Sherif Ibrahim
Sherif Ibrahim’s Speech at the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia)
Sherif Ibrahim is an anti-Israel activist who spoke at the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in May 2024. The encampment was also in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Ibrahim has been engaged in anti-Israel activism since at least 2015, including with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
While he was a Columbia master’s degree student, Sherif Ibrahim was featured [00:08:28] in a May 8, 2024 video taken at the encampment and published on YouTube by Status Coup News.
Speaking to the crowd, Ibrahim said [00:08:51]: “To the Palestinian people, we recommit our love to you and affirm that our hope and will has never been stronger. Our people arrested yesterday will soon be free and ready to fight again…We the students will win.”
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 what they called the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Participants 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, as well as Columbia’s banned pro-terror groups Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). The Columbia activists reportedly consulted with and received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.
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 students. They were also charged with trespassing and suspended from Columbia indefinitely.
Two days later, 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 and threw university property out of the windows.
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!” The term “Intifada” is Arabic for uprising or insurrection, and carries the connotation of violence.
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. Some were told [00:00:02] to “go back to Poland” and [slide 3]: “Yahoodim [Jews], yahoodi [Jew], f**k you!” as they walked from campus to their dorm rooms.
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.
Sherif Ibrahim’s Anti-Israel Activism and Education
Sherif Ibrahim is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.In September 2019, The Daily Targum reported that Ibrahim was an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
In February 2015, The Stanford Daily reported that Ibrahim was a leader with Stanford Out of Occupied Palestine (SOOP).
As of November 2024, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn profile said he had been a “Fellow” at the Sundance Institute since April 2024, on a seasonal basis.
Also as of November 2024, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn said he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia in May 2024.
As of the same date, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn said he was located in the New York City metropolitan area.
Social Media and Weblinks
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/anw_rahimLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherif-ibrahim-669b2632/
Threads:https://www.threads.net/@anw_rahim
- Status:
- Unknown
- University:
- Columbia
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- SJP
- Related Profiles:
- Stephanie Navarro,
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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