Elizabeth Povinelli, a professor of anthropology and gender studies at Columbia University, actively participated in the controversial pro-Hamas encampment on Columbia’s campus in April 2024. Her involvement included direct support for the encampment’s antisemitic activities and the promotion of rhetoric undermining Jewish students’ rights on campus, therefore contributing to endangering these very students, as a professor.
Elizabeth Povinelli’s Pro-Hamas Encampment Participation
On April 29, 2024, Povinelli was featured in photos on social media actively participating in the encampment. She was seen wearing an orange faculty vest labeled “FACULTY” and moving supplies. The encampment, a hub for antisemitic activity, was dismantled by NYPD after multiple incidents of violence, harassment, and vandalism, including the hostage-taking of university workers.
Many Columbia faculty and staff members actively took part in the encampment, distinguishable by their bright orange vests with yellow and gray stripes, each labeled with either “FACULTY” or “STAFF.” They organized in various ways to support the student protesters, including forming a “human barricade” to obstruct Jewish students from entering.
Povinelli also posted a video from the encampment on April 26, 2024, claiming, “Just so people understand, the violence is outside…Inside calm. Working alongside students is so humbling.” This statement ignored the encampment’s association with hostile actions toward Jewish students and its broader antisemitic undertones and dismisses all the complications and escalations that happened so severely, the NYPD was involved.
Rhetoric and Antisemitic Support
The pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia became a flashpoint for antisemitic rhetoric, including chants of “Ya Hamas, ya habib, odrob, odrob Tel Aviv!” (Oh Hamas, oh loved one, strike, strike Tel Aviv!) and threats against Jewish students. Faculty members like Povinelli, through their participation and public statements, lent legitimacy to an environment of hostility and intimidation on campus.
Background and Academic Affiliation
Elizabeth Povinelli is affiliated with multiple programs at Columbia University, including the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Centre for the Study of Law and Culture. She also serves as the co-director of Columbia’s Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy.
Povinelli received her PhD in anthropology from Yale University in 1991 and has since built her career around gender studies and social theory. However, her actions during the 2024 encampment highlight her engagement in divisive and harmful activism targeting Jewish students.
Povinelli’s participation in the encampment reflects a troubling trend of faculty support for antisemitic movements under the guise of academic freedom and activism.
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