Mike Rowe rips Ivy League for having 'lost its mind' amid anti-Israel protests: 'Thugs and bullies'

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"How America Works" host Mike Rowe called out the Ivy League for allowing "madness" and antisemitism on campus in a post Monday. 

Rowe said that his foundation, mikeroweWORKS, is helping place young people at trade schools, which unlike the Ivy League, he argued, does not have students that are calling for the extermination of Jews. 

"[T]he Ivy League has truly lost its mind," he wrote on social media platform X. 

"Consider the latest madness at Columbia University, where the president, Minochuhe Shafik, has announced a new round of remote learning - effective immediately - in response to a noisy rabble of thugs and bullies calling for the eradication of Israel," Rowe continued. "If I had a kid at Columbia, I’d be livid. It’s simply mind-boggling that the president of this university would rather consign her students to another crucible of remote learning, than permanently expel the protesters."

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Anti-Israel protesters and Mike Rowe

"How America Works" host Mike Rowe called out the Ivy League for allowing "madness" on campuses in a social media post.  (Getty Images)

Columbia University President Dr. Nemat "Minouche" Shafik said in a statement posted early Monday morning that she was "deeply saddened" by certain actions of the agitators and called for a "reset."

"I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus," Shafik wrote. "Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm. Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns," Shafik said.

"I mean, seriously, what does it take to get expelled from Columbia?" Rowe asked, calling out "creeps" on campus who have been caught "literally screaming into the faces of Jewish students." 

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Anti-Israel agitators construct an encampment on Columbia University’s campus

"That’s what you get for $68,000 a year at Columbia – an administration who cowers in the face of thugs and bullies, and a university president who would rather make your kids try to learn off campus, than take a truly hard line with those students calling for the murder of Jews," Rowe wrote.  (Peter Gerber)

"In a now-infamous image, one demonstrator appeared before a group of counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags with a sign pointing in their direction that read, ‘Al-Qasam’s next targets,'" Rowe wrote. "That’s what you get for $68,000 a year at Columbia – an administration who cowers in the face of thugs and bullies, and a university president who would rather make your kids try to learn off campus, than take a truly hard line with those students calling for the murder of Jews. For the love of God, expel them." 

"Calling for murder is not protected speech, he added.

Reached for comment, Columbia University said it had no response to Rowe's remarks.

Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History. 

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Authored by Jeffrey Clark via FoxNews April 24th 2024