, James participated in an online meeting with an associate director of Columbia’s Center for Student Success and Intervention (CSSI) to discuss [00:00:11] James’s Instagram post that reportedly said: “Zionists in my dm wanting to meet up and fight lol. I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a ‘winner’ / ‘loser’. / I fight to k*** [kill]...”
James live-streamed a video of the meeting on James’s Instagram, in which James said [00:00:36]: “…when Hitler died, the world rejoiced…And so just like that, during the Haitian revolution, the Haitian slaves had to kill their masters in order to gain their independence. And these were masters who were white supremacists. What is a Zionist? A white supremacist.”
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.
James continued [00:01:42]: “...if an individual who identifies as a Zionist threatens my physical safety in person i.e. puts their hands on me, I am going to defend myself. And in that case scenario, it may come to a point where I don’t know when to stop.”
After the meeting, James continued recording himself and said to viewers [00:47:17]: “Zionists, they’re Nazis, they’re Nazis, they’re fascists, they’re supporters of genocide. Why would we want people who are supporters of genocide to live?...Zionists, along with all white supremacists, need to not exist…And so, be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists…”
In the same video, James also said [00:05:51]: “Zionists, they don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone, Zionists don’t deserve to live…Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world…the existence of Nazis, white supremacists, Zionists - these are all the same people - the existence of them and the projects they have built i.e. Israel, it’s all antithetical to peace…And so yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable calling for those people to die.”
On April 26, 2024, after James’s live stream of the January meeting was circulated online, the Columbia Spectator reported that a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement that James had been “banned from campus.” The New York Times later reported that James had been put on “interim suspension.”
On September 26, 2024, James filed a lawsuit against Columbia, claiming James was the victim of discrimination, including [p. 15] “reverse discrimination, as Columbia privileges a class of self-described ‘Zionist Jewish’ people…”
On the same date, James posted on X: “...The discrimination they’ve subjected me (& many others) to, in addition to cowering to billionaire donors and fascist politicians, has been disgusting. / Let’s play
.”Khymani James’s Calling for Israel’s Destruction & Support for Hamas Terrorism
On October 8, 2024, James posted on X: “‘...violence is the only path forward.” / I couldn’t agree more. Long live Palestine, the Intifada, and the Resistance .”The term “intifada” translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection” and carries the connotation of terrorist violence, including suicide bombings, hijackings, shootings and stabbings.
Among anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” is a euphemism for terrorism and is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.
On October 7, 2024, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s massacre of 1,200 Israelis, James posted on X: “‘Do you condemn Hamas’ is such a boring and tired question…I’ll never condem any liberation movement or organization…”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Also on October 7, 2024, James posted on X: “It didn’t start on October 7th, but in 1948…May Palestine be free and all settler colonial entities perish 
.”
The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948.
On October 8, 2023, James posted on X: “So the Haitian Revolution should’ve never happened?” in response to a post that said: “...morally, you also cannot justify the killing of Israeli civilians, even if you say you’re fighting occupation.”
James reposted an October 8, 2023 post on X that said: “Would you have condemned the Warsaw Ghetto for rising up against the Nazi occupation? / Gaza, a literal open-air prison, rising up against Israeli occupation is no different.” James also posted: “Thank you!!!” in response to the post.
Referring to Gaza as an “open-air prison” is a way to delegitimize the UN-approved [pp. 39–41] joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed in 2011 to prevent Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.
As of April 2024, James was reportedly a member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD).
Prior to James’s suspension [p. 2] by the university in April 2024, James was studying [p. 3] for a bachelor’s degree at Columbia, slated to graduate in 2025.
As of February 2021, James reportedly planned to “focus on an economics-political science interdepartmental major” at Columbia.
On October 7, 2024, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s massacre of 1,200 Israelis, James posted on X: “‘Do you condemn Hamas’ is such a boring and tired question…I’ll never condem any liberation movement or organization…”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization founded in 1987 that is dedicated to destroying Israel and killing Jews. Since 2001, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets at Israel and on October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped over 200 hostages, including children and the elderly.
Also on October 7, 2024, James posted on X: “It didn’t start on October 7th, but in 1948…May Palestine be free
and all settler colonial entities perish .”The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948.
On October 8, 2023, James posted on X: “So the Haitian Revolution should’ve never happened?” in response to a post that said: “...morally, you also cannot justify the killing of Israeli civilians, even if you say you’re fighting occupation.”
James reposted an October 8, 2023 post on X that said: “Would you have condemned the Warsaw Ghetto for rising up against the Nazi occupation? / Gaza, a literal open-air prison, rising up against Israeli occupation is no different.” James also posted: “Thank you!!!” in response to the post.
Referring to Gaza as an “open-air prison” is a way to delegitimize the UN-approved [pp. 39–41] joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed in 2011 to prevent Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.
Khymani James’s Anti-Israel Activism and Education
Khymani James is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of April 2024, James was reportedly a member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD).
Prior to James’s suspension [p. 2] by the university in April 2024, James was studying [p. 3] for a bachelor’s degree at Columbia, slated to graduate in 2025.
As of February 2021, James reportedly planned to “focus on an economics-political science interdepartmental major” at Columbia.
Social Media and Weblinks
X:https://x.com/khymanijamesInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/harajuku.khi/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@harajuku.khi [Private]
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- CUAD
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
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Infamous Quotes
“Zionists, along with all white supremacists, need to not exist…And so, be glad, be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”
“Zionists, they don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone, Zionists don’t deserve to live…Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world…the existence of Nazis, white supremacists, Zionists - these are all the same people - the existence of them and the projects they have built i.e. Israel, it’s all antithetical to peace…And so yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable calling for those people to die.”
“‘Do you condemn Hamas’ is such a boring and tired question…I’ll never condem any liberation movement or organization.”
